Page 39 of Bite Marks

Vanessa deserved so much more than him. She deserved to be looked after, not shown off. He felt stupid for not being man enough to tell her how he felt. And here he was, calling others cowards when he was the biggest among them.

There was no doubt in Nunzio’s mind that Lenny had taken advantage of how open their relationship appeared to be. The question was what he was planning to do to her. He pressed down on the gas, every second of the unknown like a noose tightening around his neck.

He would never make this mistake again. He vowed to be a better man. As long as he lived, he would make sure nothing ever happened to Vanessa.

He shut down all thoughts, refusing to believe the worst. Vanessa was smart. She’d be able to hold him off, he convinced himself. She just needed him to get to her as fast as he could.

Exhaling, he called his wolf forward, letting his body harden in anticipation of the battle ahead. If he was going to find her alive, he couldn’t wait for backup!

He had to save her because she was everything. And after this, he would never let her forget it.

Nunzio was going to confess his love to her.

But first, he was going to find Lenny and make him regret ever setting eyes on her.

NINETEEN

VANESSA

Time had come to a stop. But Vanessa knew that it was all in her head. It was all down to the fear that coursed through her. Because time had not frozen. Instead, Vanessa was inching away from Lenny. But all the shifter did was advance.

Lenny was smiling at her. Or trying to. His face was stretched into an ugly snarl.

Right then, his lips curled upwards in a sneer. Clearly, ten years in prison had twisted the shifter inside out.

“I know you’re with that bum, Nunzio.” The snarl on his face was reflected in his voice. Vanessa started shaking her head frantically.

“No, no, no!” She was quite aware that she was whispering. She was pleading with him. She was begging him.

She took another step backward and stumbled as Lenny advanced.

He laughed then, an ugly, ringing laugh.

Time was still frozen, even as Vanessa stumbled away from Lenny. And all she could hear was her heart thudding in her ears.

It thudded in the hollows of her chest, at her throat, and pounded at her wrists.

It was almost painful.

And she knew Lenny could hear it. His sensitive shifter hearing could detect the change in her heartbeat. He could hear every hitch in her breath. He could even smell the sweat that beaded along her forehead.

Vanessa knew her terror delighted Lenny. She swallowed, her throat dry and raspy. She had to put a stop to this. She had to calm him down.

Vanessa had the skills to talk abusive men down from their heights of anger. Could she use those skills now on this shifter? She didn’t think it would be that easy.

“Lenny,” her voice was slow and steady. She was proud that it hadn’t wavered at all. “I’m not in a relationship with Nunzio. It is all fake.”

The words, though true, sounded like a lie coming from her. How could what she had with Nunzio be anything less than real? “Nunzio and I are nothing to each other. It was all for show. All for the Don.”

She was still pleading with him. But her voice remained steady.

“We’re nothing, Lenny. I swear to God, we’re nothing. You should just let me go. Hurting me won’t hurt Nunzio.”

Every word she spoke was a lie, Vanessa knew. And she regretted each one. Every word she said that renounced her relationship with Nunzio.

It seemed that at that moment, facing death, everything became clear for Vanessa. From the moment they had met, Nunzio had put her first. He hadn’t treated her like the other men she knew.

He had never chosen the mob over her.

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