Page 96 of Beautiful Devil

“And Luca, any man not willing to give his life for my wife will see the end of my pistol by the end of the day, got it?”

“Si.” He gives a quick, sharp nod before making his way down the corridor as he pulls out his phone.

Marco and I begin to make our way to the front door of the house when he says, “So you finally woke up then?”

When I turn to look at Marco, he has a smug-ass smile on his face that, quite frankly, I’ve seen a little too much of lately. When I don’t reply, he continues.

“I told you that you were in love with her, but you wouldn’t hear it.”

I try to hold back, but I can't.

I turn and grab Marco by his jacket and throw him up against the wall. “I don't know if you’ve noticed, but I have more pressing things to deal with instead of discussing my love for my wife with you.”

The bastard rolls his lips to try and hold back his laughter. I let go and begin walking again and quickly make it out the front door and slide into the back of the waiting car. Two more men fill the back, and another in the front passenger beside Santino as Marco slips in right beside me. Santino takes off as soon as Marco’s door closes. He tilts his head slightly in my direction, and that shit-eating smug grin still planted firmly on his face. I inhale a deep breath and tell myself to save it all for the bastard who has mygattina.

* * *

It feels like the longest car journey of my entire life. I could barely sit still the entire way out here. It's been mostly silent, and I don’t know if that's a good thing or not. I can’t get the thoughts out of my head about what that slimy bastard could have already done to Gia. It's been over five hours since she was taken, and a man like Dante Bonetti can do a lot of damage in that time. He traffics women, for fuck’s sake. He could have already sold her. I’m trying not to focus on that thought, because if he so much as hurts a hair on her head, I’m going to burn the entire contents of this universe if I don't get mydolcezzaback in my arms soon.

We’re five minutes out from the location signal on the tracker. My erratic heartbeat starts to increase, and I start to break out in a cold sweat. I’ve always been cool, calm, and collected going into a war with a rival, but this time, it's different. This time, mygattinais involved. I start to think about how it's going to feel having her back in my arms. I’m never going to let her out of my sight ever again. I may have forced this marriage upon her in the beginning, but she means more to me than she can even know.

I turn my attention to Marco; his usual stoic look is in place as he stares out the window at the scenery passing by.

“Ehi, grazie per avere mio fratello sulle spalle.”Hey, thank you for having my back, brother.

He turns to look at me, and this time I don't half mind the hint of a smile that crosses his face.

“Sempre, fratello. Ora smettila di comportarti come uno sciocco malato d’amore e uccidiamo questa madre di puttana.”Always, brother. Now stop acting like a lovesick fool and let’s kill this motherfucker.

CHAPTER33

GIA

Dante’s wordsrepeat in my head, but they don't make any sense. Of course, they’re my parents. How could I be adopted and not know?

“You look like her, you know. Same dark chocolate hair and the same brown eyes, only I’d say you're a little...feistier than she was.”

He’s trying to confuse me, but I know my parents. They wouldn’t keep something like this from me.

“I can prove it if you want,cara. I ran some blood tests while you had a little...nap.”

“You did what?” I shriek.

“I have a private doctor on my payroll and had him run some tests while you were out. The results came back the same time you woke up. You’d be surprised how much power and money can get you. Would you like to know your mother’s name? Yourrealmother? It was Angelina. She was one of my housemaids. A beautiful young girl to look at, but not made for the lifestyle of a mafia don's wife.”

His words hit me hard, reminding me of Fabi saying I wasn’t made for this lifestyle. How I wasn’t made for him. Tears begin to pool in my eyes, and a single teardrop rolls down my cheek.

“Your mother was only good for cleaning and fucking.” The sardonic tone of his voice sends a shiver up my spine.

He's going to kill me.

“You see, my dear Gia, your mother and I had a verycloserelationship with one another. However, it seems I wasn’t the only person she had a close relationship with. When I ran those blood tests, I discovered that we, in fact, aren’t a one hundred percent DNA match. We are just a family blood match.”

My brows furrow in confusion, and before I know it, an uncontrollable sound erupts from within me and I’m laughing hysterically. Dante’s face remains void of all emotion as he sits opposite me and watches as I continue to laugh. He waits until it begins to subside before he speaks again.

“I’m your uncle,cara. It seems your mother had a thing for dirty men and dirty money. I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. You’re a whore just like she was.”

I don’t know if it's whatever drug Dante’s men gave me, or if my mind has finally had all the trauma it can take, but the laughter begins again, only this time it’s short-lived. Before I can register his movement, I feel the sharp sting across my cheek.

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