Page 132 of Fortress of the Soul

I know Angelo, though. He’s a hard man. A man, who despite appearances, loves hard.

He’d die to protect any one of us, I know that, and I respect it. Even if my face is fucking on fire.

All I do know, is that I’m not going away. So, he’ll have to accept it one way or the other.

He has no choice.

Mafia boss or not.

Valentina is mine.

* * *

The silence between us in the car is deafening.

Angelo drives his Lamborghini Diablo like he’s got a death wish.

I feel like a fucking coward, and now I wish I had resorted to violence and slugged him in the face right back. I’m the least one out of all of us to resolve things with violence, but man do I wish I could go back in time.

“How’s your face, pretty boy?” he asks, sarcasm rolling off his tongue.

“I’ve had worse slaps from my mother,” I reply. Totally untrue, of course.

Angelo rubs his chin, and I know this is far from over. “Do you know what gets me the most?” he goes on as I sigh and don’t bother asking what. “That my own best friend could sneak around behind my back with my fucking sister!”

“And do you know what gets me, Angelo?Valentina.She’s too scared to come to you with anything that you don’t or won’t approve of, so instead of coming clean, she hides and pretends and puts on a brave face, when the reality is, she’s a volcano about to erupt.”

“How bold of you to speak on her behalf, but I was talking aboutyou, not her.”

“I accept my part in this. I won’t insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise. We didn’t plan it. It just happened, and as much as I tried to push it away, I couldn’t. And I meant what I said, I love her, Angelo. And not even you will stop me from seeing her.”

I’ve made my decision. She ismine.

His jaw ticks. “Is that so?”

“Yes. You should know me enough by now to realize that I would never hurt her. That I’d never fuck with her just because I wanted a little fun. You know that’s not how I roll. I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you. I should have, and that is the only part I regret in all of this. But the reality is, what would you have said?”

Silence ensues again, and I know he’s considering my words.

After a long while, he says, “This isn’t how you do things within this family. You know how much I need to be able to trust you. Now I just don’t fucking know.”

Frankly, I’m insulted. I turn to him. “Is it so bad?” I challenge. “Me and Valentina? You know I’d treat her like a queen. I’ll worship the ground she fucking walks on if she’ll let me. I’d never do anything to hurt her physically or otherwise. I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt her, and if Georgie has done this, I’ll kill her too.”

His jaw twitches. “You sound as if you’re actually pissed at me, not yourself.”

“Like I said, the only regret I have is that I didn’t come to you, and frankly, the main reason I didn’t is because I’d never do anything to jeopardize our friendship, Angelo. That’s why I was hesitant to seek your approval, permission,whateverit is I think I need to get from you, and maybe part of that reason is because I think I’m not good enough for her, or better still, IknowI’m not good enough, but I’m a selfish bastard, and I want it anyway because the thought of her with any other man makes me want to be violent.”

He knows about my past. He knows about my issues and how I don’t trust very many people.

He knows about my father and my drinking phobia, and he’s helped me through some of the hardest times in my life. He’s been my number one supporter. He helped me get my P.I. business off the ground when nobody else gave a shit.

I’m where I am today because of him, because he believed in me and gave me a shot.

Angelo never asked me for a penny back, even though I made sure I did pay him back every last cent I borrowed. I’m a man of principal. I never took well to charity, even when it was given to me openly and with open arms.

He’s selfless like that.

Fierce and bold, like a Lion, but protective and warm to the ones he cares about most.

---