Page 65 of The Veiling

“Holy shit, cuz!”

“Isabelle.” I stood, striding to the couch, and sat next to her. “You hurt him?”

“He hurt me in the past!”

“No, no,” I shook my head, “I’m not mad at you for that. I’m proud of you.”

“Well, he was there and finally helpless and he’s put me…us…through so much and I’d had it. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, but I knew you’d be mad at me for going down there, so I just decided to leave him.” She shrugged. “If he died, he died.”

“He’s definitely close to it,” William snorted.

Proud but shocked. That was the only way to describe how I was feeling at that moment. There were cameras in the basement, but we had them disconnected when we began construction. I was not mad at her for going down there. I was mad she went down there alone and could have gotten hurt. However, I chose to bite my tongue at the moment because I was truly proud of her.

“Why did you keep him alive?” Isabelle sighed.

“I wanted to get more information about the people who worked for him so we could destroy his entire empire.”

“Those people won’t avenge him.” Noah rolled his eyes. “He treated everyone like shit. Even his own people.”

“Kill him now.” Isabelle exhaled. “I want to watch him die. I want him to see me happy while he’s miserable and dying.”

Noah was beaming. “As much as I think that makes you a badass, you don’t want to live with those images in your head for the rest of your life.”

“You don’t know what I want, Noah!”

“Bella,” Taking her hand in mine, I pulled her into my arms. “Listen to me, I appreciate what you’ve done already and if you want to take a few more blows at him, that’s fine, but Noah’s right. Even if you killed someone who wronged you your entire life and took people away from you that you loved, the image of death will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

I knew he was right, though I did not want to admit it at the time. I enjoyed every ounce of watching Felipe shake and cry out when I hurt him. I made my point. No part of me wanted to drag out his life any longer. The longer he was alive, the more chance he had of healing and escaping. I took a deep breath, collapsing into Valentino’s arms further. “Can I talk to you privately?”

“Of course.” He lifted his head. “Let me know when my brother arrives.”

The guys shuffled out of the room in a hurry, closing the door, leaving Valentino and I alone. I stood. “While I do understand you wouldn’t purposely put me in danger, I wish you had told me he was here.” I rested my hands on my hips. “I know why you didn’t, but it doesn’t give you an excuse to keep something that big from me. I never, ever ask you anything about what goes on down in that basement. I know you’reyou,” I waved a hand at him, “and I accept that about you, but when it’s something that directly involves me, you need to tell me.”

“Bella, I’m—”

“I’m not done.” A little anger rose in me once again. “What would’ve happened if I went down there and freaked out instead of what I did? What if I had tripped over him and he managed to get me somehow and hurt me?”

“He was chained and secured very well, but I understand.”

“I don’t care what you do, but in the future, if it involves me, I expect you to be transparent. You told me he was dead.”

He gnawed the inside of his cheek, shaking his head. “I did not lie to you, actually. You never asked me if he was dead. I was very careful not to lie to you.”

“Valentino!” I barked. “Omitting information about my damn uncle being chained in the basement is lying to me!”

“Okay, I understand.” She was right, and I knew it.

“Promise me.” I folded my arms over my chest.

He stood, taking my forearms in his hands. “I promise you, if I ever have anyone else in the house when it involves you, I’ll tell you.” He smirked. “But you have to promise me something.”

Squinting, I pursed my lips.

“If you ever kick someone’s ass like that again, I want to watch.”

A giggle escaped me, but I was still upset. “Fine.” I bent my arm, flexing my bicep, then relaxed. “I have to admit, it was fun to get a little revenge. I’ve never hated anyone in my life, but he’s the one person I have no humanity towards.”

Stretching his arm out, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me in close once again, pressing his lips to mine. “My little gangster.”

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