Soulless Devil (Sons of Valentino #3)(47)

“I… I’m not sure. But she is, and I wasn’t going to stand by and let that fucker get away with hurting her,” I hiss.

“Right,” Pops says.

“It’s fine, Pops. What’s the plan from here?” Theo’s words are unexpected. I frown at him. He got shot, beaten down, because Luca and I attacked the Russian bastards and he’s saying it’s fine. I should question his sanity. I’m not going to though.

“It’s done. Eye for an eye and all that bullshit. We hospitalized one of theirs; they put a bullet through one of ours,” Pops says. “The Petrovs know nothing about those girls. And we need to fucking keep it that way.” He’s referring to Maddie and Lilah, who are half Russian and half Italian, and their Russian side just happens to come from the fucking Petrovs.

“Agreed,” all four of us say in unison.

“Romeo, we’re going for a drive.” Pops turns to me.

I swallow. You know you’re in deep shit when Pops gets you alone. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll give you shit all day in front of everyone. But when he pulls you aside for a little one-on-one, you might as well dig your own grave.

I follow him down to the car and climb into the passenger seat.

“You know, I always thought you were the smart one out of all four of my children,” Pops says, breaking the tension-thick silence.

Okay, so we’re going for the good ol’ Italian guilt. Got it.

“I am.” I shrug.

“Really, because going after the fucking Petrovs alone wasn’t a fucking smart move.”

“I know,” I admit.

“I’m disappointed. I really thought you boys knew you could come to me with anything, that you could count on me to always have your backs. Why didn’t you come to me?” he asks, never taking his eyes off the road.

“I know I can come to you, Pops. This was just something I had to do.”

“Do you know how I knew your mother was the one, without a shadow of a doubt?”

“How?”

“When my father was killed, I—well, I didn’t handle it the best way. And your mom, she saw me. Really saw me. Saw what I was capable of. She didn’t run. She didn’t look at me like I was a monster. She accepted me. In my darkest moments, she was the only thing that could give me light.”

“I think I get it.” I sigh. It’s not until we pull up at the private airstrip that I turn and look at him, questioningly. “Why are we here?”

“You have a flight to catch. Go get Olivia and bring her home,” he says, handing me a manila folder.

It doesn’t surprise me that he knows who Livvy is. Nothing ever gets past my father. The fact that he’s handing me this, though, that’s odd. “What’s in the folder?” I ask, almost too afraid to open it.

“The address where you’ll find her. She’s not at her parents’ house, Romeo.”

No, that can’t be true. She told me she was with her family. Why would she lie to me?

“Just go get her. Bring her home. Romeo… What happened to her, it’s going to take a long time for her to heal. If you truly care about this girl, you’re going to have to keep that in mind,” he says as if he can hear my unspoken thoughts.

“Got it. Thanks, Pops.”

“And, next time, fucking come to me first,” he grunts as I exit the car.





Chapter Twenty-Six





I’m supposed to be returning to New York tomorrow. I’m not really sure I can do it. I want to. I want my life back. I want to be with Romeo. I’m just not one hundred percent sure I can handle the fear of being back in the city. I just keep hearing those words over and over.

Next time, I’ll make sure it’s my turn.

I swallow another gulp of the vodka I found in the back of the pantry earlier today. It’s been a really long, lonely week. My thoughts have not been healthy. I know that. I’ve tried to keep myself occupied, tried to remind myself that I won’t feel like this forever. At least I hope I won’t. It’s a lot harder to pretend that you’re okay when you’re alone and no one is scrutinizing your every move. Those weeks I spent in Romeo’s apartment, I could pretend a little. Even when I couldn’t, when I felt like there was no hope, he was there to hold me. He let me cry as much as I needed to. When I’d wake up screaming in the middle of the night, he’d be right there, whispering the sweetest promises.

Promises that I was safe. Promises that he was never leaving. Promises that we were going to get past this together.

I wish I’d just gone with him to Canada. Why did I think having space would be a good thing? It hasn’t been. I can’t say I’ve been completely alone. Kirk’s been dropping in daily to check on me. He never stays long, but it’s nice that he stops by. I can at least look at myself in the mirror again now and not see the physical reminders of that night. I wish the internal scars would heal as easily as the bruises.

I jump up when there’s a knock at the door. Kirk doesn’t usually knock. That knock is also harder and louder than what Kirk would use. My first thought is that they’ve found me. Who else could it be? I’m in the middle of nowhere.

“Livvy, open the fucking door now,” a gravelly voice yells from outside. A voice I know all too well.