28. Stella
28
STELLA
I wake up to an irritating beeping noise right next to my head.
It’s steady, or maybe that’s the pulse rattling in my skull as I focus on my surroundings. Bright white light filters past my eyelids first, and I notice the scratchy blanket I’m tucked beneath, then the oxygen monitor on my right hand and the IV hooked to my forearm, leading up to the beeping machine.
My entire body feels like it was stretched to its limits and thrown from the very top of a mountain.
Or a tower, I suppose.
Flexing my fingers, I encounter something soft and shift to see Leo’s head resting on the bed next to my leg. His eyes are closed, one purple and badly swollen, twitching in REM. I slowly run my hand through his black hair, admiring the luxurious feel of it under my fingertips.
There’s a large bandage over his right eyebrow, and the index and middle fingers on his dominant hand are held together in a splint, confirming my previous suspicions.
I don’t care about that right now, though. My heart is full as I look at him, noting the casual rise and fall of his chest, reminding me that he’s alive.
Fuck. I had no idea it would feel this good to acknowledge life. That something as simple as touching my husband’s hair would light me up inside.
My husband .
The longer I stare at him, mesmerized by his mere presence, the more I consider his question about my future.
Our future.
My touch rouses him, and he looks up at me with sleepy, smoky eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“You’re here.”
He smiles, and my stomach somersaults.
“Where else would I be?” he replies.
I try to shrug, but one arm is trapped against me, the slight movement making me grimace. Glancing down, I notice the blue sling it's wrapped in and lift my brows in surprise.
“Dislocated,” Leo offers, sitting up. He cracks his neck, revealing more purple-and-black skin down the side of his face. I’m afraid to see how the rest of him looks. “When the elevator crashed, the impact must have caused it to pop out of the socket. We’re lucky that’s all that happened, frankly.”
Frankly. My eyes widen, and I rush forward, reaching for him. “What happened to Frankie?”
Leo grunts. “He’s fine. Recovering down the hall actually, if you want to go see him later. You deserve a thanks for saving his ass, too. Since you suggested he was poisoned, the auction organizers were able to find and administer an antidote. He’ll be on oxygen for a while because of the damage it did, but…I suppose it’s better than the alternative.”
Exhaling, I give him a look. “You suppose ?”
“Would’ve hated for him to die before I could kill him myself. He was supposed to help me keep an eye on you, and instead, he almost got all of us killed.”
“What were those guys even doing there? Why did they want me?”
Leo hesitates, leaning back in his chair. “I killed my father and a bunch of other De Tore men during a meeting the day after we married. The reason I rejected you that night was because I couldn’t afford to take things any further. I needed you to leave before my superiors came after me, so I asked Irene to be your guide and to help you get as far away from Boston as possible.”
A shiver skates down my spine, and I settle back against my pillow. “Why’d you kill him?”
“He deserved it.” Leo shrugs and places his palm on my knee. “The man refused to see you as anything but some kind of pawn, and even back then, I knew I… Well, it might have started out that way, but I knew almost immediately after making you mine that I wouldn’t let him use you. And so, if he couldn’t have you, and none of the De Tores could have you and get vengeance against your family, then neither could I.”
I glance down at my lap, toying with the oximeter on my index finger. “I thought you said you’d keep me safe. That in your luxury condo, I’d live a great, protected life.”
“That was my belief at the time. But after your altercation with my father, I quickly realized that keeping you locked away up there made you a target. Plus…I don’t know. You had this deep effect on my psyche, Stella. I told you I’d been watching you for a long time before we married in that church, and every second I spent with you, even though there weren’t many, just dug my grave deeper. I couldn’t believe how I’d lucked out, though I also didn’t…I didn’t want to be like your father, stifling you. Making you miserable. So I sent you away.”
Irene’s sudden vested interest in my escape back then makes sense now. I approached her after drugging Leo, certain that if anyone was going to help, it’d be her—even as she seemed to despise me. She didn’t ask any questions, and I was on a flight across the country before the sun was up, trusting her promise that nothing would happen to me.
She said she’d keep my secret so long as I fulfilled my dreams to the best of my ability.
And it’d been Leo’s sentiment all along.
Shaking my head, I ask, “So, what happened with the auction? Valerie’s never going to be invited again, is she?”
“It’s very doubtful. I made a hefty donation in order to keep the details of what happened in the tower on the down-low. Still, I think it’s safe to say the Black Rose Auction organizers aren’t going to be chomping at the bit anytime soon to invite a Ricci, a De Tore, or a Van der Vorm to another function.” He pauses, squeezing my knee. “Not that it matters, seeing as I got the best prize there anyway.”
“You didn’t even pay,” I point out, snorting.
He stands, then leans a knee on the hospital bed beside my thigh. Gently, so very gently, he presses a kiss to my lips, and my head swims for entirely different reasons.
“I paid,” he says when he pulls back. “Something tells me I’ll be paying for the rest of my life as well.”
“Nah, that sounds like my sister Ariana. She’s super high-maintenance.” I slide my free hand over his jaw, reveling in the feel of him. My body heats as I remember all the ways I’ve felt him before, and suddenly, I want more. I swallow down my desire. “I’d be content just going back to Boston with you.”
Leo freezes, every muscle in his shoulders seeming too tense. He draws back. “What?”
“Well, yeah.” A blush crawls up my face. “It’s kind of hard to be married and live in different states. Do…?” My breathing grows ragged as panic threads through my insides. “Do you not want to be married anymore?”
“No.”
My eyebrows arch, offense stabbing me in the gut.
I blink, tears springing to my eyes immediately, and then blink again to keep them at bay. It doesn’t work, and they spill down my cheeks anyway. I shove at his chest. “Then why are you even here, Leo? All this effort, and you’re just giving up?—”
He cuts me off with another kiss, and I let out a small “ tch !” of surprise. This time, his tongue delves past my lips, warming me in places I forgot about.
When we break apart, he smiles. It’s big and wide and freeing .
“You can’t get rid of me that easily. I just don’t want to go back to Boston.”
“Oh.” I frown, considering this. “How come?”
“There’s nothing tying me to that city anymore. I’ve resigned my position within what’s left of the family, and I have no desire to go back. I’d much rather spend my time going where you go and watching you flourish.”
I scoff. “Yeah, well, that’s gonna be kind of hard to do without the orchid. I don’t think my boss will promote me without it.”
“Fuck that guy,” Leo says. “I’ll buy you a lab, and you can run it yourself. Hire your own employees and do your own research without time constraints or authoritarian oversight. You don’t need the flower, and you never did, stellina . You are a star in your own right, and…well, that’s why I fell in love with you. What was maybe just one night for you back then was seven years for me, and I hope you’ll let me stay by your side for the foreseeable future so that I can prove it to you.”
“What will you do? If you’re not a don?”
“I don’t know. Leaving the Mafia isn’t exactly a thing people do, but…I’ll figure it out.” He kisses my fingertips. “From here on, I won’t live a life that endangers you in any way. No matter what I have to do, I will keep you safe for as long as you’ll have me.”
My heart does somersaults in my chest, but I’m not really sure what to say. I open my mouth, and nothing comes out.
Not waiting for an answer, he climbs on the bed, kicks off his shoes, and wraps an arm around my waist.
When he takes a piece of my hair between two fingers, I gasp. “It’s so short!”
He twirls it, then brushes it against the tip of my nose. “I like it. Suits you.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to wrap it around your cock for a long time.”
His deep belly laugh catches me off guard, and I stare up at him, awestruck, as his chest rumbles with the sound. Those smoky eyes cool off, as if being this close to me, being here , removes some of the pressure he’s been feeling.
Slowly, I lift my hand, turn his face down, and kiss him thoroughly.
Deeply.
Maddeningly.
We’re breathing hard when we pull away this time, and I return his toothy smile. “I think I love you back.”
“You think?” He snorts. “Not exactly inspiring confidence, wife.”
“Yeah, well.” I poke him in his side, earning a wince. “You’ve got a lot to prove to me. Luckily, going where I go should give you plenty of time to do that.”
“Oh my God , are you two done fucking yet?”
Genevieve stands in the doorway in a sleek pencil skirt and deep-red blouse, startling us. Her black hair is pinned back, and while she looks as devastating as she did at the auction, there’s a slightly different air to her here. Something more formal and reserved, even as she looks us over with a hint of playful disgust.
“You wish we were fucking,” Leo mutters, kissing my forehead.
“That’s true. I’m a little offended I wasn’t invited to the show, given everything I’ve done for you.”
Leo rolls his eyes, but she ignores him as she struts into the room, giving me a once-over.
“You look like hell, puppy.”
I smirk. “Thanks, Mommy .”
Leo stiffens at my side.
Genevieve comes to my side, perching on the opposite edge of the bed, and pulls out a medium-sized purple box. She pushes it toward me, undoing the ribbon at the top. “That being said, I’m glad you’re alive. Otherwise, this would’ve been completely useless.”
The box’s sides fall open as she removes the ribbon, revealing a smaller glass case and bright, almost-amethyst petals. My mouth drops in a gasp, and I reach for it, excitement thrumming inside me.
“Oh my God! How did you get this?”
“Grabbed it from Frankie when I realized he wasn’t acting like himself. Figured he’d drank too much and didn’t want to risk him losing it… I did not think he’d been poisoned. Although that’s just another day in the life, huh?”
Neither of us says anything. I grab for the box, but she pulls it back, just out of my reach.
“Whoa, not so fast.” She points a manicured finger at me. “I have one condition if you want this flower.”
“Of course you do.” Leo sighs.
She gives us both a seductive, wicked grin and places the orchid directly in my lap. Then she turns to him and sucks in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. Like she’s building up the confidence for her request.
“I want you to kill my husband.”