Chapter 6 Giovanni
GIOVANNI
Iran. I really fucking ran. My shoes pounded the pavement as ruefully as my heart thundered against my ribs, and my lungs burned from the effort of my sprint. I haven’t run like that since I was a boy dodging my brothers’ lemon bombs in the orchard that surrounds our childhood home.
I’m not a boy anymore, and this isn’t a game, but I’ll admit the thrill of the chase is sending a hot buzz of electricity straight to my balls.
Usually, I say jump and everyone asks how high.
No one has ever challenged me like Valentina just did, so although part of me is furious she denied my direct order, my grin while chasing her through the streets of Palermo was anything but threatening.
I almost caught her. I’d reached the platform just as the train doors shut with Valentina on one side and me on the other.
“Stop the train!” I shouted, slamming my palm against the glass of the ticket box while ignoring the startled glances of the station staff and a handful of late-night commuters. “Open the doors! Now!”
A uniformed attendant approached me with his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Mi dispiace, signor. It doesn’t work like that. Once the doors are closed, the train is gone. Next stop is Carlisle.”
And in that precise moment, I realized my chase wasn’t over.
I’ve found men who didn’t want to be found, money that vanished into shadows, and traitors who thought they could outrun the consequences of their actions in Carlisle. Compared to those, finding one woman should be easy. Especially since I know exactly where the chase will recommence.
I turn on my heel, smile blazing, and sprint back down the entry stairs of the station.
With the engine running and headlights slicing through the mist, my SUV waits at the curb.
My driver, a nervous teen with more loyalty than sense, is already out of the car, holding open the back driver’s side door for me.
After sidestepping him, I slot into the driver’s seat. The leather is warm from our hours’ long wait today, and the stitching on the embossed steering wheel scratches my palm when I grip it firmly.
The train from Palermo to Carlisle is fast, but I doubt it has anything on my determination.
“Signor Caruso…” The driver’s brows crinkle as he shifts from foot to foot. His panic is understandable. Disappointing me usually only ends one way. With death. “Should I have stayed with Ms. Valeria?”
Valeria? Fuck. For a second, lifelong responsibilities derail my plans. Valeria’s name evokes obligations and deals struck while pacing the hallway outside my father’s deathbed.
He’s dying. We all know it, though no one is game to say it aloud. The doctors stopped pretending months ago, and not long later, the house filled with the rancid scent of impending loss.
Our father made me the man I am today, and although at times his demands are tough, he’s only ever wanted what is best for his sons.
His dying wish is to orchestrate one last act of control before the curtain falls.
“Giovanni, you’re the eldest, so the family’s future rests on your shoulders.
” If the burden of the business he built from nothing weren’t already enough, he reminded me months ago that this has always been about more than power and money for him.
It’s a legacy. “It’s my hope to see my sons wed before I go and to meet the grandchildren who will carry the Caruso name into the next century. ”
Since I’ve always seen that side of our business as clinically neutral as the rest, I went along with his plan.
Given that I hadn’t met Valentina yet, I told my father he could select my wife-to-be, as is custom with arranged marriages.
I had only one term. No feelings. If there are no feelings, there’s no mess. It’s just business.
Valeria accepted my father’s proposal because it aligned with goals she had for herself. We’ve known each other for years, and neither of us wants more than the arrangement that would see our families’ dynasties reaching legendary status.
Seeing Valentina again has made it impossible for me to proceed with my father’s plans. I want to grant him his dying wish, which would honor him and the legacy he built, but not this way. Not at the expense of my happiness.
Valeria is a beautiful, intelligent woman.
She’ll make a perfect Cosa Nostra bride.
But there’s no fire or spark between us.
We’re business partners, not lovers. She wants security, and I want the freedom to run my family’s business without guilt.
It is destined to fail within months of my father’s passing.
The intensely hot sparks I felt while chasing Valentina through the streets of Palermo, however, could provide me with the best of both worlds.
I could have it all.
A fresh surge of adrenaline spasms through me. It thickens my cock and makes me impatient. “Go to the clinic and request that they cancel Valeria’s procedure.”
“Sir…” the driver murmurs again, his shock too high not to revert to English. “You want me to do what?”
“Tell them to cancel the procedure,” I repeat, slower this time. “I’ll send another car for you and Valeria.”
The driver hesitates as a mask of confusion slips over his face. “But, signor, Ms. Valeria—”
“I’ll send another car!” I shout with a finality that brooks no argument. I’m not requesting he do this. I am demanding he do it.
He scrambles to obey. While fumbling for his phone, he inches back from the car. I slam the driver’s door shut, then flatten my foot on the gas pedal. The driver’s face blurs when I tear out of the parking spot with my tires screeching and my heart pounding.
I’m no longer chasing a train or a woman.
I am pursuing a legacy that could validate decades of dedication.
As I race toward the highway, I force the high-horsepower motor to its limit. The train will reach Carlisle in a little over an hour. If I push it, I can be there before Valentina’s shoe even graces the platform.
Rain slicks the streets of Palermo, but my speed remains unchecked as I hit the call button on the dashboard. Nico answers my call two rings later.
“I got it handled. The shipment cleared customs without any issues.”
After feigning surprise, I get to the point of my call. “Can you do me a favor?” Confident he’ll comply with my request, I continue without pause. “There’s an IVF clinic in Palermo. It’s on the corner of—”
“The clinic you were taking Valeria to today?”
Again, I hum. “She’s there with one of our drivers. Can you send a car for them?” Guilt is responsible for my following words. “Make sure they look after Valeria. I canceled the procedure, but she may still be a little… tender.”
There’s a pause, then a low whistle. “You sure about this, Vanni? Dad won’t like it. He’s been telling everyone about your upcoming events.”
“The plan is still on… It just won’t be Valeria’s ass heating the driver’s seat.” My last sentence is a whisper.
A grunt of shock follows another pause. “You found her?”
I don’t answer him. I don’t need to. Nico understands me better than anyone, so he already knows I’m on the hunt.
“Consider it done, but I’m leaving the cleanup to you. This is above my pay grade.”
Laughing, I let him know I’ll take care of it, disconnect our call, and then focus on the road. The city falls away behind me as I speed down the open highway. The rain has lessened, but the air is thick with humidity and the smell of wet earth and diesel.
As I drive, my thoughts drift back to the morning I spotted Valentina. Something shifted inside me that day, and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
Since the highway is clear, I test the capabilities the salesman promoted while directing me toward this SUV. The speedometer climbs to an unsafe speed remarkably fast, and the motor shows the steady semblance of power my family will forever strive for.
My brothers would call chasing a woman I hardly know madness. My enemies would call it weakness. I don’t give a fuck what either of them says.
I’m doing this for me.
Fingers crossed Valentina feels the same pull, because if she doesn’t, I’m not opposed to showing her how the Carusos survived so many wars.
No isn’t in our vocabulary.