7. Tommy
7
Tommy
Valeria stopped throwing glares my way, having grown used to my presence. After this morning, she stopped putting up a fight altogether.
What I witnessed… I’m not sure what to make of it.
Someone has her shook up good. I want to ask her about what she’s done in her time away, but she’ll warp my curiosity into something else. However, the longer I go without knowing, the more unsettled I feel.
While she demands privacy taking a shower, I use the time to find something to tie the knob to my dresser so she can’t decide to try and leave without me. Once the knot is secure, I slip away to find Santino.
He’s with his family, of course.
I find all three of them spread out on a blanket out in the grass, almost soaking up the heat of the sun on this warm sunny day.
He notices my approach to the grass and lifts the glasses on his face over his hair, squinting at me.
There’s only one thing I’d ever come to him for, and it’s always work-related. It’s why he moves to stand and dusts off his slacks. One thing Santino has learned to do is keep his life separated from his career.
“I’ll be back before you can miss me. A couple of minutes at most,” he glances my way, “right?”
Glancing toward Camellia and Alle, I grimace at their wide-eyed, innocent stares. “Right.”
He claps me on the shoulder with a smile and sends a nod toward them before tugging me through the grass. “What can I do for you?”
“Valeria.” As if he shouldn’t already know, his sister’s name rolls off my tongue. “I was hoping you would have some sort of information by now.”
He sucks on his teeth and shrugs her shoulder. “Other than the fact that she’s addicted to gambling, and owes a shit ton of money, there’s not much else to find out. Either I save her and pay back her debt, or I throw her to the wolves and let her try to figure out how to survive for a little longer before she gets caught again.”
He speaks like both are reasonable options.
I hate that I remember her thrashing in her sleep, or the small meltdown she had while staring into my closet.
No matter how many times I remind myself, I will continue to remember that I left all my feelings for her in the past.
“She can’t leave,” I tell him with a scowl forming on my lips. “I’m not done with her yet.”
He snorts, finding amusement in my predicament. “Would you like to be the one to handle her debts? You’ll have to be working overtime if you want to make enough to cover her tab.”
I enjoy torturing those who double-cross us as much as the next guy, but I’m not sure I’d enjoy it if it were for Valeria. When I lift a brow, he clicks his tongue.
“One hundred grand.” He shakes his head and moves his hands to his hips. “I can’t tell if she’s terrible at it, or if she is too good and got in over her head.”
There’s a stirring in my chest that grows larger as I watch the debate happen behind his eyes. I tell myself to grit my teeth and accept whatever decision he makes. Every one of them is important to the outcome of the peace.
“She can’t leave,” I repeat, the words spilling from my lips without thought. They come out rough, like gravel stuffed in my throat.
His dark eyes travel over toward me, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking. However, his smile has lessened, and I’m sure he’s not used to me disagreeing with him often. Hell, I’m not used to it either.
“Of course, there is another way to clear her slate.” His eyes drift to his wife and kid. “Though I’m not sure taking out one of Renato Marino’s men will be received too well. Especially not one that puts money in his pocket. Might shake things up.”
My fingers curl at my sides as I realize there aren’t too many options. I’m not shy of killing men, but I would hate to be the one to disturb a tranquility that is years in the making.
Peace like this hasn’t existed since Leon was alive, and even then, things weren’t this quiet.
“Is her death worth keeping things the way they are?” Closing my eyes, I try to imagine what Santino is hoping for. He’s not a cruel brother, but he knows he has to lead with his head and not his heart. It’s always been that case with him. Camellia is the one who is at fault for the occasional mixing up of the two.
The way emotions flick behind his dark gaze as he imagined what a war can bring to us, I can see the hesitance.
“If I decide by myself, it may result in the uprising of my brother and mother, and they’ll want my head, I’m sure. However, if I call for a family vote, there’s only one choice. Letting her leave doesn’t seem to be an option as of now. Things are still quiet, so I don’t believe I have to make a decision now.” His nose scrunches, and he bares his teeth in displeasure. “Now, if one of them sniffs around my territory, putting mine at risk, then my sister’s blood won’t be the one getting spilled.”
As the weight in my gut eases, I cross my arms over my chest and consider the different options. No matter what, something needs to happen.
“She’s still not being honest, not completely.” Gritting my teeth, I can’t get her panicked expression out of my head. It’s like a curse. “Something happened to her while she was away.”
He motions for me to continue, sighing when I grunt instead. “Well, last time I checked, there isn’t a single person as good as you are when it comes to getting information out of someone. Do what you do best.”
“You want me to take her down below?” I ask, unable to stop the rare smile from forming on my lips.
He motions with his hands, leaving my question answered on purpose. I suppose he can’t be blamed if he’s not the one giving the order.
After seeing Urzo react to her being back, and already knowing how Bia feels, there’s no way I can rely on my usual tactics. Instead, I’ll have to adapt to figure out a different way.
“Now, may I go back to my family?” He’s already turning, inching his way back over.
I lost count of how many times I’ve tried to figure out how a man like him could cave to something many in his shoes would consider a weakness.
Grunting, I nod and thank him before making my way back inside.
I return to my room to the thud of the bathroom door hitting the frame. There are frustrated grunts behind the movement. I may have taken more time outside than I originally planned.
Hearing her grunts and frustrated curses, I decide it’ll be best to let her exhaust herself. Resting against the wall to hide my arrival, I stare at the door and listen to her talk to herself.
From asking herself how she got herself here in the first place, to calling herself foolish for trusting me. Even better, I enjoy hearing her curse my name and insult me when she thinks I’m not around.
After a few minutes, I lift from the wall and undo my binding. The bathroom air hits me like a wall of heat when I push the door open—thick with steam and the faint scent of her soap. My boots stick to the damp tile as I step inside, and that’s when I see her.
I expect her to come flying at me, possibly with a shampoo bottle in hand, hoping to blind me. Instead, I find her sitting on the counter, one of my towels wrapped around her body and the long tendrils of her wet hair dangling past her shoulders.
She looks defeated.
Instead of celebrating, I’m distracted. Her legs—bare and toned and right there —dangle over the edge, swaying slightly like she can’t quite keep them still.
My jaw tightens shut as water drips from her hair down the slope of her neck, disappearing beneath the knot against her chest.
I’m reminded once more that this isn’t the same teenager I chased after for years. Valeria is a grown woman now.
She always brings clothes with her. This time, she accidentally forgets? This is a trap. I can feel it in my blood. It’s a shame all of that blood is rushing straight to my cock, causing it to stiffen harder than steel against my leg.
I should leave. Slam the door. Pretend I never saw her like this. But my feet don’t move, feeling like I’m cemented to the floor.
I hate her . I hate that even after closing off my emotions to make feeling anything impossible, she still finds ways to get beneath my skin.
She looks up through her lashes when I enter, and Christ, the exhaustion in her dark eyes nearly knocks me back a step. Not surrender. Not defeat. Just…weariness. The kind that comes from fighting too long against something you can’t beat. Her brows come together, but her frown doesn’t feel sincere.
“You’re a dick, you know that?” Her arms move, and the knot covering her cleavage dips a little lower.
A little is enough to make my thoughts sizzle.
Valeria has made me feel annoyance and rage, but the sensation filling my chest is a new one I don’t know how to control or manage.
Her brows lift when my boot thumps against the tile with another step inside. I don’t realize I’m eliminating the distance between us before I can feel the heat radiating off her skin like she’s soaked up all the hot water from the shower.
Is her skin flushed from the water, or is it growing increasingly pink because I don’t have the strength to pull myself away?
She’s so vulnerable, and it’s the perfect reason why she’s clutching her towel as her body is curling together.
Fuck, I need to walk away. I need to.
My eyes are trained on another loose droplet of water on her skin, and without thinking, I reach out to swipe it away with the tip of my thumb.
Valeria inhales sharply, but she doesn’t speak. Hell, I’m not even sure she’s properly breathing. Her body is still, like she’s waiting for something terrible to happen. I haven’t exactly given her a reason to think otherwise.
Seeing how soft she looks, and how warm she feels against my fingers, doesn’t make me feel like I want to do anything bad. There is one thing on my mind, and I can’t shove it away.
“ Tommy .” Her voice wavers as she mutters my name, and something tells me I’ll be hearing it again and again, haunting me like a recording playing throughout my mind. There’s no fear there, or anger for locking her up. As she tilts her head back to look at me, I watch the way she swallows like she’s nervous.
She’s got a faded line on her throat, and I blink. The haze clears as I stare at the faded scar. “Who held a blade to your throat, Valeria?”
I know a blade cut as well as the back of my hand. Hell, I have them marked all over my body.
As soon as the question leaves my lips, she jerks away from my touch, and the hesitation in her eyes burns hot enough to make it disappear completely. I’ve hit a soft spot.
“None of your business,” she hisses before using her foot to try to shove me away. I don’t budge.
There is so much about this woman I don’t understand, and it’s beginning to eat at me. I don’t like being in the dark, and not knowing how to deal with her is leaving my mind reeling.
As my hand cups the back of her throat, her fingers dig into my wrist as I take in the thin line.
I don’t like it. Despite promising to bring her pain, someone’s beaten me to it. They’ve filled her with enough fear to leave her with night terrors.
“Elijah Sutton?” Recalling his name, I feel her pulse race beneath my thumb.
She’s terrible at holding a straight face. I can’t tell if I’m jealous of the man or loathe him for making her feel this way.
“Don’t,” she starts softly, like I can see all of her secrets spilling from a small scar, like it’s an opening to see what makes up the source of her fear.
I’ve got a talent for interrogating men to get the answers I want. I know how to push and how to make them squirm.
When I invade her space like this, she is bound to squirm. However, I can’t think when she’s wearing nothing but one of my towels. Damn thing hardly covers much.
The weight of all the questions I want answers to grows heavier as I see her emotions swimming behind her dark gaze.
With her siblings, I’m not used to seeing what I see in hers.
Gritting my teeth, I jerk my head and turn away. I’m bound to find out, eventually. If I have to wait a little longer, but it is what it is.
“Get dressed,” I order, leaving her before I accidentally do something I can’t take back.
“I would have if I didn’t get locked in here to begin with!” She calls out, her words bouncing off my back as I leave my room before she considers using her body against me again if that was her plan to begin with.
At this point, I don’t even know.