36. Luna
THIRTY-SIX
LUNA
The blinds were thrown open, exposing the morning sun to the once dark room. Luna moved over to Valerio, pressing soft kisses to his face to wake him up. He groaned, stirring awake. He reached up to cup her face and kissed her.
“I can get used to being woken up like that.” He smirked, pressing one more kiss to her lips. “I would also prefer to wake up with your cunt choking my dick, but we have time to test that method.”
Luna shook her head. “Until you’re healed, that won’t be happening.”
“That’s the only way I’ll heal.” He reached out to pinch her ass, causing her to swat away his hands.
She helped him sit up, setting the pillow to support his back. Then she grabbed the tray from the desk, setting it on his lap.
“What is all this?” he asked.
She got into bed beside him. “I made us breakfast. There’s eggs, fruit, potatoes, and bacon.”
“You don’t like bacon,” he said, grabbing one of the plates.
“But you do,” she said, giving him a small smile. “Was it disgusting to cook? Yes. But if it’ll miraculously help you heal, then I’m willing to cook it.”
He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger there. “Thank you. Seriously, you don’t have to do all of this for me.”
“Yes, I do. I know you would do the same for me if the roles were reversed—actually, you did do it for me,” she said, grabbing her plate. “Now eat. The doctor said he was going to stop by later to check on your back. Make sure it’s not infected or anything. I think he also might suggest you start walking, so fuel up.”
He ate his entire plate, taking bites off of hers as well. She let him, overly grateful for the fact he was alive and right beside her.
A knock came at the door. Before either of them could invite the person in, the door was being thrown open by Dante.
“Good morning, lovebirds. Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” He grinned, walking over and plopping down on the foot of the bed.
“There’s nothing to interrupt. I can’t fuck until I’m healed,” Valerio said, crossing his arms. Luna took the tray off the bed, setting it on the desk again. “Or at least that’s what my nurse says.”
She shook her head, sitting back on the bed. “You’ll be fine.” His vulgar mouth was doing things to her body she couldn’t act on either, but she couldn’t tell him. Somehow he would muster up superhuman strength to fuck her, and she wasn’t going to allow him to risk any harm to his healing body.
Dante let out a small chuckle. “How are you feeling?”
“The pain meds are working, that’s for sure,” Valerio said.
Allister peeked his head into the room before entering. “Good, you’re awake. Given how light the room feels, is it safe to assume you haven’t told him anything yet?”
Luna shook her head, rolling her eyes. “No, Allister. I haven’t, but now I will.”
Valerio looked between the three of them. “You mentioned something last night. I barely heard it before I passed out.”
She bit her lip, looking at the other two men in the room. There was no good way to say the plan. Really, she just had to rip off the Band-Aid, so that was exactly what she did. “We want to get rid of our fathers. Both of them.”
Valerio was silent for a moment. She could see the thoughts swirling in his eyes as he looked at her. She had always admired his intelligence and his knack for figuring out people’s intentions, so revealing their plan to him made her nervous. Would he agree with it? Would he fight it? She wasn’t sure, especially when his face gave no indication of what he thought.
“Why?” he asked slowly. “I feel like I’m missing a couple of key components, so I need you all to explain this to me in detail.”
This time Dante took the lead. “Luna’s father tried to kill her, our father tried to kill you. It’s quite simple when you think about it. We need to eliminate the threat before the threat eliminates us.”
“So Finn confirmed it was her father?” Valerio asked.
“Well, no. Not exactly. Finn wasn’t able to find anything yet,” Allister said. “But you had thought it was him before, without any clear evidence.”
“I did. I am willing to go head-to-head with that son of a bitch if I have to, but I gave Finn a chance to prove me otherwise. Now you’re claiming that our father tried to kill me. What makes you think that?”
“You’re not his only heir. At least not while he thinks I’m pregnant,” Luna said. “Your father knew you weren’t on his side anymore. Your loyalty had shifted, but while there was someone else carrying Vitali blood, maybe he could shape the baby into someone whose loyalty wouldn’t waver.”
“That’s not proof though,” Valerio said, shaking his head. “I understand what you’re saying, but there isn’t a baby. He would want more proof before he ever tried anything like that.”
“You were shot in the back. From what Luna told us, you were out on that balcony for a long time. Both of you were. You could have been shot in the chest when you were looking out directly, but you weren’t. You were shot when you turned your back,” Dante told him. “Luna wasn’t shot either. If they wanted both of you out, why not get you both while you were open. Unless Luna had something of importance. You know our father.”
Valerio’s jaw clenched. Luna knew what was going on in his mind: the denial, the refusal, the betrayal. She had gone through it herself. She didn’t want it to be true either, but it was. That was why they needed to do something about it.
“Has he tried contacting any of you?” Valerio asked.
“I made sure no one knew you were in the hospital. If he contacted us asking about you, that would be the only proof I needed,” Luna said. “I know you don’t want to believe this, but I seriously think it's the truth.”
“I’m not denying it,” Valerio said. “He’s not above it. Neither of our fathers are. I just never thought I would be on the receiving end of it.”
Allister sighed. “Even if we don’t know one hundred percent for sure, look at the facts. As long as both the Kingsley don and the Vitali don are alive, you don’t get a moment of peace in either of your lives. Both of your fathers have allegedly tried to have you killed. What kind of life does that leave for you? Or perhaps for your children? Will they take one child as the Vitali heir and another for the Kingsleys?”
Luna swallowed hard. “I won’t let anyone else suffer because of them.”
“We need to think about this. Come up with an actual plan before we even think about going in guns blazing. So much could go wrong. If they find out who did it, we’re dead. All of us,” Valerio said.
Luna held her breath. She couldn’t do it if he didn’t agree. She didn’t know where to start or how to lead or get organized. But he did. He was strong and powerful and confident. Without him, the plan would fail.
He sighed, grabbing Luna’s hand. “But that doesn’t mean you guys aren’t right. I almost lost you, Luna. You almost lost me. They won’t stop, I know they won’t.”
“With you leading the Vitali empire, and Finn leading the Kingsley empire, we can actually change this shit once and for all,” Dante said. While he tried to empower Valerio, his voice betrayed him with a slight quiver at the end. “Think about our mother, what she would have wanted.”
Luna swallowed harshly. Too many people had suffered for far too long.
Valerio pushed a strand of her hair back, his eyes glossing over as if he was remembering something painful. “We all have to understand what this means. Once we reach that point, there is no going back. Not anymore.”
“I’m ready for it,” Luna muttered, closing her eyes in relief.
Things would either change or they would die trying.