Chapter 28
Grace
I could feel the knife plunging into his neck. My father. The Don.
I killed him.
I’ve wanted to kill him for so long. I fantasized about it. I wept for hours in my room after they told me Gio was dead, imagining all the ways I’d kill him. I didn’t know how I’d do it, and now that it’s done, I’m still in disbelief.
I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t think. I just saw the chance, and I acted. I grabbed the knife and I killed him as all of the fury and rage from my whole life spilled out of me in that moment.
I felt horrible. I felt broken. And I felt … liberated.
It felt good. Yet again, I feel as though I must be sick. I’ve killed, and I have no regrets. I’ve fallen in love with a man who took me prisoner. I must truly be sick.
“Princess?” Gio’s rough cadence when he calls my name makes my body heat with need.
I look over, snapped out of my thoughts.
Gio is looking at me, concern clear on his face.
We’re stopped at a red light. His truck is idling beneath us.
We had to walk a few blocks, and all the while I gripped his hand with fear as though my father was coming for us.
But he’s dead. I have to keep reminding myself of that fact.
“I’m okay,” I say softly. For some reason, I want to lie to him. I don’t want him to be upset or to worry about me. I know that’s crazy, but it’s the truth.
“You’re not okay,” he says simply. “We’ll be home soon.” He reaches across the truck and takes my hand, a sudden and comforting gesture.
It’s such a small thing, but I needed it.
Home. I’ve never had a home. Only a prison. I look at him from the corner of my eye and wonder if he’s going to put me in that room. He can’t. It will crush me if he tries. I’m finally free, and I know what I want. I want him. I want a life together. But I can’t be caged anymore. Never again.
I lean back in the seat and nod my head.
Gio is bruised and beaten, in horrible shape, but he’s still going.
He’s the strongest man I’ve ever met. He was willing to do anything to save me, to keep me safe.
Despite everything, I know the kind of man Gio is.
He’s the kind of man I want beside me for the rest of my life.
I think he wants me too, but I need to hear him say it. I’m desperate for those words.
The image of my father’s bleeding corpse keeps coming back to me.
I squeeze Gio’s hand, and he squeezes back. I have to hold on tightly or else risk falling into my waking nightmare. Gio can help me. I know he can. He’s been through this before. He’s killed before.
We pull up to his house, the gravel driveway rumbling beneath the tires. I get a good look at it for the first time, the only time, without any fear. It’s a beautiful house, built to look like a cabin, but I know it’s much bigger than it seems.
It looks like a home. I can just picture the porch swing. I look to my left at Gio and I wonder if he’d build one for me. He’s given me everything I’ve ever asked for. But things are different now.
They’ll always be different.
“Come on, princess,” he says as he climbs out of the truck. He walks around the front and takes my hand again. “Let’s go inside.”
“Okay,” I say nodding my head and feeling so unsure, and let him lead me through the large front door.
I take a good look around as I enter. I vaguely remember the modern furniture and clean sleek lines as my uncle took me away a few days ago.
Gio takes me into the kitchen and sits me down at the granite island on a bar stool.
It feels strange to be in his house but not in my room.
To be free for the first time. Even at my father’s house, someone was always watching.
I look up at Gio and wonder if that will be him from now on.
Something inside of me settles, knowing the answer already. Gio’s different. I know he is.
It also feels normal to be sitting there with him. He goes into the refrigerator and offers me wine. He pulls a bottle out, dark purple, almost black. I can’t read the label, but it doesn’t matter.
“No thanks,” I say in a soft voice, although I could use something for my nerves. I’m too shaken, and I feel on edge. But I need my wits. He nods and makes himself a drink. Whisky with ice. He sits down across from me, ice clinking in his glass.
We’re quiet for a moment as I take in the place.
“Come here,” he says, holding an arm out.
I stand quickly, needing his touch. I need his comfort; I need his reassurance. He reaches out and grabs my hips, pulling me toward him and into his lap. I bury my head into his chest, loving his warmth as he holds me there. I curl up against him and for the second time, I let myself go.
I sob into his chest. Everything seems to be too much for me to handle anymore.
He holds me, softly stroking my hair. “It’s okay,” he says softly.
But it’s not okay. I killed my father. I murdered him with a knife in the most brutal way imaginable. There was so much blood, so much more than I could have imagined. I still can hardly believe that I did it.
I’m a sobbing, shaking mess, my body trembling and my breath coming in ragged, but Gio holds me tight and whispers gently into my ear. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I have you. I’ll never let you go, princess.”
That’s what I need to hear. Never let me go. I can’t live without him.
After a good hard sob, I’m an exhausted wreck. He releases me as I finally calm down. He wipes my tears and kisses my cheeks.
“You’re safe now, princess,” he says.
I shake my head, not feeling safe or secure at all. I wrap my arms around myself and take in a long inhale, just trying to calm down
“Trust me.” He pauses and looks me in the eye. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course,” I say softly.
I climb off his lap after a few minutes and pace across the kitchen.
It’s a large kitchen with a big island in the middle.
The tile backsplash is a blue and green geometric pattern, and the cabinets are all dark wood.
The appliances are stainless steel. It looks like a normal home. Like a real home.
“Can I have a tour?” I ask, trying to keep my mind off the images. The horrible images that keep flooding through my mind
“Of course. You can do whatever you want, princess.”
I smile, then walk out of the kitchen. He follows me, drink in his hand, ice clinking against the glass.
His living room is sparse, but nicely furnished.
There’s a lot of light from multiple large windows and a sliding glass door in the back.
I walk through the living room and he lingers behind me, not saying anything.
He lets me wander around his home, looking at every little thing.
I’m not taking it in though. I’m only distracting myself, and I’m sure Gio knows that. He’s patient though.
I look into his bedroom, at his large bed. There are guns stacked in the corner.
The bed looks so inviting. I strip out of my clothes and crawl onto it, pulling the covers over my body. I look back at Gio, wanting to see his reaction.
I can’t go back to the room. I just can’t.
Gio gives me a small chuckle as he walks over to the bedside. “You can’t sleep in the middle. I need room, too.” He leans down and kisses my forehead, pushing the hair from my forehead.
A sense of relief washes over me, but it doesn’t last long.
“We have to go, princess.”
I look at him with a hint of worry, pulling the blanket closer to me. I don’t want to leave. I just want to stay here and deal with everything threatening to consume me. I’m overwhelmed.
“I have to go see my father.” It takes a moment for his words to sink in. I know his father’s the one who sold him out. Tears prick at my eyes, but the anger keeps them away. “And you need to go to the safe house.”
“And by ‘see’ you mean?” I ask with my eyes on the back wall, and a white-knuckled grip on the blanket.
“I’m going to kill him, princess. I’m going to kill him for what he did to you.” Gio’s voice is low and threatening.
“Don’t leave me,” I whisper. I feel weak, but I don’t want to be left alone.
“I have to do this.”
I look up at him, pleading, “Then take me with you.” I don’t know why I asked. It sounds ridiculous, but the thought of him leaving shreds me.
“I can’t risk you. I can’t.”
“I don’t want you to go.” Tears stream down my face and I grip on to him.
He kneels on the bed and cups my chin in his hand. “My princess, I’ll be back. I promise you. Let me take you to a safe place. I’ll give you a phone, it’s untraceable, but I’ll know where you are and I’ll call you as soon as it’s done.”
My chest pains, clenching in agony. “Please don’t.” The wretched words leave my lips even though I know he’s going to go. There’s no stopping him. This must be done.
He crawls closer to me, the bed groaning from his weight and he holds me close.
I can’t resist the urge to take his lips with mine.
I pull him closer to me, gripping onto him, not wanting him to leave.
“Princess,” he breathes the word, pressing his lips to mine, his tongue slipping along the seam of my lips until I part for him.
He groans into my mouth, pushing the covers away and letting his hands roam over my body.
We’re both covered in blood and filth. But I don’t care. I want him. I need him. I have to have him close to me, consuming every part of me.
“Don’t leave me,” I plead with him. Breaking the kiss only to help him strip his shirt off.
“Once more,” he says, letting the shirt fall to the floor. His chest is bloodied and bruised, and it makes my heart clench with pain. I close my eyes and listen to his words as he adds, “And then never again.”
He slowly lowers me to the bed, kicking his jeans off. When I open my eyes, I see his piercing gaze, full of devotion and so much more. Love. I know he does. But I need to hear him say it.
He pushes my legs wider, his hips butting against mine as he lines the head of his dick up at my entrance.
He eases himself slowly into me, moving back and forth, inching his way in. My neck arches, and my nails dig into his back.
I gasp, only then realizing that I’d been holding my breath as he slams deep inside of me, buried to the hilt.
Yes!
I need to feel all of him. Every inch of my skin comes to life as he moves in and out of me with a relentless pace. The headboard knocks against the wall as my head thrashes.
Gio grabs my chin and molds my lips to his, kissing me with the passion I have for him.
My heels dig into his ass, wanting more. I want the beast that’s taken me, I need him now.
“No,” Gio says, pulling away from me, but not stopping his merciless pace.
“I need you like this. Raw and vulnerable and with me,” he kisses me hard and with a desire that I can’t deny.
“Just like this.” He pushes himself all the way in and pulls out slowly, taking his time and driving my release further and further up.
“Gio,” I whisper as he kisses along my neck. My body heats and sweet desire stirs low in my belly, threatening to shove me over the cliff.
“I love you,” I whisper the words as my back arches and my hardened nipples rub against his chest. The sensitive skin is directly connected to my throbbing clit and it brings me that much closer.
“I love you, Grace,” Gio says, sucking in a breath and pounding harder and faster into me. His blue gaze pierces into me. “I love you so fucking much.”
His blunt fingernails dig into my hips as he thrusts his thick cock into me over and over. A cry of pleasure tears through my throat as every nerve ending in my body blazes with a pleasure so intense I can barely stand it.
His eyes never leave mine as he rides through my orgasm, once, twice, a third time, before slamming into me and cumming with me.
We both lay in bed, panting and sated, clinging to each other. I hold onto him, every inch of my skin that I can manage touching his, not wanting to let go. I don’t want him to leave me.
I’m afraid he’ll never come back.