Chapter Forty-Four
Matteo
R ed still coats my vision like paint, obstructing my view and blocking all rational thoughts from seeping through. How dare Valentina cry when there’s a permanent ringing in my ears and wailing in my soul at the visual of her standing at the altar, being handed off to someone who isn’t me?
Over my dead body is another man going to call her his wife, and I do mean that literally. The thought alone seeps into my brain and rots away my cells like poison.
I spread my legs dominantly and take a moment to settle into the rather uncomfortable chair before I look back up at Thiago and the line of guns aimed straight at my head.
He stares at me shrewdly, still trying to work out why I just sauntered into his headquarters, unannounced, unarmed, and alone. Driven by my rage, I stormed out of my flat and came straight here without taking a moment to pause and think about whether this was a good idea.
It isn’t, but Thiago is going to promptly fix the deadly mistake he made in betrothing Valentina to someone else, or he’s just as quickly going to find himself trying to dig out of the grave in which I’ll have buried him alive.
It’s taking every ounce of willpower in me to stifle my anger and try to play this somewhat strategically. Asking for Valentina right out of the gate would only have resulted in me getting a bullet to the head, so I’ve offered something I know Thiago wants as much as I want her—my help in finding Adriana’s killer. I’m keeping the fact that she may be alive under wraps for now, a trump card to play later if needed.
“What do you want in return?” he asks.
I spread my arms, the very image of affected congeniality.
“A truce,” I say, using the opportunity to negotiate an alliance that will benefit us both. “No more bloodshed. No more going after members of my family. This ends today. If I walk out of this door without an agreement, then it’s war. But if you can agree to those terms, then I’ll overlook your crimes against my family up to this point.” I smile, knowing he’ll be surprised by my terms. “I think you can agree my offer is extremely generous.”
I am not to be fucked with right now. Does Thiago sense it? I have my lazily charming smile on, but he inspects me closely, cutting through the layers of veneer. My smile fades and my lips pull down into a flat, serious line as I clench my jaw. A muscle in my cheek spasms. There’s no hiding the real emotion I’m feeling anymore.
“ And ,” I add.
Thiago’s eyes flash and he scoffs. “I knew this wasn’t a selfless pursuit.”
“Never claimed it was.”
“What do you want?” he asks.
I blow out a slow, strained breath, my nostrils flaring.
Relax. Don’t fucking lose it.
“The woman in the gold dress.”
Thiago stills. Menace descends around him like a cloak, thickening the air until it’s hardly breathable. His reaction makes my fists clench. This won’t be an easy negotiation, but I won’t walk out of here until Valentina is mine.
“What?”
“At Callum Tellier’s gala,” I say. “There was a woman there in a gold dress. I saw her hug you.” The memory makes my teeth grind together. “I assume she’s one of yours. I want her.”
I keep my words purposefully vague, not wanting to reveal to him just how well we know each other or just how much she means to me.
“How do you know her?”
I stand and stare down at him where he's seated. The guards behind him lift their guns as I move, keeping them trained at my head. “That’s not relevant, nor is it any of your concern. What is, is the fact that I want her and I will have her. Give her to me and you have my word that I’ll help you find out what happened to Adriana.”
Thiago flicks a look at his second in command. An exchange goes unsaid, then the second nods and leaves the room. He turns his attention back to me, rising just as slowly as I did. We’re well matched in height, but his physical appearance is far more threatening than mine. Let him underestimate me because of it, that’ll play in my favor.
His lips draw back in a sneer. “Valentina is engaged.”
I slam my fist down on his desk. A pen holder leaps off the side and falls to the floor. The guards jump forward, but Thiago raises a hand to stop them.
There it is again, that word . That word, attached to her on one end but not me on the other.
Thiago’s brows flick upwards in surprise at my eruption. Gone is the congeniality, gone are the smiles. My true mask is revealed, and it’s one of possessive fury.
“Let me put this in simple terms you can understand, da Silva,” I seethe. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn I have steam coming out of my ears. “My price for peace is Valentina. If you want a truce, you give her to me. But if you’re in the mood for war, I will happily give you one. I dare you to try and give her to another man. I'll spill as much blood and leave as many bodies in my wake as it takes to get her back in my arms. I won't stop until she's mine. ”
“Don’t threaten me.”
“Don’t confuse my lack of reputation for lack of will. If you won’t agree to my terms, then I will raze you and your men to the ground and I will be merciless,” I declare.
Behind him, Thiago’s men look furtively at their jefe . They shift uncomfortably on their feet, sensing the potential conflict looming on the horizon. Tension fills the air as we face off, two alphas fighting for dominance. If I have to kill him to have her, then so be it. I’ll spend the rest of my life getting Valentina to forgive me for it.
Finally, Thiago answers, “No.”
“Then it’s war,” I announce steadily.
He narrows his eyes at me. “You’d forgive your father’s death with no retaliation and set terms for a truce instead, but you’d wage war for Valentina?”
Violence crawls like a maddening itch through my veins, poisoning my blood and turning it black.
“I won’t just wage it, Thiago. I’ll fucking win. You’ll die for nothing, because I’ll pry your sister from your cold dead hands and take her anyway.” His eyes darken but he says nothing. “What are you willing to risk for her? Think long and hard before you respond, because if the answer isn’t absolutely everything, then you won’t win against me. I only have everything to lose here and that’s Valentina.”
“You would destroy her family to have her?”
I shrug. “If that’s what it takes. If her family is standing in my way, then yes, without a moment’s hesitation.”
“Why?”
“Wouldn’t you do the same for your wife?”
Two of the guards look at each other in surprise. Even Thiago seems to still once more.
“So you intend to marry her?”
I straighten, the muscles of my back locking into place as I scowl. This fucker isn’t paying attention.
“Was that not clear? When I said I’ll have her, I meant in every way. I’m going to take real pleasure in ripping your name off her, Thiago,” I growl. “Forget you ever thought of her as Valentina da Silva. She’s Valentina Leone from now on.”
My cock throbs when I say her name and mine together. It sounds right. It sounds like I should have been saying it for far longer. Every part of me likes it.
Valentina Leone .
I could get high on the feeling it incites in my chest.
“There’s no way you can marry a cartel princess and keep your position, Matteo,” he points out. “Our ways are not so different from yours in that regard and we wouldn’t allow it if the roles were reversed.”
The meeting I asked Enzo to schedule with Marchesani is set for this afternoon. It’s my next stop after this.
“Let me worry about that,” I answer.
He smiles at me sharply. “Many men want Valentina. Once the call went out for her, they flocked by the hundreds.”
I think he expects to goad me into flying across his desk and punching him in the face. Instead, I laugh, the sound full of dark edges. “You think I don’t already know how many men would sell off a major organ to have her? I know. Believe me, I know. I have eyes,” I assure him. “I have ears, I have a heart. I know just how exquisite she is, just like I know I’m the only one who can make your sister happy.”
“And how the fuck do you know that?” he snaps.
“Ask her,” I urge. “Ask her who she wants, Thiago, and watch her choose me.”
I say it with a confidence I only partially feel, but I project an almost arrogant amount of certainty.
His left eye twitches. “Watch it, Matteo. Need I remind you that you’re still standing defenseless on my territory? I haven’t decided if I’m going to let you live yet.” He flicks another glance behind him, this time at another guard.
The guard exits and walks back in moments later with the paunchy second in command in tow. Valentina trails after them, her eyes red rimmed. Thiago’s man must have had her brought here the second I said her name.
“ Hermano —”
Her words cut off abruptly when she sees me and she stops in her tracks. Her gaze moves slowly from me to her brother and she blanches. By now, the guards have lowered their weapons, but they’re still held at their sides and visible.
“Matteo…” she whispers incredulously, walking to me.
My heart attempts to punch a hole through my chest so it can fly into the hands of its rightful owner.
“Stop.”
Valentina halts at Thiago’s request, still too fucking far from me, and glances over her shoulder at her brother.
“What’s going on?” she asks urgently. Her eyes come back to me full of a mix of worry and yearning.
“You tell me,” Thiago answers sharply. His tone draws her gaze back to him. “Matteo here stormed into my office and started making demands, not the least of which was that I break off your engagement or he’d declare war on the cartel.” Valentina’s startled eyes fly to mine, shock blooming in her irises. “So why don’t you explain to me why a man you’re not supposed to have ever even met is ready to fucking die for you?”