Chapter 13 Chiara
Chiara
Angelo has kept his mouth shut since we landed. I half expected him to shove me into a car with Kane and disappear, but apparently he can’t bear to be away from me.
Kane’s fingers brush my hip as he reaches over to unclip my seatbelt while Angelo has a terse phone conversation. His touch makes me shiver, but I make a concerted effort not to react. I’m still slightly embarrassed that I gave in to my libido so easily.
I could try blaming it on PTSD, but we both know that’s bullshit. Besides, having Angelo walk in as I recovered from a mind-blowing orgasm was the cherry on the cake.
A smirk escapes as I recall his furious expression. And the way his cock tented the front of his sweats.
I guess my husband has a voyeurism kink. Hardly a surprise given the creeper has been watching me on camera for weeks.
A man with no personality sits in the driver’s seat. I don’t recognize him, so I assume he’s a new hire. He’s built like a linebacker and appears more than capable of keeping us safe. That he keeps his eyes to himself is a selling point.
Some of the other guards are not exactly respectful when Kane and Angelo aren’t around. Carlo was one of them. Past tense.
My memory replays the moment the bullet blew his head apart. Bile creeps up my throat, and I swallow it down.
"He's what?" Angelo seems angry about something, his default mood, so I delay climbing out of the backseat, needing a distraction from horrible thoughts and curious enough to want to listen in on the conversation. "The fucking idiot," he fumes. "How could he be so stupid?"
Who's he talking about? My eyebrows scrunch together.
“Move your butt, kitten,” Kane says in an amused tone. “Someone’s excited to see you.” And just like that, I forget about Angelo and his mysterious conversation.
Coco barks and yips with excitement when she spots me. Fina laughs as my dog pulls the leash from her hand and comes bounding over. She springs into my arms and licks every inch of skin she can reach while I laugh and cry in equal measure.
Kane wipes my tears away with his thumb as Fina watches. There are questions in her eyes, but she says nothing as I push past her, eager to get changed out of the borrowed clothes I’m wearing.
She follows me upstairs to my room and then pushes the door shut behind her. Felix is curled up on my bed. He lifts his head, sneers for a moment, and then shuts his eyes. Looks like I’m in his bad books. I guess he has abandonment issues.
At least Coco has apparently forgiven me. She bounces around and then hops onto the bed as I shuffle into my closet in search of some fresh clothes that don’t swamp me. I try not to glance in the mirror. Purple bruises and scrapes adorn my body, reminders of my not-so-fun vacation in Scotland.
When I walk back into my bedroom, Fina sits on the bed, mindlessly stroking Coco, who preens under her touch. They’re best friends now.
“Thanks for taking care of them,” I say to Fina, gesturing at my pets.
“I was happy to pet sit.” She smiles. “Good practice,” she quips before snapping her mouth shut. I sense she didn’t mean to say that last bit. “How are you?” My eyes narrow. She’s hiding something, but I decide to put a pin in that for now.
“I’m okay,” I reply. I’m one hundred percent not okay, but it could have been worse. And all things considered, I was far luckier than most of the other women.
The sooner that English bastard gets what’s coming to him, the better.
“You sure?” Fina doesn’t appear convinced.
I exhale slowly as I crawl onto the bed and lean back against my pillows. Felix stretches and slides close enough that his soft fur is within reach. Coco immediately growls with jealousy and pushes him with her nose. Felix halfheartedly swipes his paw in her direction, and she recoils in horror.
I smile for a moment, amused at their antics. It looks like Felix won the dominance battle while I was away.
“No,” I concede when it becomes clear Fina isn’t going to take my silence as an answer. “But I’ll be alright soon.”
“Angelo told me some of what happened, but not all of it. I’m so sorry you got caught up in this family bullshit.”
“It could have been you,” I point out, and she pales. Regret makes me curse.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”
“No, you’re right. It could just as easily have been me. I’m a weak point. Matteo is with me most of the time, but not always, and Papa doesn’t exactly prioritize my safety, so when Matteo is called away, I’m often on my own at home.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “Never mind me. I want to know what’s happened with you and Kane.”
“Kane?” I affect an innocent expression, but she’s not fooled.
“Yes! I’m not blind, Chiara. It’s clear as day something’s happened between you both.”
“Um…” I don’t feel comfortable telling her we fucked. After all, her brother is my husband, and I know where her loyalties lie.
“Spit it out, sister. We both know you and Luka have been fooling around and also that you have the hots for Kane.” A fiery blush colors my cheeks, and I briefly contemplate locking myself in the bathroom to escape her inquisition.
But I soon decide it’s pointless. Fina may have the face of an angel, but the woman is relentless.
If I don’t fess up, she’ll torture me until I do.
“Uh, fine! So we may have…done stuff…and Angelo may have, um, walked in on us right after this, um, alleged event.”
Fina’s jaw drops in shock, her eyes widen, and she utters a scandalized gasp.
“Oh my god, you fucked Kane and my brother caught you both in the act?”
I cringe while nodding. Fuck, she must think I’m an awful slut.
Fina laughs with genuine amusement. “That’s…hilarious! Serves the bastard right!”
“Wait…what? You think it’s funny?” Her reaction is unexpected.
“Damn right. The trail of broken hearts he’s left in his wake is legendary. It’s about time he got his comeuppance.” She giggles so hard it sets me off, and before long, we’re both lying on the bed laughing hysterically.
“What about Paris?” I ask when I’ve finally stopped laughing.
“Oh, Paris.” Fina grins and wipes her eyes.
“Yeah, that was a bad one.” She snorts some more.
“He fucked her first, then got bored after like a day. To be fair, he was probably drunk when they did the deed. There was a party, and Angelo got drunk again. He seduced Paris’s best friend, Michelle, and Paris walked in on them. It was…messy.”
“Wow, that’s…” I snigger. “Horrible?”
Fina sobers. “More than horrible. Paris Remington’s father is super protective of his daughter.
Paris is the apple of his eye. His baby girl.
Let’s just say Daddy Remington was very angry when he heard about Paris’s humiliation because it blew up on social media and was all anyone talked about for weeks.
I think there’s still a meme of her rage face doing the rounds. ”
“Oops.”
“Yeah… oops.”
“Surely Remington is small fry compared to the Di Rossi family?” I get why he’d be mad, but it’s not like he can do much about it. The Di Rossis are powerful with equally powerful connections, as evidenced by Angelo’s ability to pull help from the Irish and Russian mafias.
“Yeah, to an extent, but he has fingers in a lot of pies, and there are unsubstantiated rumors he has friends in high places. So not a man to piss off.”
I shrug. “Paris seemed like a bitch when I met her.”
“She is a bitch.” The way Fina’s lip curls up tells me all I need to know.
“And also, the fact Tim Remington married my stepmother says a lot about the kind of man he is.”
“He’s not a good man, no.” We fall into silence while Felix and Coco enjoy all the love. My eyes drift down as Fina cradles her belly protectively. I notice that for once she’s wearing a loose pair of slacks rather than one of her usual figure-hugging dresses.
“Something you want to share with me?” I ask eventually. She looks up curiously and then turns deathly pale when I nod at her belly.
“You can tell?” she whispers before glancing up at the small camera winking in the corner. Dammit. I hate this fucking house sometimes. It’s like a prison.
I jump off the bed and gesture toward the bathroom. She follows me in. I close the door and turn the shower on to mask our conversation. I assume there are no cameras in here, but I’m not taking any chances.
“Your reaction confirms what I suspected. How far along are you?”
To my horror, she bursts into tears and slumps down onto the toilet seat, her head in her hands.
Now I feel rotten. I didn’t mean to put her on the spot. This isn’t any of my business. Not really.
“Shit, ignore me. Forget I said anything. I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”
She wipes her eyes and sniffs. “It’s okay. I can’t hide it much longer, and… I really need to talk to someone.” My heart clenches in my chest at her terrified expression. It’s clear she thinks her pregnancy is not a joyful occasion. And having met her father, I’m not surprised.
“Does Matteo know?” She nods.
“Yeah. I’m about twelve weeks now. So it won’t be long before I show.”
“I know that you and Matteo…” I pause, trying to choose my words carefully. “I know your father probably doesn’t approve of your relationship, but how angry will he be about Matteo getting you pregnant?”
She swallows hard. “Furious. He’s busy negotiating a marriage contract for me.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Yeah. Oh fuck indeed.”