51. Fool Me Twice
CHAPTER 51
FOOL ME TWICE
R affaele
“Come on, Enrico, is this really necessary?” I struggle against the ropes binding me to the chair. Despite the fact that no fire crackles in the massive fireplace in front of me, sweat trickles down my spine. The moment the coglione admitted he was the one who’d tried to kill me, his guards tackled me. I may be good but five against one with no weapons is hardly fair. Now all I can do is glare up at the man whose hatred I completely deserve.
He trusted me with his daughter, and I fucked everything up.
I deserve to die. It should have been me all those years ago, not Laura.
Enrico looms over me, his silk robe brushing my knees, and his revolver pressed at my forehead. “I’ll make it quick, Raffa, for Laura’s sake, that’s the best I can offer.”
“I deserve death,” I grit out. “And I would have gladly given my life for hers a hundred times over. I relive the torture of that day every fucking night, Enrico. No punishment you could ever inflict could be worse than that.”
He presses the muzzle more firmly to my skull, the hard metal digging into my skin. The most fucked up part is that I’m ready to die. I don’t fear death… heaven or hell, whatever it may be. Sometimes, I long for the quiet, for the stillness.
But I can’t leave Isabella.
I won’t leave her unprotected.
“Wait,” I grit out. Locking my gaze to Enrico’s, I prepare to grovel, to fight, to burn down this whole damned house if that’s what it takes to walk out of here alive. Not for me, but for her . “My client. Swear to me that once I’m dead no harm will come to her.”
“I have no quarrel with the Valentinos or the Kings, and I intend to keep it that way. If the past few months have been any indication, it seems we will be seeing much more of them in Italy. I will bide my time, watching and waiting. If the need arises, I will strike, but not before then.” He cocks the trigger, the ominous click ratcheting up my pulse.
Isabella fills my vision, those intense blue irises, full pouty lips, the way the corners of her eyes crinkle when she smiles. No… I was wrong. I’m not ready to die, not when there’s still so much to do, to say to her. “Enrico, there must be another way. Please. I—I can’t leave her.” I strain against the ropes, the rough twine burrowing into my skin until it rubs it raw. “I’ll do anything you want. Just let me get Isabella out of Rome and safely back to New York with her family. I swear to you I’ll come back and shoot myself in the head if that’s what you want. I just need to know for certain she’s out of harm’s way…”
A harsh chuckle spills from the hard slant of his lips. “ Cazzo , Raffa, don’t tell me you’ve done it again? You’ve fallen in love with your client?” He still looms over me, but the pressure on my skull relents a notch. “I thought you were smarter than that.”
“No,” I hiss. The lie tastes so bitter I can barely swallow it down. But the last thing I need is one of the most powerful men in Rome knowing my principessa is my ultimate weakness.
“ Bugiardo ,” he growls. “You’re lying through your teeth, Raffaele.” He steps back and swings his gun around, pointing at the very living room we sat in over ten years ago. “You know, the only reason why I didn’t kill you back then was that I knew you loved my Laura. I could see it then just as clearly as I see it now.” He draws in a breath then expels it with a curse. “ Merda .”
“My father clearly wants her dead, too.” The words bubble out, a part of me just wanting this to be over with already.
“Too?” His eyes narrow and he stalks closer, his focus zeroing in on that one word that could change everything.
I hold my tongue for an endless moment, mulling over the series of life-changing events I’m about to unleash.
“Raffa?” He hinges at the waist and traps me in that murderous, weathered glare. “What do you mean too?”
I could lie my way out of it, tell him I was referring to him wanting me dead and my father wanting to kill Isabella. But why protect Papà any longer? His sins are unforgiveable, and the devil’s finally coming for him.
Antonio and Giuseppe are another story. My brothers turned their backs on me, but do they deserve the retribution for my father’s sins? A month ago, I would have said no. But that was before Isabella, before I’d started to breathe again, to want more out of life, to actually look forward to the future.
“My father killed Laura, in front of me, as punishment for siding with you, his enemy.” The moment the confession is out, the pressure in my ribcage subsides. My heart pumps more freely, my lungs no longer constricted by the heavy burden of the lie I’d kept for all these years. And for what? To protect a monster?
A string of curses pours out of Enrico’s mouth. He throws the gun across the room with a beastly growl then kicks the ornate coffee table, sending elaborate silver picture frames crashing to the floor. Then he comes for me. His fist collides with my nose, the sharp crack vibrating across my skull. Warm blood dribbles down my lip, and with my hands bound there’s nothing I can do to keep it from trickling into my mouth.
The metallic tang makes my stomach roil, but I can’t focus on it for long because another fist pummels into my cheek. I grit through the pain, refusing to growl my anger. I deserve this. I’ve kept the truth from this man for over a decade.
A punch to the gut, then another to the kidney. I buckle over, writhing in pain but I don’t utter a sound. I take it, again and again, as Enrico spews all the pain and anger over the loss of his daughter on me.
It’s my fault she’s dead.
I should have stopped my father.
I’ll take my punishment, but I will not die today.
Darkness creeps into the corners of my eyes, head lolling back as my mind attempts to protect itself by passing out. The hits stop for an instant and despite the dizziness and sudden nausea, I can make out Enrico’s towering form pacing in front of my execution chair.
“Now what?” I rasp.
“I don’t know,” he grumbles. “My wife, Dio rest her soul, always said I was too soft.”
I barely restrain a wild chuckle. There are many colorful adjectives I’d use to describe Enrico Sartori but soft is not one of them.
“In regard to you, I mean.” He stalks closer, dark brows furrowed. “You lied to me for years, swearing you had no idea who killed Laura. That sin alone deserves death.”
I nod slowly. “My offer still stands, just allow me to get Isabella somewhere safe.”
He clucks his tongue, then pulls a handkerchief from his robe pocket and wipes at the blood coating his knuckles, my blood. “And if I let you go, what will you do about your Papà ?” He inches closer, and I can practically see the fury streaking through those cold, dark eyes. “Because you understand that he can no longer continue to live, vero ?”
Right. Of course I knew what my confession would cost.
“I will do what I must to protect Isabella.”
“Alfredo Ferrara’s life is mine,” he snarls. “For taking my daughter’s life, I deserve the right to mete his punishment.”
My head dips. “And what about my brothers?”
He pauses, lips pressed into a tight line. “If I leave any of them alive, I am only condemning myself to their eventual retribution.”
My conscience begs me to speak up in their defense, but what can I really say to protect them? My own fate hangs in the balance. “They weren’t there,” I finally mutter. “Not when he did it.”
His nostrils flare, a tangle of fury and pain slicing into his hard expression.
“Antonio is still learning how to run the Ferrara empire. He’s young, tractable. Keep him alive and instead of creating an enemy, forge an alliance.”
Enrico grunts, then runs his hand across his face. “With his father’s murderer?”
“Antonio is pragmatic and ambitious. And unlike me, he wishes to sit the Ferrara throne. Give him the chance, I can almost guarantee he won’t be a problem.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“I’ll take care of him myself.”
A dark chuckle rumbles his chest. “That would force me to keep you alive too.”
I shrug. “A fortunate side effect.” I do my best to sit up straight despite the pounding in my skull. “You’ll never have to see me again after this, Enrico. You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted. Revenge for Laura’s death and me out of your life forever.”
“There’s still the matter of you having lied to me for all this time.”
“I was young and stupid back then. I was destroyed by Laura’s death. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t imagine my life without her and our child. I didn’t want to start World War III on top of that.” I draw in a breath, inhaling deeply to work past the pain. “And he was my father, Enrico. It took me years to come to terms with what he’d done. But by then, it was too late. I couldn’t come back here…”
“And then you met her , the Valentino princess.”
“And he came for her,” I growl. “You know the saying, ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’. I’ll give you a week to kill him, if not, he’s mine.” Narrowing my eyes, I stare up at the man who used to terrify me with nothing but pure conviction. “It’s a win-win for you, really.”