14. Salvatore
fourteen
Salvatore
“It is time for you to leave.”
The sentence has been playing in my head for the last few days. Of course, I didn’t leave, nor did I sign the papers.
Leaving without her is unacceptable. I refuse even to think about it. Because I can’t leave without my heart. Why is that so hard for her to understand?
Maybe because you never told her that.
The small voice in my head is getting louder every day, scolding me about the things I should and shouldn’t do.
It’s the truth; I told her I want her back, that I can’t live without her. But I never told her that I love her.
Because I do love her. I just need to show her that.
The question is how?
“How do I show her that I love her?” I look into the screen of my phone where I’m met with three sets of eyes. I’m still the CEO and don of La Cosa Nostra that has to lead both sides of the business, even if my most trustworthy men are taking care of everything.
When they asked when I’m coming back, I asked them a question that has nothing to do with their expertise.
And of course, I’m met with silence. I run my hand through my hair and take a sip from my drink.
“I don’t think we’re qualified to answer this question. Dante sure isn’t,” Marco says.
Dante shrugs and keeps playing with the knife in his hand.
“I don’t even know why I’m asking you.” I take another sip of my drink. The drink I just keep refilling.
I end the video call in the middle of Gabriel talking about business things I should take care of. Things that should interest me. Things that I, at this moment, couldn’t care less about because I need to reach the person who can answer my questions.
I’m on a mission.
Finding out how to show Isabella that I love her.
I park outside the villa and find myself on the side of a wall I can climb. Climbing the wall should be easy, so why do I feel like I just ran a few miles? When I reach the top, I sit on the wall and plan my jump. As I land on the ground, I stumble, and the alarm goes off.
Shit.
I look for a place to run and hide, but there is none. I run toward the house before I get caught. Just a few meters away, my attempt to run is cut short when I’m tackled to the floor face down.
My hands are twisted behind my back, and with one click, are bound with a zip tie. My legs are spread as I’m being tapped down. I laugh into the dirt, remembering I left my weapon behind me.
“Get up, figlio di puttana! This is going to be fun.”
A man I don’t recognize pulls me up to my feet, and as I try to free myself from his grip, he hits me on the back until I land on my knees. A second soldier shows up, and together, they drag me on my knees to the entrance of the villa.
I hear the commotion of people as I raise my head, but my eyes are blurry, more from the bottle of liquor I drank than the hit I just received. I blink a few times before I can see a little clearer as I’m brought to my knees. My smile brightens as my eyes meet the person I’m kneeling in front of.
My angel, my Bella, my heart, is here. Her hair is a mess, and her robe is covering her short nightgown. Her face is clear of any makeup and she’s barefoot.
I hear the clicking of a gun from behind her and Pino shows up, pointing his weapon at me. My smile fades as my brain interprets what I see; he is only in his boxers.
My body shivers, thinking she’s moved on. I don’t even want to think of him sleeping in her bed.
Her brown eyes narrow. “You’re drunk.”
I laugh. “Guilty.”
She crosses her arms. “I told you to leave.”
I shake my head. “I couldn’t leave. I guess I was wrong.” I look her up and down, and then I look at Pino.
She lowers herself a little until her eyes meet mine. “Leave. This is your last warning.” She glances at Pino and walks away.
The man holding me raises me to my feet at Pino’s order. “Why are you so stubborn? Haven’t you had enough rejection?”
I laugh. “You don’t know shit about me. Do you think you’re all that important? That you hit the jackpot with your arrangement to marry Isabella? Well, guess again. She is still my wife.” I struggle, but I manage to lean forward into his face. “But know this, I was her first. It was my cock, my fingers, and my mouth that get her off. That explored her body. I’m the one who will live in her memories until she dies. You’re only getting my leftovers.”
He shakes his head and grins like an idiot before his fist finds my face. The stabbing pain hits me, and I see stars. I should have landed on something, but I don’t because his henchman is holding me. The second punch is in my gut, and all the air leaves my lungs. I don’t get to recover before a hand lands on my head and pulls at my hair, lifting it. The other side of my face meets the same destiny when his other fist hits me. He grabs me by my neck and his knee meets my gut over and over.
I don’t know when I lost consciousness, but when I wake up, my face is pulsing, and my body is shaking from the cold. I open my eyes, look around, and realize I’m in the basement of the villa. I try to move, but my hands are bound to the chair, behind my back.
I laugh darkly. Is this my end? Will she let them kill me so she can be free of me?
I try to free myself, but the binds on my hands and legs are too tight. These men know how to do their job.
My eyes land on the stained floor in the corner of the room; is this where they kill people?
“Don’t worry. That stain is old, and it’s from spilled wine, not blood.”
My eyes follow the old, raspy voice I know as Domenico Ruggeri’s. He is probably here to kill me, so his daughter can live a happy life with her new husband.
“Pino did a number on you, I see.” With his hand behind his back, he slowly walks toward me. “I would do a better job, but then again, I’m too old for that, and you deserve even more than you got.”
I inhale and lower my head. “I deserved that.”
He chuckles. “Have you learned the consequences of your choices? Was it worth it?”
My eyes meet his. “Of course I learned. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Ahh. I see.” He walks in slow steps around me. “What did you learn?”
My brows furrow, and I try to find an answer that will satisfy him, but I need to think.
“So? What is your answer?” he pushes.
“I don’t think that is any of your business. What I did and what I regret is on me.”
He chuckles. “Is that so? What you did hurt my daughter. How is that not my business?”
Maybe he is right, but I will not give him any ammunition against me.
“If you want to kill me, then do it. But this therapy session is not happening,” I say through gritted teeth.
He stops in front of me and narrows his eyes. “Oh, this is not therapy, don’t worry. And I don’t plan on killing you.”
“What do you want, then?” I wince from the pinching pain in my face as I raise my eyes to his.
“I want to know why you came after Isabella.”
It takes me a moment, but I answer. I’m not afraid of admitting my mistakes. “I was wrong. I blamed myself for something and believed I was doing what was right.”
He raises a brow. “Aha, I see. And do you mind sharing what that was?”
“It isn’t important. What is important is that I realized too late that I was wrong, and it cost me something I never knew I wanted.” I close my eyes at the memory. “I blamed myself and couldn’t look Isabella in the eye. When I lost her, it was too late.”
As I open my eyes, a smirk appears on his face. “Splendid. Now, we can talk.”
I look at him in a confusion. “Talk about what?”
“About you and my daughter. What else?” He walks to the other end of the basement and brings another chair that he places in front of me before he sits on it. “We don’t have much time before Pino is up for his morning workout that he may skip so he can use you as a punching bag.”
I stiffen at the thought and, still confused, look at the old man before me.
“Do you love my daughter? Or is she just another woman for you?”
“Why do you think I climbed that wall drunk last night? Why do you think I refuse to leave?”
He shakes his head. “That’s not an answer.”
I look at him, annoyed. “Of course I love her. I thought that was clear.”
“There is a thin line between love and madness. The man who accepts his loss and the man who can’t accept his loss.”
Ignoring the pain, I clench my teeth. What is he trying to say? “It doesn’t matter. It’s too late.”
“It is too late only if you surrender.” He leans his forearms on his knees, his eyes challenging me. “Are you the surrendering type?”
I stare back. “No. I’m not.”
He relaxes in his chair. “Good, because neither was I.”
“What do you mean?”
“Once upon a time, I also did a lot because of the woman I love, and so did she.”
“Then why did you kill her?”
His gaze drifts to the corner of the room like he’s remembering some other time before it fixes on me again. “I suppose you know this bit of information from Isabella. She was wrong. I didn’t kill my wife. She sacrificed herself so I didn’t have to choose that option. Because here, we kill the ones who speak, and she knew I would never choose that for her.”
I tilt my head to the side. “I don’t understand.”
“My wife was the love of my life. My soulmate, my everything. And I would have killed every man in ‘Ndrangheta just to keep her alive.”
“I see.”
“And what are you willing to do for Isabella, Salvatore? Would you kill your men or yourself just to save her?” Once again, his eyes dig deep, challenging me.
I look him in the eyes, dead serious. “Yes. I would.”
“Would you kill any man stopping you from getting her back? Meaning Pino first?”
I don’t stutter, my voice steady. “Yes, and I would bathe in his blood if needed.”
A smile spreads on his face, and he stands. “Terrific.” He pulls a knife from his pocket and frees my hands.
The blood rushes back to my hands, and I touch my wrists and rub them. He passes me the knife and I free my ankles.
I offer him the knife back, but he raises his hand, refusing it. “Keep it. Consider it a gift. You are going to need it if you want to get out of here.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because I want my daughter to be happy. To live her own life and be in love. I want to see her happy before I die.” He shrugs. “She didn’t tell me, but ever since you came back, she keeps looking into the distance. Sometimes I hear her crying at night. She is unhappy.”
“But she’s moved on,” I argue.
“You mean Pino?” I nod. He shakes his head. “Oh, they grew up together. He is like her older brother. And besides, if they were together, he wouldn’t dare spend his nights in our housekeeper’s daughter’s bed every night.”
“Then why would I kill him?”
“It was just a question. There will be no killing. If you want to have Isabella back, you need to show her your love for her. Killing Pino isn’t that.”
“Everybody keeps saying that to me and no one is explaining what it means.”
The old man chuckles. “You will learn, but if you want any help, you just need to ask.”
“Who? You?”
“Who else?”
I look at him and shrug. “Would you consider helping me get Isabella back by showing her that I love her?”
He gives me his hand and I take it. “We have a deal. Now, we don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean? Is someone coming?”
“No, my time is running out. And the sooner you get back together, the sooner I have more time to live happily.”
He starts walking again, leading me toward the corridor and into another room in the basement. He pushes an empty box to the side and a small metal door comes into view. Domenico pulls a key from his pocket and opens the lock.
“This is a tunnel. It will lead you outside the villa and to the other side of the road.” He pulls out another key. “This is the key to the door there. I will give you two keys, so you have access to the villa. If you repeat a stunt like last night again, you will get yourself killed.”
I look between the keys and him and then at the tunnel. “I don’t understand what you want me to do.”
He shakes his head. “The only time Isabella is alone is when she is here, in her room. You spent months together. I assume you know some things about my daughter that she likes.” I nod. “That is your answer. And a freeway to the villa is so you don’t get killed on the way.”
With one last look at the old man, I take the key, and like a man on a mission, I walk into the tunnel.