Chapter 6 #2
The line went dead before I could respond, and I sat there for a moment, gripping the wheel so hard my knuckles cracked.
My mind spun with every possible scenario.
Both my father’s betrayal and Matteo’s warning were at the forefront.
I didn’t understand why Valentina was caught in the crossfire, but I sure as hell was going to figure that out.
This wasn’t just business anymore. It hadn’t been since I saw her at that party, and my heart felt like beating again.
I started the engine, the growl of it matching the fire in my chest. Let the world think Nicolette Romano was just the family disappointment; the wild daughter with nothing to lose.
They had no idea that I would burn this city to ash before I let anyone take Valentina from me.
Not when I had finally gotten her back. God help whoever stood in my way tonight because I was going to that warehouse ready for blood.
The warehouse smelled of rust and gasoline as I entered.
My boots echoed over the concrete, each step measured and deliberate as I listened hard.
The shadows on the walls were thick, broken only by the yellow cone of light from the overhead lamps.
I paused in a hallway, my gun a silent presence on my hip.
When the sound of skin being struck reached me, I turned my head sharply and moved in that direction.
There had only been a couple of men watching out front, but they had moved easily when they saw it was me.
I didn’t doubt my father knew I was coming, but then again, I wasn’t trying to use the element of surprise. I wanted them to know I was coming.
I pushed open one of the metal doors that led to the back storage and paused in the doorway.
This room was darker than the rest and only lit by a single overhead lamp.
In the middle of it, hung from a chain with her wrists bound above her head, was Valentina.
I narrowed my eyes as I took in her straining shoulders as she tried to balance her weight on the tips of her toes.
Her lip was split; blood smeared across her mouth like a cruel kind of war paint.
But her chin was up, eyes hard, daring anyone to look away first.
She was still Valentina. Untouchable, even when bleeding and vulnerable.
I stepped forward, keeping my own chin raised as I took in everything else.
The men around her were not strangers. My father stood a few feet away, arms crossed, an expression of smug control on his face.
Beside him, Lorenzo loomed, calm as always, with one hand loose at his side, the other hovering too close to the gun clearly visible on his hip.
My pulse kicked, but my face stayed neutral.
“What the hell are you doing?” My voice cracked through the silence like a whip.
My father’s head snapped toward me, surprise flashing for only a second before twisting into glee. “Ah, Nicolette.” He spread his arms as if welcoming me home. “Perfect timing. You want a place at this table? Then here’s your chance.”
I raised an eyebrow and moved closer until I was also illuminated by the light. “Seriously? Beating a woman tied to a chain is how I get a seat at your table?”
Valentina laughed, a harsh, painful sound that had me clenching my jaw. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know, Nico. Aren’t you daddy’s little girl? Well, here he is, showing you what his version of power looks like. Aren’t you eager to be just like him?”
My father’s hand whipped out before I could move. The crack of his palm against her cheek echoed through the warehouse. Valentina’s head snapped to the side, her body swinging from the chain as her toes scraped against the floor.
Red flooded my vision.
“Enough,” I snapped, moving forward before I could stop myself. My father raised his hand again, but I caught his wrist mid-air. My grip was iron, and my blood boiled with something dark and vicious.
His brows lifted, and his expression morphed from surprise to amusement. “Think very carefully about your next moves, Nicolette. There are two sides here, but only one is holding the gun.”
Behind him, Lorenzo’s gun was suddenly drawn, black steel gleaming under the light. He leveled the barrel at my chest, his face expressionless and calm as ever. “One move, Nico, and you won’t like the outcome. I love you, sister, but this is about family and legacy.”
My gaze slid to Valentina. Her eyes burned into me, fierce, unyielding, and yet even now, she didn’t seem afraid.
Resigned, maybe, but not afraid. It was that lack of fear that drove me to move.
I stepped in front of her, placing myself between her and my father; between her and Lorenzo’s gun.
My heartbeat slowed as my focus narrowed.
“I chose my side a long time ago,” I said finally.
The silence was thick enough to choke on, but I let it uncurl.
I had said my piece. I had chosen my side.
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised when my father ripped the gun from Lorenzo’s hand with a snarl, swinging it toward me.
His finger curled around the trigger, but before he could pull it, a sharp crack split the air.
His hand jerked back violently, the gun clattering to the floor. He howled, clutching his bleeding hand.
I blinked in confusion before I saw something shift behind him.
I smirked when I saw Camilla standing behind Lorenzo, a knife pressed to his throat.
Her expression was deadly calm, as though this was just another night at work.
Lorenzo, to his credit, didn’t fight her. His hands lifted slowly in surrender.
The gun was still at my feet, and I ignored my father’s muttered curses as I picked it up. When I stood again, his eyes burned into me, wide with fury and disbelief.
“You wouldn’t betray this family.”
I leveled the gun at his head, steady and unshaking. “You always used to say I was too ruthless to be controlled,” I said with deliberate slowness. “It was why you sent me away the first time. I used to want to prove you wrong, but I’m realizing that maybe you were right.”
His mouth opened, some insult on his tongue. He didn’t finish it. The recoil punched my arm back as the bullet tore through his forehead. The sound rang in my ears, but I watched without blinking as his body hit the ground. I didn’t flinch as I walked over and stared down at his lifeless body.
Silence stretched while I waited to feel sadness.
Instead, all I felt was a sense of satisfaction as he stared ahead and the light drained from his eyes.
I let my hand drop and looked up. Lorenzo’s gaze lingered on me as Camilla eased the blade away from his throat.
He adjusted his shirt collar as if nothing had happened.
“Well. That creates quite a vacuum in the hierarchy of this family.”
I ignored his words for the moment and moved to Valentina, pulling at the chains until they released.
She fell against me, her weight heavy as she tried to gather the strength to stand, but I held her steady.
Her skin was warm against mine, and the blood from her once again split lip dripped on my shirt, but I didn’t care.
I was just glad to have her whole and in my arms again.
“It doesn’t,” I said, turning to lock eyes with Lorenzo. “There was never a question of who would step up once father was gone. I was always meant to lead. He was just too cock stupid to realize it.”
Lorenzo’s mouth curved, not quite a smile and not quite disdain. I knew it was the closest I would get from him to an acknowledgement of the truth of my words. “Maybe so. But you should know, we weren’t the ones who called the hit. We just agreed to play along.”
Valentina’s laugh was hoarse and bitter as she muffled it against my shoulder.
“Then who the hell did?” I asked, wrapping my arm around her waist and taking more of her weight.
Lorenzo only shrugged as Camilla shoved him forward. “Guess you’ll find out soon enough.”
“We’ll find out,” Valentina said firmly as her arm came around my waist in return. When I glanced down at her, her expression was resolved. The fire that had always been there called to me, and I brushed my lips over her forehead, needing to be as close as possible to remind myself she was okay.
“Yes,” I agreed. “We will. And when we find out who was responsible, they’ll wish they’d never crossed us.”
I tightened my arm around Valentina, gun still steady in my other hand. My father’s blood was already seeping across the concrete. This wasn’t his empire anymore. It was mine. I had chosen my path, and it was one I would carve with blood if necessary.