9. Giovanni
NINE
GIOVANNI
I wrapped an arm around the young woman’s back and the other under her legs and lifted her, her head rolling back and her long blonde ponytail hanging limp.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The monitors tracked heartbeats of the two patients on the surgical tables, yet somehow the only heart that mattered to me was that of the woman who’d fought me like I was her born enemy.
God must be laughing, because the only woman who’d ever fascinated me was back in my life.
I hated that I had to hurt her. Kian’s words in my mind were a constant reminder of what she’d gone through. The last thing I wanted was to be another person causing her pain. Yet, I didn’t have a choice. If I’d left her, Killian Cullen and his cavalry would have surely killed her. If I’d taken the child, Emory would have come hunting her the moment she’d woken up from surgery. It was an impossible situation.
My gaze fell to the unconscious woman in my arms, wearing a dress with a slit that allowed her to move easier and fight me. The top part of the dress had wildflowers printed all over it.
She even smelled like wildflowers, just like she did eight years ago.
My arm throbbed where she sliced me. The little spitfire almost kicked me in the balls too. Jesus, when Kian warned me of her temper, I didn’t expect her to be so stab-happy. After all, it wasn’t as if I’d come to attack her.
I came to fucking help her on behalf of her twin. Circumstances blew up my planned approach, and now I’d have to deal with the consequences. Lucky me.
As I stared at Liana’s face, her confident mask had transformed into a broken, vulnerable expression, and I considered whether I’d made the wrong call.
Of course, I could still take Liana to her twin in Portugal. It would have been the smart thing to do, yet for reasons unknown, I decided right there and then that I wouldn’t.
For her own good and her twin’s.
My guilty conscience called me out on it, but I firmly shut it down.
The strange pull inside my chest, the kind I had felt eight years ago in her presence as well, was back, and I owed it to myself to see it through this time. And who better than me to ensure her protection.
So I’d finish this job, but it would be my way.
Liana Volkov was forced into a shitty situation, first by her mother and then by Santiago. She didn’t choose any of this. She was a victim as much as anyone, and I’d keep her protected at all costs. Now, I’d just have to convince her of my good intentions.
I looked down at the woman, her breaths slow and even, as I swept my gaze over her face. Her long blonde eyelashes rested on pale cheeks, untouched by makeup. Smooth cheekbones. Her full, parted lips made her look innocent and so fucking beautiful.
But then so did my mother, who knew exactly how to use her wiles to manipulate men.
I let out a breath. This mental back and forth was going to get me killed.
The rumble of an explosion forced me into action, and I lifted my gaze to meet the doctor who was in the midst of surgery. He was placed between two bodies, a woman’s and child’s.
I didn’t have to be Einstein to figure it was probably Liana’s adoptive daughter, Amara, and Emory DiLustro.
Which meant Killian Brennan Cullen was here.
“Should I stop?” the doctor demanded, his hands trembling slightly.
“No, carry on, and get the surgeries done.”
Then I turned on my heel and sped out of the house, down the secret staircase that led down into the cliffs where my boat awaited. Thank God Kian had given me the schematics of this place.
The moment my feet touched the deck of my yacht, Romeo rushed over to me.
“Holy fuck,” he muttered, his eyes lowering to the unconscious woman in my arms, and he let out a whistle. “She’s fucking gorgeous.” Irritation crawled up my neck, and I clenched my teeth. “Want me to take her to her cabin?”
“Over my dead body.”
The words escaped me and his gaze met mine in surprise. Annoyance flared in my chest. The fact that he wanted to take her from my arms… Well, for some reason, it pissed me off. She was in my care, so it was on me to take her to her cabin. Nobody else’s.
She was mine for the time being.
“Wait for me in my office,” I barked, and then proceeded to take my guest to the cabin on the other side of the yacht, closer to my quarters. This yacht was my home. Although I owned a half dozen residences scattered around the world, I rarely stayed in any of them long. This was the sure, and best, way to stay away from my mother. The woman hated boats, suffering from violent seasickness each time she stepped on one.
Once inside the suite, I deposited her on the soft bed, her skirt riding up and baring the smooth, pale skin of her toned thighs.
I pulled the fabric down. Yes, I loved the sight of a beautiful woman, but it felt wrong to gawk at her when she was in this state. Thankfully, I still had some morals left.
With that, I turned around and left her in the room, not bothering to lock it.
The yacht was already in motion to leave the area. By the time Liana woke up, there’d be nowhere for her to disembark unless she was a good swimmer.
I made it into my office on the main deck and found my brother waiting for me.
“How is our sleeping beauty?” Romeo said. “She’s prettier than I would’ve thought.”
“There is no our here,” I gritted. My brother had a way with women and they always flocked to him. The idea of Liana falling for his charms had me fighting the urge to slam a fist into his smug face.
I shook my head at the stupid impulse. The woman probably didn’t care about any man’s charm and would sooner kill us than entertain our propositions.
“What the fuck is going on with you?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes on me. I wasn’t exactly known for being possessive, especially when it came to women.
I moved behind the desk and took a seat, glancing out the window at the disappearing shoreline of Venezuela. The tense silence that followed was coiled tight, ready to snap. I didn’t address the question he asked because I didn’t have an answer.
“Set a course for Boston,” I instructed, changing subjects.
Romeo’s brow furrowed. “I thought we were going to Portugal next.”
I shook my head. “I changed my mind.”
Romeo grinned, rubbing his palms together eagerly. “Oh fuck. There’ll be war.”
I rolled my eyes at his eagerness.
“Don’t sound so pleased,” I retorted dryly, although his bloodthirst might prove useful if that was indeed where we were headed.
“This isn’t a beauty pageant. I know better than to ask for world peace.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Sometimes I feared Romeo would get himself killed with the way he carried himself.
“One day you will,” I told him. “When you find someone to settle down with.”
“Is that what’s happening today?” he inquired curiously. “You found your woman.”
Why did he frame it as a statement rather than a question?
Before I could contemplate it further, I heard shots being fired. My brother and I leapt to our feet, guns already in our hands. My first thought was an attack, but my captain assured me there were no boats on the radar for miles.
My brother and I rushed out of the office and down the deck. Two of my men were dead and a third was whimpering in pain.
“What happened?” I barked.
“The psycho bitch locked herself in there,” he hissed, pointing to the room. In a few short steps, I found myself in front of it. Lifting my foot, I kicked in the door. It flew open and bounced back off the wall with a loud crash, causing objects and picture frames to fall from their shelves and shatter against the floor.
When I stepped inside, I found myself staring at Liana standing in the middle of the room with a gun pointed right at my heart.
“Where am I?” she spat. There was no fear in her voice, no tremble to her hands gripping the gun.
“How are you awake?” I retorted back.
Romeo stepped in behind me, his own weapon aimed at her.
“Tell your buddy there that I’ll have you on your ass before he ever has a chance to pull the trigger,” she threatened, jerking her chin at my brother.
The icy gleam in her eyes wasn’t something I was accustomed to seeing in the opposite sex. Usually they fell at my feet and flirted their way into my bed. But then Liana wasn’t just any female, was she?
“If you’re going to shoot,” I stated, cocking my head, “better make sure you kill us both. I have no qualms about killing a woman in self-defense.”
Her lip curled, baring her white teeth.
“Put the gun down,” Romeo snarled.
“I’d sooner die,” she screamed back. “Who in the fuck are you?”
The woman had balls. But there was also something in her eyes that unnerved me. Not exactly fear. More like… panic. Terror, even.
“I’m Giovanni Agosti. And this is my brother, Romeo. We don’t mean you any harm.”
“Right. Said no man ever,” she scoffed. “That’s why you attacked me. Kidnapped me.”
Romeo took a menacing step forward, and she leveled her aim at him. “One more step, and I’ll shoot.”
I threw Romeo a look that I hoped he interpreted as stand down , but all I got back from him was an eyeroll.
“What do you want from me?” she demanded.
“You.” It was the truth, for more reasons than one. “Your sister sent me.”
Her eyes darkened with shadows. “I don’t want to see her.”
“She’s your twin,” I reasoned, surprised to hear her response, even though it would play well into my plans.
Although, it left me wondering… Why wouldn’t Liana want to see her? Ever since I’d first met Louisa, her twin was all she cared about. Even when she thought her twin was dead, she was searching for answers.
Liana interrupted my pondering.
“I can offer you a lot of money if you’ll just let me go on my way.”
I laughed and threw my arms wide. “Does it look like I need your money?”
“Then what? Everyone wants something they can’t have.”
I ran my tongue across my teeth, so many ideas running through my mind. Although, I didn’t think she’d appreciate any of them.
“I hate repeating myself, but I’ll make an exception this one last time,” I deadpanned. “ You .”
Let her interpret that one.
Her brows twitched as if she wanted to frown, but she quickly shook it off.
Then her eyes darted between the two of us and to the vast ocean surrounding us. Her brown eyes with their hazel specks narrowed, and I knew she was probably coming to the conclusion there was nowhere to run.
But her next move shocked me to the core.
She pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting Romeo’s arm before she pointed the gun at me again.
“Tell your captain to turn this boat around, or you’re next.”
“Now you’re starting to piss me off, wildflower,” I hissed as I rushed her, darting left to right to avoid any bullets she shot my way.
A loud pop sounded, and pain sliced through my arm. Damn woman fucking shot me. Before she could shoot again, my shoulder rammed into hers and we tumbled, her back slamming into the glass window behind her.
The gun slipped through her fingers, and I caught it before it hit the hardwood. In the next breath, a hard object collided with the side of my head, and I swore stars burst in my vision. I reached a hand up and felt a sticky liquid trickling between my fingers and down my neck.
My patience shattered. I reached out my hand, wrapping my fingers around her throat. Straddling her hips, I tightened the grip, hard enough that she stilled.
Romeo stood behind me, silent, his anger reverberating off him.
But he wasn’t my priority right now. It was this woman, who wouldn’t hesitate to kill both of us if given the opportunity.
As if she read my thoughts, I made out a long silver blade from the corner of my eye and felt Liana slice through my forearm, deep into the muscle.
With a quick jerk, I slammed the butt of the gun into her temple.
“Fuck,” I muttered as her body went limp against me. I checked for her pulse, pressing my fingers to her throat, leaving streaks of blood behind. Relief slammed into me, feeling it thud steady and strong.
“That was like watching foreplay. In a fucking nightmare,” Romeo grumbled as he came to stand behind me, holding his bleeding arm. “You have it bad for this one, don’t you?”
Unable to look away from the unconscious woman, I didn’t even bother to deny it while Kian’s words of warning bounced against my skull.