13. Giovanni
THIRTEEN
GIOVANNI
I ’d miscalculated.
And it took Liana’s body hitting the water to realize I’d gone about everything, from the moment I took her from that cliffside compound, the wrong way.
Without thinking, I jumped after her, but the current was already ripping her out of reach. I watched her head bobbing in the distance, the waves tumbling her around like a ragdoll.
Fuck, she can’t swim , I realized. She jumped in knowing the risks.
Dammit, dammit, dammit.
I swam harder and faster while Kian’s words rang in my ears, mocking me for not heeding his warning.
They’d broken her.
I wished Santiago and Perez were alive, only for me to make them suffer. Maybe gift them to this woman so she could have the final word.
My brother’s voice barked out orders from above, and soon a life raft was thrown overboard.
I swam in her direction, determined to get her to safety. She fought to survive, flapping and gasping. I reached her a moment later, grabbing her wrist right before she went completely under, and drew her to me.
“Crazy woman,” I muttered, banding an arm around her waist as her labored breathing feathered against my wet neck.
A broken sob tore from her lips, and she seemed to deflate.
A wave slammed into us and I tightened my grip as she choked and gagged on salt water. I kept swimming, hard and fast, making my way to the raft.
I pushed her blonde strands back from her face. “It’ll be okay. Just hold on.”
Her lips appeared almost blue, and I internally cursed myself. The last thing she needed was hypothermia to hit her.
Holding her tightly, I continued swimming. It seemed to take hours to get to the raft. Or maybe it was mere minutes, I couldn’t tell.
“Climb in,” I hissed, looping my fingers through the handle.
She kicked her feet, trying to climb in, but her strength was waning, so I gripped her thighs and helped her the rest of the way in. I heaved myself over and fell back against the side, lifting my eyes to the darkening sky.
“Pull us out!” I shouted to my men, locking eyes on Liana. Her wet clothes clung to her body, revealing her curves. Her teeth clattered and she pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes darting around.
“You can’t swim,” I deadpanned, my muscles aching from the exertion.
“No.” She didn’t meet my gaze.
“Then why jump?” The life raft rocked as Romeo and the men heaved us toward the upper deck. “Don’t tell me my proposition sent you diving headfirst into the ocean.”
Guilt gnawed at me, and I once again regretted our conversation earlier—regretted my actions since she’d come aboard my yacht. With everything she’d been through, why did I think it was a good idea to keep her restrained? To dangle the idea of marriage, even though I offered the option to find this mysterious mistress she was looking for to avenge all the hell she’d been through.
Let her find every person who’s ever hurt her and take her revenge. I believe she’s down to one person. Kian’s words were mocking me while they played on repeat.
“I’m never going to see her again.”
She stared out unseeingly, and her words came out on a whisper through clattering teeth. When her eyes met mine, I finally saw the true Liana Volkov.
And just how fragile and vulnerable she was.
I sat in my bedroom with an unlit cigarette in hand, watching Liana sleep. After today’s events, I didn’t have enough trust to leave her alone in the room I had designated for her, so I’d had her tucked in my own bed, which left me with a choice of the couch or chair to sleep on.
Silence held steady in the room, my brother sitting next to me, and when I turned, I found his cool eyes taking me in.
He was worried, obvious concern etched on his face, and I found myself irritated by it. I knew he had something to say, so I waited for him to spit it out, unwilling to break the silence.
“We should have never gotten involved in this shit. The woman is killing our men. Four of our men are dead, Giovanni!”
And there it was.
“We’ll compensate their families and ensure they’re well provided for. They understood the risks of working for a criminal organization.”
Romeo shoved his hand through his hair, shaking his head. “Her sister should have someone else to deal with this bullshit.”
My muscles tightened, revolting at the idea of another man being around her. But I forced myself to speak calmly when I answered: “Having the Volkov twins on our side gives us leverage.”
“Don’t tell me Mother has finally gotten to you?”
I let out a sardonic breath. Our mother—if she could be called that—had been paranoid of the Volkov girl since her marriage to Santiago. She worried the girl would have children with him and stand in the way of my—pardon, my mother’s—claim to the Tijuana throne.
“Mother doesn’t know she’s alive,” I warned, my gaze narrowing on him. “And we’re going to keep it that way for a while.”
He watched me with those inquisitive eyes, and it was annoying as fuck that he was one of the rare individuals who could read me so well.
“She’ll feel threatened once she does,” he remarked casually, a smile playing on his lips. “Are you ready to handle that?”
We both knew Julia had only one purpose in life and that was to keep her children, and most importantly herself, in power. No matter the cost.
Her calculated ways extended to every single one of us. Marissa was lucky enough to evade our mother’s interest. My brothers and I weren’t so lucky. Romeo, Cristiano, and I experienced her schemes and ambition firsthand. Though, I put an end to it once we were old enough, cutting her off from any business involving the mafia. In fact, Julia didn’t know much about my personal life either, because I kept her at arm’s length for exactly that reason.
“I could protect her, although it’d be easier if she’d just marry me. And we all saw exactly what she thought of that idea,” I said, and Romeo winced. And fuck, if that wasn’t a total ouch moment for me.
“Yikes, good luck with that.”
I cast a glance at the woman in my bed, her even breaths signaling she was in deep sleep. I was trying to appear unfazed to my brother, but in reality, I was shaken. Liana’s complete disregard for her own well-being didn’t bode well. She had to have known jumping over that rail meant certain death, and yet…
“What is it about her that has you wound so tight?” he asked casually, pulling my focus back.
I shot him a glare that could have killed a lesser man. But the only reaction I got from Romeo was a low chuckle.
“Don’t you have some work to do?” I said dryly. “If you don’t, I’ll find you something to do.”
“See? This is exactly what I mean. So sensitive ever since you brought that woman around.”
“Maybe I should show you exactly how sensitive I am,” I grumbled. “By smashing your pretty face into the deck of my boat.”
A smile played in his eyes and he put his hands up in surrender. “I’m just pointing out the obvious.”
It felt like nothing had been the same since I learned Liana was alive. I didn’t know how to get rid of the edgy sensation beneath my skin whenever I thought of her.
For fuck’s sake, I’d kidnapped a woman I was sent to rescue. Why? Maybe to remind her of our meeting eight years ago, which she seemed to have conveniently forgotten. Or maybe because even after eight years, I was still fascinated with the woman.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure which was worse.
“Are we going to sit here and watch this crazed woman as she sleeps in your bed?” my brother asked, leaning back in his seat.
“She’s not crazy,” I growled.
He raised a brow. “Misunderstood, then?”
“You’re about to be misunderstood when I break your teeth.”
Romeo brought his glass of whatever poison he was nursing to his lips, trying to conceal his smile. “But can you tell me first what you’re going to do with her?”
I didn’t know.
The mafia princess was clearly determined to wreak havoc on any man who dared to get close to her, and I started to question whether the idea of marriage was untimely.
But the cat was out of the bag, and it was about time I took a wife. It would be the best way to keep her safe from the cartel, the Syndicate, and the Omertà.
“Giovanni?” Romeo called.
My gaze slid to the unsuspecting woman. “I’m going to convince her to marry me.”