Chapter 8 – Vanessa
Chapter Eight
Vanessa
My father rips my head back at an uncomfortable angle using a handful of my hair. I glare as his burned scent hits my nose.
Oh yeah, he’s super pissed.
I’m not exactly pleased at being dragged into a room with him and my brothers, but I knew this was coming.
“How long have you been involved with Emory Moretti?” He hisses the question close to my face.
The alcohol on his breath makes my nose wrinkle.
“Long enough to understand my husband isn’t going to appreciate you putting your hands on me.” My chin tilts in the air, and I struggle to pull free of his hold.
The door flings open.
A massive man with brown hair up in a bun on the back of his head strides inside. He moves around behind my father, so I’m not able to see what he does, but a second later, Moretti follows him inside.
“Take your goddamn hands off my wife,” Moretti growls. A shiver runs down my spine at the dominance that accompanies him into the room. “If either of the twins move, break both their necks.” The latter part must be directed at his bodyguard.
All parties held at the warehouse are weapon-free.
Everyone is searched on the way into the building, and guns are returned on the trip back out the door.
I bet it would be more convenient for that guy if he could just shoot them.
I’ve heard that breaking a neck is actually a lot harder than the movies make it seem.
My father bares his teeth at me, digging his nails into my skull painfully. It’s only another beat before he releases his hold on my hair and shoulder. Stepping back, he pastes on a friendly smile.
It’s disturbing how quickly his demeanor changes when he knows he’s being watched. I’m pretty sure being able to flip the switch so fast makes him a psychopath.
“I was just telling my daughter how much she looks like her mother,” Julian says, lying his ass off.
“Mmm, yes. That’s exactly what it looked like you were doing,” Moretti replies sarcastically.
“Congratulations on your union,” my father says. “I won’t lie. I’m disappointed you didn’t come to me man-to-man to discuss the terms before taking things into your own hands.” He turns to face Moretti.
I’m torn between watching the giant holding my brothers at bay with just a glower and whatever is about to go down between Moretti and my father.
“Keep them there, Hawk,” Moretti says to the man.
I recognize his name from the night I was kidnapped, but I never got a look at him up close and personal. He was the guy Moretti ordered to find my things. He’s a beast, even taller than his boss.
If Moretti is six-three or six-four, the bodyguard has to be closer to six-six or six-seven. He has a wide nose, thick brown eyebrows, and a strong jaw covered by a full brown beard.
“Vanessa is my scent match,” Moretti says, keeping his voice level and calm.
“I kept my distance out of respect for Malachy O’Connor and the union between your families.
However, not one of you approached me in your search to find someone to take over the contract.
” He holds out his arm for me, wiggling his fingers. “Come, darling.”
I blink in shock but eventually get myself together, shoving off the wall and running into his chest. I weave my arm under his open suit coat and wrap my hand around his lower back. Maybe it’s pathetic, but I’m going to play to his need to protect me as his wife.
Moretti’s palm comes to rest on my hip and stomach, but he continues to stare at my father.
“In the future, if there’s anything you feel you need to say to Vanessa, you go through me.
Consider that for your own safety. If you put your hands on her again, I won’t be held responsible for what I do.
” He pats my hip and nods to the door. “Go on, I’ll be right behind you. ”
My gaze bounces between Moretti and my father, but I pull my arm free of his coat, taking off for the door.
I grasp the cool metal handle, tugging it open as a crunch fills the air.
There’s some other sound that I can’t quite place, and I peek back over my shoulder.
My father is on the ground as Moretti shakes out his hand.
He lands a vicious kick to Julian’s ribs and squats at his side.
“What the fuck?” Victor growls.
“Jesus, Moretti,” Vance says, taking a step toward our father.
Hawk blocks their way, shoving the twins back with a hand on each of their chests. “Stay back.” His voice comes out as a low, vibrating growl.
“You touch my wife again, and I’ll force you to watch as I dismember your heirs piece by piece,” Moretti growls, standing.
“You’ve obviously forgotten how ruthless my family is when it comes to protecting our own.
Don’t test me, Chapman. You won’t like the outcome.
Unlike you, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. ”
I’m not sure I was supposed to see that, so I scurry out the door. The hinge causes it to close loudly as my back lands against the wall. My chest rises and falls in rapid pants as I wait for Moretti and his guard to join me.
Holy shit.
Seeing my father be put in his place for once was incredible.
I’ve daydreamed about it so many times.
My hands shake as I rest them against the wall behind me. Yeah, it felt good in the moment, but I know how vindictive that man can be. I can only imagine what kind of hell he’s going to put us through in retribution.
Moretti keeps his arm around my lower back as his henchman leads the way out of the warehouse. I’ve got my phone and purse, which is something, but everything else I own is at my family’s home.
That doesn’t even account for how shitty I feel knowing Magnum is going to sneak into my room tonight, only to be stood up.
Before he left, I asked him about exchanging phone numbers, but he warned me that calling him would be a mistake.
Once I went missing, my family would look for ways to hunt me down.
Any recently called or texted numbers would be a great place to start.
If I’d had more time before risking my brother or one of the guards busting in to drag me to the party, I would have recommended one of the anonymous texting apps.
Now I have no way to contact him to warn him I won’t be there, and it causes an uncomfortable ache to form in my gut.
“Check the vehicle.” Moretti nods at Hawk as a black SUV comes to a stop in the loading and unloading area in front of the warehouse. Turning to me, he pulls off his overcoat, tossing it over my shoulders. “Do you not own any jackets?”
“I have coats. They’re just all at my father’s house. I opted not to wear one tonight because I didn’t want to ruin my outfit. The warehouse is heated, and I was warm enough in the car on the way over.”
“We’re clear,” Hawk says, his growly voice rolling through the air and making me jolt.
My face heats, but Moretti guides me toward the open door of the SUV as Hawk steps back to allow us to pass. He keeps his head on a swivel, and he looks like an absolute beast of a sentinel. He might be taller than I originally guessed.
“Watch your head as you climb in. You and I are headed to the back row,” Moretti says as I duck to climb into the back of the SUV. It has two captain’s chairs in the middle row, but they’re strangely facing the rear of the vehicle rather than the front.
That actually makes a lot of sense from a security perspective. It allows the guys in the front seats to focus on the front of the vehicle while whoever is in the middle row focuses on any dangers that approach from the rear of the SUV.
I climb into the vehicle, taking a seat in the back. Moretti follows me in, and I slide across the bench seat to allow him space to sit. His coat surrounds me with his electric scent. Having the man in question so close doesn’t help my system relax.
The entire vehicle shakes as Hawk climbs in, taking a seat in the captain’s chair closest to the door he just entered through. He doesn’t look at me or Moretti; instead, he focuses out the back window of the SUV, proving my assumption of the seats’ purpose correct.
The vehicle takes off, and it really clicks that I have none of my things. I wasn’t given any warning, and while most stuff is replaceable, there are some things that aren’t.
I’m used to having security around, witnessing everything I do or say, but normally I know who they are or have at least been properly introduced to them. This situation is just going to be weird, and I accept that as I turn to Moretti.
“I assume you won’t be taking me home…”
“No, I hadn’t planned on saving you only to hand you over to those who mean you harm.” Moretti swivels slightly in his seat until his cold blue eyes meet mine. “Your father is clearly looking for someone to blame.”
“I appreciate that,” I say, trying to rack my brain for a way to finish that sentence without using the word but.
I’m grateful. I just have a few things that would really hurt to leave behind.
Not to mention, I’d love to find a way to leave Magnum a note to give him a heads-up about what happened.
“When I thought I would be going to live with Grigoryan, I didn’t have much hope for a long life, so I resigned myself to the idea not much mattered.
If I’m going to live past this year, there are things that I can’t replace if Julian destroys them—pictures of my mom and dad, birthday cards. ”
“I see,” Moretti says, like it’s the first time he’s considered I might have sentimental items that I’m not prepared to leave behind. “I’ll call your father tomorrow.”
“We should go over there right now.” I nod and glance between Moretti and Hawk, whose eyes I feel burning into the side of my head. “He won’t have had the chance to tell the guards not to let me in. I can be in and out before they even make it home.”
“Not a good idea,” Hawk says, shaking his head. It causes his thick brown bun to bounce on the back of his head. “They come home and find us rooting around their house… Shit will get real, fast.”