Chapter 4
Chapter Four
CHASTITY
A drenaline pumped through my veins, rushing with such intensity that it wasn’t just my head that shot up from Matteo’s waist. It was my whole body. I popped out of his lap like a corn kernel in a frying pan.
I might have jumped halfway across the room if Matteo didn’t clasp onto my wrist again and keep me by his side.
“ Father !”
I should have kept my mouth shut. The instant his cold, pale eyes flashed my way, I wished the earth would open up and swallow me whole. Better that than having to watch his face turn a frightening shade of red as he took in the sight of his supposedly saintly daughter—hair tangled and tossed, habit bunched and wrinkled, lips flushed from use. Pure rage radiated out of him. His whole body shook with it.
“D’Angelo, you son of a bitch!” I shuffled back a step as his roar filled the room. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
I’d seen my father angry plenty of times. I’d even heard him threaten others’ lives—men who, the next day, had their obituaries printed in the paper. But I’d never seen him this of control before. He looked ready to rip Matteo’s head off with bare hands.
Strangely, though, Matteo didn’t seem all that concerned.
In fact, he hadn’t moved an inch since the door had busted wide open. He was still lounging back on the couch, his jacket and shirt hanging wide open. Hell, even his head was still lolled back against the cushions.
Despite the obvious danger, he seemed perfectly relaxed.
Maybe it was because of the hulking black-clad security guard standing directly behind my father, his beefy hands clasped around both of his shoulders as he struggled to restrain him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. D’Angelo,” the guard said over my father’s constant stream of curses. “He rushed past me. There was no stopping him.”
“It’s all right, Marcus,” Matteo assured the man. “I had a feeling Mr. Costa would be showing up sometime tonight.”
My eyes went wide. “You did?”
Matteo gave a deep sigh as he finally sat up into a more business-like position—though he made no move to button either his shirt or jacket.
“I figured one of your cousins was bound to call him once we kicked them out of the club,” he explained a little too calmly. “And once he arrived to bail them out of trouble, he’d discover you were no longer with the group and come looking for you.”
“I didn’t have to look hard,” my father howled. “Half a dozen people saw you forcing her up these stairs in the commotion.”
“ Forcing ?” Matteo gave a humorless laugh. “Is that what they said? Funny, that’s not how I remember it. How about you, Chastity?”
Just the sound of my name on Matteo’s lips was enough to send my father off into another fit of thrashing in the poor security guard’s grasp.
“You bastard,” he howled, his voice crackling with intensity. “Don’t talk to my daughter. Don’t even look at her, or I’ll tear the heart right out of your chest.”
I tensed up, shaking at the sound of my father’s violent threats, but Matteo didn’t so much as blink.
“No, you won’t,” he said with what sounded like utter certainty. “You won’t even send your lowest street soldier after me, Costa—and we both know it. So cut the shit. The only person you’re scaring here is your own daughter.”
“Maybe she should be scared,” he said, glancing my way again. His lip curled up in disgust, and pure contempt shone in his eyes. It was a look he’d only given me once before—on the day he’d discovered I’d gone lingerie shopping with Alessia.
A wave of guilt washed over me at the sight, and my shoulders fell forward. I bowed my head down as my gaze turned toward the floor.
Matteo had a very different reaction.
Even as I was swallowed up by shame, I felt his hand tighten around my wrist. His languid energy changed as his whole body stiffened, going on the defensive.
“That better not be a threat, Costa,” he said, his voice turning cold as ice as he rose to his feet.
“Or what?” my father shot back with a sneer. “Everyone knows Matteo D’Angelo is a coward who hides behind his brothers. You’ve never gotten your hands dirty—not for your own family, and sure as hell, not for a woman.”
I glanced up from the floor long enough to see a frozen fire burning bright in Matteo’s eyes. But to my surprise, he didn’t even try to defend himself.
Instead, he made his own threat—one that was twice as sharp and deadly sounding than any my father had made so far.
“For you, I might make an exception, Costa.”
Up to that point, I’d never witnessed my father back down from anyone. Not even an inch. But faced with Matteo’s controlled, icy fury, he cut his losses and turned his rage toward me.
“Come on, Chastity,” he commanded. “I’ll deal with you at home.”
Without thinking, I stepped forward, fearful of the consequences if I didn’t obey. But I didn’t get any farther than that single step.
Matteo’s hand still held me tight…and he didn’t show any intention of letting go. “And exactly how are you going to deal with her?” he demanded.
My father’s jaw tightened. “That’s none of your business, D’Angelo. She’s not one of your whores.”
“And she’s also not your property, Costa,” Matteo shot back without hesitation. “She’s a grown woman who can decide for herself where she wants to go and who she wants to be with.”
Strange.
My whole life, no one had ever talked about me that way—like I was a real person. Not a thing to be used or manipulated.
But no matter how nice Matteo’s words sounded, they still didn’t change a thing.
“I should go with him,” I said, unable to keep the sadness out of my voice.
“ Should ?” Matteo raised his brows. “I don’t give a shit about should . What do you want ?”
Oh God, why did he keep asking that? Didn’t he know that the answer didn’t matter?
Want was for people whose lives weren’t mapped out for them from the moment they were born. For people whose families didn’t enforce their will with murder and violence.
“My father wants to kill you,” I said, dropping my voice down to a low whisper. “Maybe if I go with him, I can calm him down and talk him out of it.”
His dark eyes studied mine. “You think I’m afraid of your father?”
“No.” I shook my head. Clearly, he wasn’t. He should have been, though. “But all of this is my fault. I’m the one who caused the fight by leaving Alessia’s party. I’m the one who drank too much and couldn’t stop touching you. I should be the one to face his anger. Not you.”
I watched Matteo’s brows pulled together, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “You’re trying to protect me?”
“Of course.” Why wouldn’t I be? My over-protective mob boss father was openly threatening to kill the one man I’d ever dared to touch. If Matteo were thinking clearly, he’d be just as scared as I was.
“What are you two whispering about?” my father demanded from the doorway.
“Nothing,” I rushed to placate him. “I’m coming. Just let me grab my veil, and I’ll be right there.”
I tried to pull away from Matteo, but he held firm to my wrist, not letting me move an inch.
“And what about you?” he demanded.
I shook my head, not understanding the question. “What about me?”
“What will he do to you?”
“Shout and scream,” I answered with a shrug. If it was anything like the last time I’d disappointed him, he might even slap me around a little—though I kept that part to myself. “But what he won’t do is kill me. He’ll just ship me off to a new convent. Probably in Rome if I had to guess.”
Somewhere completely cloistered where all the sisters kept a vow of silence, and no one stepped foot off the grounds.
Matteo’s gaze burned into mine. “And is that what you want?”
“No, of course not, but?—”
I never had the chance to explain. Before I could say another word, Matteo pulled me behind him and turned to face my father.
“Go home, Costa,” he said, his tone final. “Chastity is staying with me.”
“The hell she is,” my father roared, renewing his struggle against the security guard’s hold. “I’ll fucking kill you before I let you violate my daughter.”
“Papa!” I shouted over his screams. “Please calm down. Both of you. I know we can talk this out.”
“ Talk ?” my father scoffed. “Can’t you see that all this bastard wants is to corrupt you? He won’t be happy until he gets you in his bed and fucks you like a common whore. Is that what you want? To throw your life away on some degenerate pimp?”
I shuddered at his crass description.
“You’ve got it all wrong. Matteo isn’t the bad guy,” I tried to explain. “I’m the one who started all this. I’m the one who kissed him.”
“Chastity, don’t descend deeper into sin by lying for him.”
“I’m not,” I said. “It’s the truth. I swear it.”
If I thought my confession would cool my father’s anger, I was dead wrong. His face only turned a deeper shade of crimson.
“ Harlot .” Shame and raw hurt deepened his voice, making the insult land like a hammer against my heart. “I thought you’d get over this ridiculous childhood obsession with him when I sent you away all those years ago. But you always were weak, weren’t you? I should the second you were back in the city, you’d go running off to find him.”
“That isn’t what happened, papa.”
“No? You expect me to believe it was just coincidence that you and your cousins ended up at his club tonight?”
No. Coincidence wasn’t the right word. But I certainly hadn’t planned any of this. A cruel twist of fate would have been a better way to describe it.
“Please, papa,” I tried again, but he wasn’t listening.
Not anymore.
“You want to be a slut?” he asked mockingly. “Fine. But don’t come crying to me when this shitbag shows you the door like all his other whores. And don’t think that the church will take you back either. He might be the one I murder with my bare hands, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re both dead to me.”
I gasped.
My father’s temper was legendary, sure. All Costa tempers were. But he’d never been this publicly cruel to me before.
Then again, I’d never screwed up this badly.
I opened my mouth, a thousand apologies and pleas for forgiveness ready to tumble out, but before a single one could fall, Matteo nodded toward the security guard.
“Marcus, get him out of here,” he ordered. “And tell the boys at the door to bar anyone associated with the Costas from the club until further notice.”
“You think that will stop me from getting to you?” my father demanded as he was forcibly pulled from the doorway. “I’m still going to kill you.”
Matteo smirked at the threat, then raised a hand, stopping his security guard with a simple gesture. Stepping across the room, he didn’t stop until he was face to face with my father.
“You can try,” Matteo answered with a shrug. “But I’ll tell you one thing, Costa. If I ever hear you talk to your daughter like that again, I won’t be sending either of my brothers after you. I’ll deal with you myself.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat,” my father laughed. “You don’t scare me, D’Angelo.”
“I should,” he answered back. “Because you’re right about one thing. I’m not like my brothers. They’re a little like you—the ‘eye for an eye’ type. But not me.”
“No. Everyone knows that Matteo D’Angelo is a fucking coward.”
“Only a gidrul mistakes patience for cowardice.” Matteo’s lips twisted in a humorless smile, his tone icy enough to send shivers up my spine. “And I’m a very patient man, Costa. The kind who isn’t satisfied with a single eye. No, I’d need your wife’s and your sons’. Your sisters and brothers. Nieces and nephews. Cousins. Friends. Associates. Everyone . I don’t stop until your whole world is blind, and you are on your knees wishing you’d fucked around with one of my brothers instead.”
I watched in horrified awe as the color drained from my father’s face as he stared into Matteo’s hard, unflinching gaze. I’d never seen him like this before—speechless and shocked.
In all honesty, my reaction wasn’t all that different. I was still standing slack-jawed when, in the next instant, Matteo flicked his fingers and turned back toward me.
“Throw his ass out on the street with the rest of the bastards, Marcus,” he said over his shoulder.
“Gladly, sir,” Marcus said, gripping my father even tighter by the shoulders as he dragged him down the stairwell. The door swung shut behind them.
I’m not sure exactly how long I stood there, mouth hanging open, pale from shock, Maybe a few seconds. Maybe more.
But eventually, I was able to shake enough of the disbelief out of my head to look over at Matteo and say, “Oh God. What am I going to do now?”
“Just like I said,” he answered calmly as if the whole world hadn’t just shattered and was raining down around us. “You’re staying with me.”