Chapter 3
Valentina
Proof. A surge of suspicion put me on edge.
My hand trembled, making the gun shake noticeably as I took in Enzo’s words.
Inhaling a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.
Forced myself to reclaim my composure. I couldn’t afford to show weakness again.
Fear of losing my father had almost made me lose it completely last night. I wasn’t going to repeat that.
At last, my grip on the gun steadied. I met my fiancé’s gaze.
His dark eyes locked on mine, his look so intense that I had to fight to avoid looking away.
Terrified as I was on the inside, I was going to project so much strength that Enzo and the rest of his family feared me. With my father incapacitated, I needed to be tough as nails. Fear was the only deterrent in our business, and I intended to use it against Enzo.
“What proof?” I asked, maintaining an even tone.
“I have to show you,” he said.
This could easily be a trap. Not only because every De Luca was untrustworthy, but also because it was exactly what I would do if the situation were reversed. I’d set a trap to either escape or get the upper hand. Enzo could very well be planning the exact same thing.
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Show me?”
“There’s a safe,” he said, jerking his head to indicate the living room’s far wall.
Keeping the pistol trained on him, I took a quick glance across the room. Sure enough, there was a safe built into the wall.
“What’s in the safe?” I asked, watching him intently to gauge if his response struck me as honest.
“Two cell phones,” he answered. “Mine and your father’s. You can try calling if you don’t believe me.”
I didn’t trust his suggestion. If I paused to take out my phone and make a call, that could be an awfully convenient distraction for him to use against me.
But then, if it turned out that there was a weapon in that safe instead of a cell phone, I’d end up wishing that I had taken him up on the offer.
Neither option sounded good, but with Papa injured, I was the one calling the shots.
Every decision I made now carried an extra weight.
Thinking fast, I kept the pistol pointed at Enzo’s chest as I quickly reached into one of the inner pockets of the coat I’d borrowed from Mom.
My poor distraught mother had arrived at our clinic within the hour of me calling to tell her in code that Papa was in emergency surgery.
Mom was typically good under pressure, but she’d fallen to pieces when she saw me covered in blood.
She had been so horrified at the sight of the gore on my sparkly gold dress, that she had tearfully insisted that I cover it up with her coat.
Her emotional outburst had been too much for me.
Hence the reason I had left the clinic the minute my father got out of surgery.
Somehow, I’d managed to pull myself together after my initial breakdown at seeing Papa sprawled and bleeding out in Enzo’s living room.
But seeing Mom lose it had been too much for me to bear.
Coming down here to face Enzo felt easier somehow, charged and frightening as it was to confront a potential killer.
I pulled out my cell phone and contemplated my next move.
I could always force him to make the call for me at gunpoint, saving me the risk of being distracted if I made the call myself.
But Enzo could potentially use my phone against me and call reinforcements.
That possibility was too dangerous. Instead of tossing the cell phone to him, I lifted the gun to point it straight at his forehead.
“Don’t move a muscle,” I warned, keeping my voice low and threatening.
I saw anger flash in his dark eyes, the spark of rage as bright as flames.
My heart started to race. I couldn’t afford to mess up.
If I did, it would just prove to my father that he had been right to marry me off for my own good.
He’d all but eliminated my chance to ascend to second in command, which just showed his lack of confidence in me.
A lack of confidence that stemmed from me being a daughter instead of a son.
But now, I was in charge. This was my opportunity to show anyone who had ever doubted me, including the father, who I loved with all my heart.
Much as it pained me to admit it to myself even now, I was still angry with him.
Still furious that he’d married me off to our enemies without my input.
This was my chance to make Papa regret that decision.
I wouldn’t squander it by second-guessing myself.
Despite the angry inferno raging behind Enzo’s eyes, he didn’t move or speak. Good.
Maintaining my grip on the gun in one hand, and holding my cell phone in the other, I took my eyes off Enzo for several seconds to swipe the phone screen. Awkwardly, I managed to dial my father’s number.
Our eyes met the moment the muffled sound of my father’s cell phone ring filled the living room.
“Believe me now?” Enzo asked, anger hardening his tone.
“Open the safe,” I said, unwilling to concede anything to him.
If I conceded without seeing the truth for myself, I’d be partially taking him at his word and that would be foolish.
Last night, though, I had been a fool. I’d come over to Enzo’s apartment, my body tingling with anticipation.
Maybe he’d invited me to talk, but I doubted that was all he wanted.
And even though our families had been enemies my whole life, the night of our engagement party, I had welcomed my desire for him.
In the time I had spent with Enzo De Luca, I had learned that it really was possible to hate someone and still want them.
But after seeing my father nearly bleed to death, I no longer welcomed the desire that was currently storming through me.
Before the engagement party, I’d treated my desire for Enzo like a betrayal.
Now, my desire felt like far worse than betrayal...
it felt abhorrent. Like it was an affront, not just to my family, but to every value I’d ever held.
Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I ordered, “Walk slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Enzo still looked angry, but he slowly turned from me and started to move toward the safe. I followed after him, pressing the pistol into his back to emphasize that I was the one in control here. When the gun prodded him in the back, Enzo froze for a split second but then slowly began moving again.
Finally, he stopped at the safe. “I’m going to move my hand to put in the security code and so it can read my thumbprint.”
“Go ahead.”
My shoulders tensed when he moved his hand, my stomach twisting with fear.
Allowing him to do this put me in a vulnerable position.
I was already in De Luca territory, and now I was trusting that Enzo genuinely wanted to prove his innocence.
Every part of my body screamed that this was a setup, but what choice did I have?
Enzo punched in the security code and then pressed his thumb up to the safe’s electronic scanner. Bolts unlocked as the safe opened with a faint whirring sound. As the safe door swung wide open, I prodded Enzo in the back with the gun again, silently prompting him to get out of my line of vision.
Letting out what sounded like a frustrated exhale, he stepped aside to reveal the interior of the safe. There were two cell phones placed side by side.
“I told you,” Enzo said angrily.
Gun still trained on him, I reached for the phone I recognized. It was my father’s cell phone.
Enzo must have noticed my hesitation because he gruffly demanded, “What’s the problem?”
“I can’t access it without my dad’s biometrics,” I answered, my voice small as I clutched my Papa’s phone. “I can’t access it without him and if he doesn’t make it, then...”
“Listen to me,” Enzo began firmly. “He’s going to make it. As much as he tries to act like he’s harmless, we both know that your father is as strong as an ox.”
“Stubborn as one, too,” I said, my vision blurring.
“So that’s where you get it from.”
I blinked my tears away to give him my best glare. “Stop trying to flirt with me.”
“Can I at least take my damn phone?” he asked, not denying that he had been flirting with me.
“That depends,” I said.
“On what?"
“On whether I can trust you,” I said truthfully.
“You still don’t trust me?” His jaw clenched.
“You proved that you were telling the truth about why my father was here,” I said. “But you haven’t proven that I can trust you.”
“If it’ll make you feel better, I swear not to call for backup.” His dark eyes narrowed. “On one condition.”
I tilted my head, watching him carefully. “What’s that?”
“Lower the fucking gun, Valentina,” he barked.
Exhaustion set in at his command. Suddenly the gun felt like it weighed fifty pounds.
My arm ached. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of quickly jumping at his orders.
Making sure I gave him a withering glance for good measure, I very slowly let my hand drop to my side.
Then, I gave a nod, granting him permission.
Enzo reached into the safe, retrieved his phone, and shoved it into his bloodied shirt’s pocket. So far, so good. He wasn’t calling his family’s henchmen for backup.
“You’re covered in my father’s blood,” I said numbly, staring at his soiled shirt.
“Fuck. I know,” he muttered under his breath. “I should change out of these clothes.”
“What does it matter?” I said with more bitterness than I intended.
I looked at him, but he was out of focus, my eyes almost gazing through him as images from last night flashed in my mind.
I shuddered in horror at the memory of seeing my father pale and limp from the loss of blood.
I’d thought for sure he was dead. I had truly thought that I was on my way to being an orphan.
And after losing my Uncle Tony, my heart couldn’t accept losing anyone else.
“My dress is covered in blood, too. I feel like I’ll never get these stains off. ”