Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
I paced across my bedroom, not deigning to look at the bastard where he lounged on the bed that I shared with my wife. And him.
I ground my teeth at the thought of him holding her. The hands that’d ended my brother’s life now caressed the woman who was meant to be mine forever, and she melted at his touch.
Any minute now, she would return from getting Giana settled in, and she would go to him, not me. She would cuddle up to him but shoot me those secret, wide-eyed glances: the ones that gave me foolish hope that I hadn’t completely broken our marriage.
She appeared in the open doorway, floating toward me with her remarkable grace, the dancer’s poise that’d first captured my attention years ago. I expected her to fling herself into Luca’s arms, but she came to a stop between us, as though she could use her slight body as a shield.
Luca sat up straighter on the edge of the bed, and I stopped pacing. Our keen attention fixed on her, and for a moment, she squirmed at the scrutiny. Then my brave wife took a breath and lifted her chin in the defiant way that made my blood race for her. Pride and possessiveness heated my chest. This stunning, strong woman was my partner, and I would never surrender her to my enemy. No matter what she might say next.
She fixed me with a steady hazel stare, face utterly composed and firm with determination. “We’re going to talk about what happened to your brother.”
My fists instantly clenched at my sides.
“I already know what happened,” I snapped, turning my glower on Luca. “This motherfucker murdered him.”
Luca’s jaw firmed, and his eyes darkened with guilt.
“Don’t listen to his excuses,” I warned Nora. “He knows what he did.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luca shot back, voice tight. “Francesco is dead because of me. I’ve had to live with that for years, but—”
“Finally, the truth,” I seethed, turning my attention to my wife. “There’s nothing to discuss. He’s guilty, and he’s admitted it right in front of you. Don’t ever beg for mercy on his behalf again, little bird.”
“Don’t you dare threaten her!” Luca barked, surging to his feet.
Nora instantly stepped in front of him, blocking his path to me. I rolled my shoulders, bracing for the attack. I ignored the flare of pain as my stitches strained. That discomfort didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but avenging my brother.
And protecting Nora.
As long as she kept her slight body between us, neither of us could throw the first punch. Not without risking my stubborn, headstrong wife.
“I’m not the one who killed him,” Luca seethed. “And you’ve tormented Nora when she’s entirely innocent.”
“Of course you killed him!” I bellowed, my entire body coiling tight with the need to throttle him. “Francesco cursed your name with his final breath. It was his last word as he bled out in my arms. You came to the raid on our estate when my father betrayed yours and attempted to take control for himself. I tried to keep Francesco out of it; he was only fifteen, and the two of us had nothing to do with our father’s coup. There was no need for us to die defending the bastard who’d beaten my mother so badly that she abandoned us. But then you arrived to help do your father’s dirty work, and you left my brother to die after you shot him.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” A vein pulsed in Luca’s brow, and Nora pressed her hands against his chest, directly over his heart. He halted as though she’d chained him in place. “Francesco came out of hiding to fight with me. To protect me. He took the bullet that was meant for me. He died to save my life. I’ll always bear the weight of his death on my conscience, but I’m not the one who pulled the trigger.”
My spine stiffened, my entire body locking up tight as my mind viscerally rejected his distorted version of events. “You’re lying. Why would my brother risk his life to protect you? You were always just Tommaso Vitale’s spoiled heir. He didn’t owe you any personal loyalty.”
Luca’s cheeks flushed with something like shame. “Because he was in love with me. He’d told me only a few days before, and I rejected him. I…said some things I’m not proud of. He was my friend, but I never thought about him in that way. And if our fathers had ever found out that he said something like that, they—”
“Stop lying!” I roared, my entire body practically vibrating with the force of my rage.
“I’m not lying! You think I don’t regret the shitty things I said to him? Do you think I wanted him to die for me? Or do you not want to believe that your own brother might have loved another man?”