Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
It also meant several capos were also unhappy. Each time Leonardo did something, it ran the risk of a takeover attempt. Thomas Rossi was a good man. Brutal but fair. When it came to Leonardo, it meant potentially cutting off his only son and heir.
“I know.”
“I don’t like the way he looks at Valentina,” Giovanni said.
“I saw.” Thomas ran a hand down his face. “He will not touch her. I swear.”
Giovanni didn’t need to remind the man that each woman he touched and abused was a violation of his instructions.
“Have your honeymoon. Enjoy the time with your wife, and when you get back, we will talk. In the meantime, I will handle my son.”
He knew when to keep his thoughts to himself, and now was one of those times. Thomas held out his hand, and Giovanni shook it.
They were good friends. He’d taken a bullet for this man more than once, and would gladly do it again and again. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for this man.
He found Valentina at the main door of the house, her family close by. After shaking her father’s hand, her brother’s, and then pressing a kiss to her mother’s, he placed a hand on Valentina’s back and walked out the front door.
As per tradition, they had wanted to mess with his car, but he’d put a ban on it. He told them simply, bloody sheets or abusing his car. One or the other. The men decided it was more suitable and traditional to stick with the car not being damaged.
If it had been him, he’d have made sure the car was trashed, but that was another reason he was so different from the other men in this world.
He noticed how tense Valentina was as he placed a hand on her back. He didn’t know what he’d done to warrant the sudden change, and if he was honest with himself, he didn’t like it. The only people he wanted afraid were his enemies. Not his wife. She had no reason to fear him.
Giovanni helped her into the car, securing the seat belt, and then, he rounded the vehicle, giving one final wave to the crowd that had gathered. He took note of Leonardo with Victoria. The couple was a nasty pair. Probably the worst two to come together, but that was a mess he’d deal with when they got back home.
After climbing into the car, he turned over the engine and took off, heading out the secure gate, and then he didn’t look back.
He kept a constant look out in case anyone followed him. There was no one close by as he navigated the roads. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Valentina glanced at him, and he saw her shaking.
When he placed a hand on her thigh, she flinched. “Valentina, what’s wrong?”
“I didn’t … encourage … he… I’m so sorry. Please don’t hit me.”
As an accusation, Giovanni was so stunned, he nearly drove the car off the freaking road. He found a safe spot to pull over, and the moment he did, he parked, unbuckled his seat belt, and climbed out.
Valentina stayed in the car, not moving, and he couldn’t stand to see her like this. She was shaking.
It had been three years since he’d seen her like this, and if he could, he’d go back and kill Leonardo for making her feel this way.
Chapter Four
Was he going to hit her?
Valentina struggled to keep her feelings in check. The moment she saw how angry Giovanni looked, she’d been scared. He was … there was no way she could survive him if he went into a violent rage.
This was impossible.
“Look at me,” he said, opening the door. He reached across, unbuckling the seatbelt, and she stared into his dark-brown eyes.
The moment he touched her and she looked at him, seeing the concern on his face in the furrow of his brow, all the panic seemed to melt away.
“That’s it, baby, look at me. It’s me here, no one else. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“You’re not going to hit me?”
“Hit you? Why the fuck would I hit you?”
“Because of … Leonardo.”
“No, I wouldn’t hit you because of him. I am never going to hit you.”
She couldn’t help but look at him with doubt. How could that be possible? It couldn’t, could it?
“Listen to me. You are safe with me.”
“Men always hit their wives.”
“I’m not most men.”
She frowned, and he reached up, stroking a finger across her brow.
“I know what our world is like, but I’m not like them. I have no desire to harm my wife.”
“But what if I do something … I don’t know, stupid?”
“Like what?”
“Talk to a cop?”
“Will you talk to a cop?” he asked.
“No, of course not. I know how to handle the cops.”
“Then it doesn’t matter.”
“What if you doubt me?”
“I have no reason to doubt you.” He held her knees, and she loved the strength within his grip. What was wrong with her? One minute she was scared of him hitting her, and now, she liked how he touched her. None of it made any sense. This was impossible.