Page 4 of His Wicked Obsession
His mouth flounders like a fish as he tries to speak, his body slowly dying and draining until there’s nothing left but his carcass.
Pace walks out, not a care in the world about what I’ve just done. Death doesn’t frighten me; it’s nothing new in my life, but taking a life isn’t something I do lightly. This piece of scum deserved it, though. If he were working for a man like Peeta Ambrose, there would be no redemption for him, no saving his soul. His demise was the only option.
And I’ll make peace with that.
Eventually.
“Yo’, D, you better come see this!” Pace yells as I exit the barn, waving my phone in his hand. Jogging over, I take it from him. Seeing Bella’s name on the screen, I unlock it as quickly as possible to read the message she sent.
Cara mia Bella: I need help.
The time stamp reads hours ago, but I try calling her anyway. If she’s contacting me for help, then something is seriously wrong because after the wedding, after we shared that explosive kiss, she begged me to stay away.
Me: Answer the phone.
I try again. And again. And keep calling until it no longer rings and goes straight to voicemail.
“What’s going on?” Pace’s concern grows. The Marino twins were his wife’s childhood best friends, and if something happens to them, it affects her, and he doesn’t like his wife upset.
“She’s not answering,” I growl.
Me: Come on, cara mia, talk to me.
I wait a minute. Call again.
Nothing.
Me: Bella, if you don’t answer, I’m coming for you and nothing, nobody, will stop me from claiming you this time.
Bella Marino was always meant to be mine. She may have married Lude Vella based on promises of a future she’d always dreamed of having, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do everything in my power to convince her that I’m more worthy because I’ll give it all to her, as well, plus the love she so desperately craves.
Slamming a hand on the top of the car, I get behind the wheel and start it up. Pace is barely seated before I take off, back for Palermo. I need to speak to my brothers, warn them of the danger coming for us, and find out if Bria has heard from her sister.
“This Ambrose guy a valid threat?” Pace finally questions.
“He was one of the biggest human traffickers on the east coast of the U.S. Maso and I took him down. He always swore revenge.” I never imagined he’d live long enough to face his trial date once the inmates found out what he did. There’s a code on the inside, and there’s no way he’s been able to escape from it.
“Are my wife and unborn child in danger, D?” The full force of his glare is on me now. “Amalia, Bria, Nicola?” None of the women in our lives have had an easy go of it. We’d all protect them with our lives. “Mama?”
Slamming on the brakes, I need to steady my breathing. Imagining any of these women in danger enrages me to a point of absolute agony. “Yes,” I finally respond. “He’s a plausible threat, but until I speak to the Carmichaels or Sinclairs in New York, I won’t know how bad it is.” For a time, Natale Morello went to school with Malice Sinclair, and I know for a fact that his family will have the answers we seek.
“Then let's get moving,” he growls, calling Isabel to check on her.
Rolling down the window to help temper my rage, I allow the cool breeze to brush across my flesh as my mind drifts to the one and only time I had Bella in my arms.
“I wish I could stay here forever,” Bella sighs as we dance on the beach. The sun is a golden hue on the horizon as it begins to set. We’re the only ones left over from the wedding.
“Why can’t you?” She doesn’t love Lude. There’s no way she could and still look at me like she does. When her gaze falls upon me, her desire for me is evident. Her body knows she belongs to me and not the man she married.
Attempting to pull away, Bella glances up at me with sadness in her eyes. “Because I’m married to Lude.” I notice she doesn’t say she loves him or that she’s committed to him. It’s transactional for them.
“You don’t love him,” I point out, not for the first time.
“Donato.” Her tone pleads for me to understand her quagmire. But I can’t, I won’t, not until she’s mine.
“Am I wrong?” We stop dancing, and I tilt her chin up so she’s forced to lie to my face.
“He’s promised me everything I’ve ever wanted.”