But I’ll give him every single part of me if he promises to take them.
25
Adrian
She’s so quiet in the car ride back to the penthouse that I have to keep checking that she’s breathing. Holding her, I feel a little less like burning the world down. At the very least, Sal signed his own death warrant by touching Valentina. Not just from me, but by society rules. More than just my team will be hunting for him now. As for Olenka…I gave her to Andrea to play with. No doubt she’ll be screaming for mercy within the hour.
Val’s dress is ripped—cut—up her back, and I keep moving it to cover her when she or the car shifts. Another wave of white-hot rage rolls through me every time I do. He touched her, hurt her, after I promised her she would be safe. I don’t break my promises.
What’s worse, for some reason, she thinks the moment I kill Sal that our deal is complete. My careful handling of her feels like it was all for nothing. She expects me to take her as payment for services rendered. If all I wanted was a woman to fuck, there are a hell of a lot less complicated ways to get a bed partner. Hell, I could have had my pick from any society darling, fucking her right there on the ballroom floor, and her family would have still thanked me for choosing her.
Valentina doesn’t understand our world as well as I thought she did. Nor does she know me as well as I need her to. It only makes me angrier because the realization hurts. It fucking hurts, and I hate that she has this power now.
She stirs in my arms, and I clutch her tighter. “Rest, Angel. I’ve got you.”
When we reach the penthouse, Kai opens the doors for me all the way up until we are behind my very thorough security. Then I set her gently on her feet and wrap my jacket around her tightly.
It’s a stalling tactic so I don’t turn and gut every single one of my men. I’m reminding myself that these people are my friends. Yet they almost let my wife be raped and killed in the fucking hotel bathroom.
Kai steps in front of the rest of them, all except Andrea, who is dealing with Olenka. He’ll try to take the blame, and maybe I should let him. After all, he oversaw the assignments tonight. Andrea should have gone into that bathroom with Valentina. She shouldn’t have been alone for one second.
I’m close to erupting and shooting every motherfucking person in this room, save her. Kai takes another step forward, further trying to shield the others. “Boss…”
“Explain. Why the fuck was she alone in that bathroom? I know damn well it’s not against your delicate sensibilities to be in the ladies’ room…you’ve fucked enough women in there that no one bothers calling you out when you enter. So explain why my wife was almost killed…because I’d really like to fucking hear it.”
A soft whooshing sound is pounding in my ears. Like my heartbeat but cranked to max volume. He’s speaking, but I can’t even hear him. I grab the closest object and throw it against the wall. It shatters, and I can’t even tell what it was. The destruction doesn’t help.
I’m so angry I’m dizzy with it. All this time of caring for her, keeping her safe, helping her recover was shattered in a moment of carelessness. And worse, I blame myself too. I shouldn’t have left her alone for one second. It should have been me in that bathroom with Valentina. Sal wouldn’t have dared to show his fucking face.
I go to the bar, fling glasses out of the way until I find the bottle I want. It feels so breakable in my hands, yet I don’t fling it away. I tug the cork out of the top and take a long draw, then turn to face Kai again. “I didn’t hear a fucking word you said because there is no excuse you can give me that will make this fucking right.”
I gesture at Valentina and then look at her. My words die in my throat. She’s huddled in my coat, wide, glassy eyes staring at me in alarm. Now she’s scared of me. Hell, she wasn’t even scared of me when we met. She wasn’t scared of me when she came to me for help. Sal did this, and I’ll fucking slaughter him for it.
Ignoring my men, I slowly approach her. When she flinches away, it’s like a knife in my gut, serrated and dull. “Angel, look at me.”
She continues to stare straight again. I snap my fingers in front of her face and pat her cheek. “Val, darling, look at me.”
When she shifts her gaze to mine, her face crumples, and the glossy sheen of her eyes morphs to tear-coated. “It’s not their fault. I needed time alone. I told them to leave me alone.”