RUTHLESS KING

41 TORTURE

Luca
Dio, I feel like shit. If only the pain were skin deep. I glance down at the
neatly wrapped bandages across my torso and wince. The bullet went clean
through, avoiding all my vital organs according to the doc. Too bad it
missed my heart. Damned thing hasn’t been the same since Stella ran out on
me a week ago.
“Stella, I love you.” The words I’d kept locked up for so long ring like
mad across my mind.
“Vaffanculo, Luca Valentino. You abandoned me, you ran away like a
fucking coward. You have no idea what love is, you bastardo.” And her
response. Also, not entirely wrong. Maybe Stella’s right, and I really don’t
understand the meaning of the word. But cazzo, it sure as hell feels real.
The past week without her has been torture. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I
can barely breathe. The penthouse is cold and empty without her, much like
my heart. I’d been such a fucking idiot not to tell her the truth from the
beginning.
A buzz draws my attention to my cell on the nightstand. With a grunt, I
pick up my phone and scan the incoming message. Mickey. I’ve had him tailing Stella since the moment she ran out of her old apartment. I live for
the occasional updates. For the past week, she’s been holed up in her friend
Rose’s place. At least she’s safe.
The girl lives in a studio in a decent part of mid-town. I had Tony run a
full background check. No boyfriend, decent family from Long Island. She
and Stella attend the same community college and like she’d mentioned, her
friend is studying to be a psychologist. Maybe she’ll talk some sense into
Stella.
And she’ll abandon me forever.
That would be the noble thing to do: let her go. For the record, noble
hurts like hell.
A soft knock on the door pulls my lips into a frown. Magda has been
doting on me, waiting on me hand and foot, and I just want to be left alone
to my misery. “What?” I bark.
“Signor Valentino, Dr. Filippo is here.”
Ugh. Another one who’s giving me more attention than I deserve. I
force myself to sit up, and this time the pain is minimal. Physically, anyway.
“Fine, let her in,” I finally grumble.
Magda opens the door, and the doc saunters in all ruby-lipped and high-
heeled. I remember a time when the gorgeous doctor made my dick twitch.
Now I feel nothing. Empty. Numb.
“Ciao, bello. You’re looking better.” She sets down her briefcase and
pulls out the now familiar medical equipment. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was shot.”
“Seems like your humor is progressing nicely.”
“He won’t get out of bed,” Magda murmurs from the hallway.
I shoot her a traitorous glare. Maybe it’s time to send her on that
vacation she always refuses to take. A week or two alone could be just what
I need. To wallow in self-pity. “Luca, you know how this works.” The doc looks up at me, stethoscope
hanging around her neck. “The longer you remain immobile, the more
difficult the recovery.”
How do I tell her I don’t give a shit? That without Stella I have no
purpose, no reason to live. She’s my shining light in the infinite darkness
and damn it, without her the black is so thick I can’t push past it.
She continues the checkup, gingerly removing the bandages to observe
the wound. “It looks like you’re healing nicely. I suppose that’s the one plus
to continuous bed rest.”
I release a noncommittal grunt as she continues her quiet scrutiny.
How did I get here? Oh, right, I threw all my rules out the window and
completely fucked up my world. That’s why the rules were in place. That’s
why I’d gotten so far in life. One glorious month with Stella and everything
had gone to shit.
The corners of my lips lift as images of her perfect pink lips, that fiery
gaze, the feel of her against me fill my mind. Dio, I fucked everything up,
but a tiny part of me would do it a hundred times over for that one month
with her.
“Now that’s what I want to see.” Dr. Filippo grins as she gently replaces
the bandages. “Whatever just made you smile, do more of that.”
A rueful chuckle spills out. “I thought you said no sex until I’m fully
healed.”
She swats at me with her perfectly manicured fingernails. “I did. But
that can’t be the only thing that makes you smile.”
No, it’s not. Right now, just being next to Stella would be enough. Even
if I could never touch her again, I’d survive if I just knew she was okay. A
tornado of guilt lashes at my insides. She must hate me. And deservedly so.
I’d been such a coward abandoning her back then. Not only had I
robbed her of her brother, I’d left her alone to fend against her asshole of a
father. Sure, I was only seventeen back then, but I was a complete stronzo. I knew I was wrong. I’d promised Vinny I’d always protect Stella, and I
abandoned her.
“Well, if you don’t need anything else ….” The doc stands, drawing me
back to the present. “I’ll be back next week to check on the stitches.”
I slowly dip my head. “Thank you.”
She squeezes my arm and offers a warm smile. “I’ve stitched you up
more times than I can count, Luca, and I’ve never seen you like this. I don’t
like it.”
“Just out of sorts,” I manage.
“I hope you’re back to your old self when I see you again.”
I nod. I’m going to have to pull my head out of my ass before my
empire crumbles. With Dante out, Clara has been manning the King
Industries’ ship, and the amount of stress I’ve laid on my executive assistant
isn’t fair. She’s a tiger so I know she can handle it, but it’s not right. I can’t
sit in bed forever.
I force myself to watch as Dr. Filippo sashays out, swinging her hips in
that tight white medical coat, but I feel nothing. There’s only one woman I
want. And maybe I have been too much of a coward to admit it. I throw the
covers back and slide to the edge of the mattress.
Magda lets out a squeal when I hiss from the pain, and I find her
lingering in the doorway. “May I help you, signore?” she whispers and
takes a step inside. Brave woman, considering the scowl I can feel twisting
my lips.
“No,” I snarl. “I have to do this myself.” Slowly, I push myself off the
bed. Another hiss escapes my clenched teeth as my torn skin stretches when
I stand.
Muffled shouts coming down the hall put an end to my pity party. I
stand up straighter and force my legs to the door. I recognize that voice.
Pure, undiluted rage courses at the sound of it. I march out into the hallway and find Albie and Dante in the foyer. My
guard is trying to force my brother back, but he’s being an asshole as
always.
Albie catches my gaze over Dante’s shoulder. “Sorry, capo. He
wouldn’t take no for an answer. He shoved right past me and got into the
elevator before I could stop him. I didn’t think you’d want me to shoot
him.”
A wry grin curls my lips. The first real emotion I’ve felt in days.
“Cazzo, come on, Luca.” Dante spins on me. “I just wanted to check on
you, fratellino. Tony tells me you were shot, and he won’t say more. I’ve
texted, called and you ignore me. Mamma’s going crazy. You can’t do this
to her.”
Another wave of guilt slaps me in the face. I never want to worry Ma,
not her. She doesn’t deserve it. “I’ll call her as soon as you leave,” I
grumble.
“What the hell happened?”
“It’s none of your business.” I barrel past my brother, and my knees
tremble from the effort. After a week of bedrest, all this commotion is too
much. Weak bastard. Sinking onto the couch, my thoughts rush back to a
week ago, to the first time I claimed Stella right here on this spot. I’d
broken all my rules for her, and she’d broken me.
“This is about Stella, isn’t it?” Dante glances around the penthouse as if
he’s finally noticed her absence. I feel it every fucking second. The
emptiness, the chill. It’s invaded my very bones. “What happened with
Liam McKenzie?”
I snort on a laugh. The sound is high-pitched and slightly unhinged.
“The fucker shot me.”
“What?”
“I couldn’t kill him. I wouldn’t hurt Stella like that, so I took the bullet
instead.” Dante slinks closer, like a hunter approaching a wounded animal. He
folds down beside me when I don’t bite his head off and releases a breath.
Like he’d been holding it the whole time. “Where is he now?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“And Stella?”
Her name on his lips is like a blade to my battered heart. “Don’t fucking
say her name,” I rasp out.
“Luca, I don’t know how many more times I can apologize. I was just
protecting you. I thought the Red Dragons had sent her to fuck with you.”
“You tried to rape her!” I shout.
“I was only trying to scare her, Luca, lo giuro. I thought if I roughed her
up a little, she’d admit the truth. I swear I never would’ve actually assaulted
her like that. What the fuck kind of monster do you think I am?”
I bury my face in my hands and huff out a frustrated breath. I can’t go
another round of this. Not right now. “I don’t want to hear it, Dante. It’s
over.”
“Where is she?”
It takes my final threads of restraint not to bash his teeth in. “She’s safe
for now. That’s all you need to know. Anyway, it’s probably better this way.
The further Stella is from me, from us, the safer she’ll be.”
“Dio, Luca, you’re in love with her.”
His words slice me open, and I grit my teeth to keep the pain at bay. My
molars are clenched so hard I’m certain I’ll file them down to nubs.
He stands and paces a tight circle. “Cazzo, fratellino, I’m sorry. I
thought she had you all twisted up because you hadn’t screwed her. I had no
idea you were in love with her.”
“Stop saying that,” I grit out. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I fucked
everything up. She knows about Vinny … she knows everything.”
“Merda.” “Yeah.” I drag my hands over my face, wishing I could disappear.
Admitting this shit to my asshole brother is the cruelest torture.
“Signore?” Magda peers up from across the kitchen island.
“Yes?”
“If I may speak honestly?” She wrings her hands before folding them on
the counter.
Dante rolls his eyes, and if I wasn’t so weak I’d slug him for his
incessant disrespect of my staff.
“Go ahead, Magda,” I say on an exhale.
“I’ve been working with you for almost five years now, and I’ve never
seen you as happy as you were when Stella arrived.” She pauses and fiddles
with her apron, keeping her head down. “I don’t know the details of what’s
happened between you, but it’s clear to anyone with eyes that she loves you
too. Fix whatever you’ve done and bring her back home.”
My heart sinks. The penthouse never truly felt like home until Stella
invaded it. She left her mark in every corner and now with her gone, it feels
colder than ever before. “I don’t know if I can fix this, Magda.”
Dante shifts beside me, and I can practically feel his unspoken
disapproval. My brother has a lot of shit to say about my love life, but his is
no better.
“Of course, you can,” Magda continues. “She loves you and love is the
strongest thing in this world. Not money, not influence, not power. Love.
You go find her, Signor Valentino, and you win her back.”
I steal a glance at Dante from the corner of my eye. I wait for his
rebuttal, but he remains silent for once.
I must be totally pazzo or maybe the doc slipped me something when
she came because my chest is filled with hope. It’s silly and ridiculous, but
Dio I have to try, right?