RUTHLESS KING

45 LOVE KILLS

Luca
“I don’t give a fuck about the optics, Jones. Dante’s my brother. I’m going
to the damned hospital to see him.” I jab my finger at the red button and
shove my phone back in my jacket pocket. The warehouse incident was a
complete bumblefuck. If Tony hadn’t called in a favor with the mayor last
night, Dante’s name and as a result, mine and King Industries would’ve
been plastered across social media with mob implications.
Jones managed to play off the concerned bystander angle, but the
rumors about my brother only echoed the truth. I’d managed to keep
Stella’s name completely out of the story. It had cost me a pretty penny, but
it was worth it. I didn’t need her reputation dragged through the mud along
with the rest of us.
A seed of dread takes root in my gut. Bo, his cousin Feng, and three
other Red Dragons are dead. It’s only a matter of time before Jianjun
retaliates. The kid might have been a sfigato, but he was the old man’s only
son.
I drag my fingers through my hair and heave out a weary breath. Magda glances up at me from behind the marble island in the kitchen.
The aroma of roasted coffee beans hangs in the air. She’s perfecting my
cappuccino, pouring the frothy milk over the double shot of espresso as I
trudge toward her.
“How is Signor Dante?” she asks.
“Still in the Intensive Care Unit but stable.”
She releases a soft sigh. “I’m happy to hear that.”
A rueful smile lifts the corner of my lip. “You don’t have to say that
Magda. I know he’s always been a cap ‘e cazzo to you.” A total shithead.
“Yes, but he’s still your brother, and I was asking for you, not him.” She
hands me the warm cup and wipes her fingers on her apron. She watches
me, wringing her hands as I take the first sip.
Magda has worked with me for long enough now that I know there’s
more on her mind. She’s a delicate and respectful girl and knows when to
hold her tongue. “Is there something else you’d like to say?”
A hint of crimson blossoms across her cheeks. “I was only wondering
about Signorina Stella …. Will she be returning to the penthouse?”
Well, that is the fucking million-dollar question, isn’t it? When Albie
told me she’d been taken, it was like getting shot all over again. I’d never
felt so powerless than in that instant. If anything had happened to her, I
wouldn’t have thought twice about ending it. I couldn’t live without her.
As much of a bastardo as I am, I know she’s a hundred times better off
without me. What’s that damned saying? If you love something set it free
…. I’ve never loved anyone like I love Stella, but all I’ve brought her is
misery and pain. Love is gentle, love is kind, but my love kills.
I swallow down a gulp of the cappuccino to buy myself more time to
reply to a question that has no good answer. “I don’t know,” I finally
murmur. Finishing it off with another gulp, I place the empty cup on the
countertop. “I’m going to visit Dante then to the office. I won’t be home
until late so don’t bother preparing dinner.” She nods. “Very well, signore.”
The drive to the hospital passes in a blur, my maddening thoughts
swirling. My heart and my head battle it out in an unending standoff.
There’s nothing I want more than to run to Stella and beg her to take me
back, to forgive me for all the bullshit I put her through. But my mind, the
rational, logical one knows that letting her go would be what’s best for her.
But how could I lose the one good thing in my life? Stella is the other
half of my heart and soul. Losing her would be like cutting off a piece of
me. I’d done it before when I was young and stupid, and I’d regretted it
every day since. How could I walk away from her again?
My thoughts race back to last night, to finding her beaten and half-
naked in that warehouse. She’d almost been killed again because of me, and
I’d been too weak to save her. If Dante hadn’t rushed in, we’d both be dead.
My rompicoglioni brother had saved us both.
Talk about a fucking twist. My brother the hero.
The car slows, and Albie’s voice drifts to the backseat. “We’re here,
capo.”
I smooth down my tie and draw in a steadying breath. Two reporters are
camped outside the doors of NYU Langone, only the best hospital for my
fratello. Albie opens the back door, and I slide out. The reporters are on me
before I make it halfway up the sidewalk.
“Mr. Valentino!”
“Mr. Valentino, a word?” The female is quicker and gets in my face
with her mic and camera.
“I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry,” I grit out.
“Just a few quick questions.”
Albie moves between us, blocking her, and I zip past the second
reporter and dart inside. Jones had been adamant about steering clear of the
media, and for once, we’re on the same page. A benefit of being one of the
hospital’s biggest benefactors is a speedy entrance. A nurse meets me at the front desk, and I’m whizzed past the line of visitors. Albie follows behind,
his slow, steady pace particularly irritating at the moment.
We ride the elevator in silence, and for some inexplicable reason, my
nerves are buzzing by the time we reach the ICU. The halogen lights flicker
above, the scent of antiseptic thick in the air as we walk down the hall.
When the nurse slows in front of a room, a new scent reaches my nostrils, a
devastatingly familiar one, one that has a knot forming in my throat.
“Let us know if you need anything, Mr. Valentino.” The nurse’s words
are muffled over the wild pounding of my heart. “Your brother is still
unconscious, but it’s what’s best for him now. He needs as much rest as
possible to recover.”
I nod blankly and peer inside my brother’s room.
Stella sits in a chair beside the bed, the chorus of mechanical beeps
marring the strangely peaceful scene. I take a silent step inside, scared to
ruin the oddly serene moment. The rhythmic whooshing of the ventilator
steadies my manic heartbeats as I creep closer. Beside my brother’s bed sits
a bouquet of white calla lilies. I couldn’t help myself; I had them sent over
first thing this morning. Both of us could benefit from a little redemption, a
rebirth.
Stella must be absorbed in her own dark thoughts because she doesn’t
seem to notice me at all. Or maybe she’s ignoring me. The errant thought is
piercing.
I round the chair and finally understand. Stella’s eyes are closed, head
lolling to the side. Did she spend the night here? I take in the hospital robe
and her disheveled appearance and have my answer. Why would she stay
with him after what he’d done to her?
Because Stella is good. A kindhearted soul who is much too good for the
likes of you. That dark voice in my mind supplies the answer. The monster I
try to keep buried knows me well. She stirs as if she’s felt me somehow, and my pulse skyrockets. Her lids
flutter and she blinks up at me, the haze of sleep softening the typical fire in
her eyes.
“Hi,” I whisper, lamely.
She stretches her arms over her head and lets out a yawn. “Is it morning
already?”
“Just past eight.” My head dips. “You stayed all night?”
“Guess so.” She wraps her arms across her middle, snuggling into the
hospital gown.
I fold onto the edge of Dante’s bed, careful not to disturb the complex
tangle of tubes and wires. “Why?”
She shrugs. “I couldn’t just leave him alone.”
“Dio, Stella why do you have to be so damned good?”
Her lips pucker as she regards me with knitted brows. “Excuse me?”
“You make it so hard.”
“Hard for what?”
“To be selfish with you. To take what I want. I’ve never wanted
anything more than you.” Cazzo, I’m rambling. No wonder she’s looking at
me like I’m a complete pazzo. I slide off the bed and sink to my knees.
“Please forgive me for keeping the truth about Vinny from you. I’ll do
anything to have you in my life again. I know I have no right to ask, that
I’m miles beyond deserving you, but Dio I love you, Stella. I always have.
That day I met you in the cemetery when we were just kids, you changed
me. You made me want to make something of myself. When Vinny died, I
was a coward. I was so scared of disappointing you, I ran like a minchione.
His dying wish was for me to take care of you, and I fucked that up so
badly. But no more, whether you want me or not, I’m here for you. I’ll
protect you with my body and soul until Dio drags my weary bullet-riddled
bones to l’inferno. Capisci?”
She nods slowly “Ti amo, amore mio,” I whisper.
I drop my forehead to her knees and wrap my hands around her legs.
Dio, I love her so much it hurts. I don’t dare move, don’t dare breathe. Not
until she says something.
The thick silence lingers between us, each passing second like another
nail in my coffin. She’s not going to forgive me. She won’t take me back.
How can I blame her after all the agony I’ve put her through?
A soft whimper breaks the silence, and I hazard a glance up. Those
beautiful brilliant blue orbs are filled with tears. The breath catches in my
throat as I take her in.
“Of course, I forgive you, you stronzo. I’ve been in love with you since
I was ten years old.”
Stella
Luca leaps up and jerks me into his arms. Tears run down my cheeks as he
spins me in a circle, squeezing so tight I can scarcely breathe. But I don’t
want him to stop. I’m so stupidly head over heels in love with him; I’d
rather die in his arms in this moment than have him release me.
I wasn’t lying. I’d been in love with Luca Valentino from that terrible
moment in the cemetery at my mom’s funeral. He’d been my ray of hope on
the worst day of my life.
What scared me the most about being with Luca wasn’t all the terrible
things he’d done, but that no matter how many times he did them, I’d still
forgive him, I’d still love him.
He was beautiful and broken, scarred and savage, but he was mine.