“Matteo.” My voice cracks as his name spills from my mouth.
He shoves past Dominic, taking the stairs two at a time. When he’s close enough, Matteo yanks me toward him. I flinch as his arms wrap around me.
Hearing my hiss of pain, he loosens his grip. His fingers slip under my chin and tip my face toward his. “Sorry, bella. I didn’t mean to be so rough.” His lips brush over mine.
My breath comes out in shaky puffs. My heart drums against my ribcage. I thought I’d have more time before facing him. I’m nowhere near ready for a confrontation. I hope Dominic will give me the courtesy of telling Matteo what happened in private. The last thing I need is an audience. I already know that Matteo will be livid.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’m okay.” I just want to inhale his masculine scent and pretend that the last twenty-four hours never happened.
“Good. I was worried about you.”
Although I want to run my hands over his face, I keep them to myself.
“Ah, Mr. Matteo Valentini, I presume. Nice of you to drop by,” Dominic pauses, his tongue sweeping across his teeth, “unannounced. Perhaps you might give some advanced notice of your impending arrival in the future. It’s really only polite.”
My eyes dart from Matteo to Dominic. A wave of anxiety crashes over me. Matteo’s embrace tightens.
“Gracie, darling, why don’t you tell your boyfriend what happened last night. He has a right to know.”
I stare at Dominic in shock, floored that he is bringing this up in front of Matteo. Doesn’t he understand that I want to break this news to him myself?
In private.
Without him looking on.
Matteo tenses, and his eyes shift from where Dominic stands by the front door to me. “What’s he talking about?”
I swallow the bile rising in my throat.
Before I can think of a rational explanation, Dominic continues, “You have to understand that I’ve known Gracie her entire life. When her parents died, they entrusted me with both her care and well-being. Obviously, it’s a responsibility I gladly accepted. Gracie’s a special young woman. Her heart is as pure as gold. She deserves a man who is her equal.” He pauses. “You are not the kind of man her parents would have approved of. The Valentinis are the kind of people her parents spent their careers prosecuting and locking up behind bars. You have no future with my godchild.”
Every muscle in Matteo’s body clenches. His jaw ticks as he glares at Dominic. He doesn’t loosen his hold on me. “You’re right.” The barely suppressed violence within his words is audible. “I could be the most perfect man in the world and I still wouldn’t be good enough for her.”
Dominic’s eyes slide to mine. “This is a rather indelicate subject to be discussing with you but obviously, it needs to be said so that you understand the gravity of the situation. Last night, Gracie and I consummated the love we feel for one another.”
Horror floods my entire body.
No.
Why is Dominic doing this? For the first time since Matteo stormed through the front door, a flicker of doubt crosses his face.
His eyes turn frigid. “Is that true?” he rasps, his voice riddled with disbelief and tinged with hurt. “Did you sleep with him?”
I hastily shake my head because the truth of the matter is that I still can’t remember a single detail from last night.
Nervously licking my lips, I whisper, “I don’t know.” I shake my head again. “I can’t remember anything.”
Some of his coldness recedes. “How is that possible?”
“Gracie was upset when she showed up at my door last night.” Dominic sends Matteo a hard look full of contempt. “She had a few glasses of wine to help settle her nerves.”
“I only remember having one,” I interject. It was half a glass at the most.
Matteo’s narrowed eyes shift between Dominic and me as if he’s trying to piece together the truth for himself.
“You can’t deny that you woke up naked in my bed this morning,” Dominic says.
My cheeks ignite with heat. Unfortunately, that fact is undeniable. “The last thing I remember is falling asleep on the couch and then waking up in his bed this morning. Whatever happened in between that is blank.”
Absently stroking his cheek, Dominic muses, “It was such a heat of the moment kind of thing that we didn’t use protection.”
The blood rushing through my veins turns to ice. I thought the situation couldn’t get worse.
I was wrong.
I’m not on the pill. Not yet, anyway. I have an appointment set up for next week. But that does nothing to solve my current predicament.
Strangely excited by the prospect, Dominic adds, “Nothing would please me more than if you ended up pregnant, Gracie. Your parents would have been ecstatic.”
My fingers rise to my temples. “Stop.” Nausea churns in my stomach. I’m going to be sick right here on the staircase. “Please, just stop.”
Confusion threads through his voice. “Gracie? What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you?”
“You need to stop bringing my parents into everything.” Anger roils through my belly as my voice picks up strength. “I have no idea how either one of them would feel about Matteo. And I certainly don’t know how they would feel about this situation either. You keep throwing Mom and Dad in my face and I’m tired of it.”
Sometimes I think Dominic is trying to manipulate me into doing what he wants by bringing them up in conversations. It needs to stop. I haven’t said anything before because Dominic is family. The only family I have. He wants the best for me. But I can’t listen to it anymore. It hurts too much.
His face falls. “Gracie, I never meant-”
“I think you did.”
I straighten my shoulders. My anger continues to grow as I think about the last two months and all the times he’s used my parents to herd me in a specific direction. I didn’t want to see it before. I didn’t want to believe it was purposeful. I’ve never lashed out at Dominic. There’s never been any reason.
Until now.
Matteo kisses the top of my head. His eyes stay trained on Dominic’s as if he doesn’t trust him. “I have a car waiting out front. I want you to wait inside the limo. There are a few things I need to clear up with your godfather.”
I step out of Matteo’s arms and turn to face him. Does he think he can just send me to the car like an errant child while he and Dominic have at each other?
I don’t think so.
“No. I’m not leaving the two of you alone together,” I say firmly.
Dark eyes meet mine. “Bella,” he cajoles, “you have my word that I won’t touch him. But there are words that need to be said and I would prefer them to be discussed in private.”
“Does it have something to do with me?” I ask even though I know the answer.
He eyes me wearily. “Yes.”
I fold my arms across my chest, the overnight bag still hangs from my shoulder. “I’m not leaving. If you have something to say to Dominic, I’d like to hear it.”
My refusal exasperates him. He’s not used to me fighting him. All he usually has to do is flick his obsidian gaze in my direction or trail his fingers over me, and I fold like a house of cards, eager to do whatever he wants.
Well, not this time.
“Bella-”
Brows drawn together, I repeat in a sharper tone, “I’m not leaving.”
He watches me for a long moment and then shrugs. In a soft voice, he admits, “I don’t want you to hear this.”
“I’m staying.”
Pulling me into the protective shelter of his arms, he holds me close. I can’t imagine what he could possibly have to say to Dominic that needs to be kept from me.
Matteo turns, glaring at Dominic from where we stand on the staircase. “Did you think I would leave the welfare of my woman up to the police?” His gaze turns lethal. My heart stutters at the vicious gleam in it. “That I wouldn’t use every damn resource I had at my disposal?”
Uncertainty flashes across Dominic’s face. My mind scrambles to understand what Matteo is alluding to.
Why is he bringing up yesterday’s accident?
Matteo chuckles when Dominic remains silent. It’s an ugly, harsh sound that grates against my ears. It sends a cold frisson of discomfort skating down my spine. A dangerous rage lurks under Matteo’s thick coat of ice. I don’t understand why it’s directed at Dominic, though. My heartbeat kicks up as I wait for Matteo to continue. I realize as dread washes over me that there must be more.
“Rest assured, Grimaldi, I’m just as concerned about Grace’s welfare as you claim to be. Which is why I made sure she had protection whenever she left the building. No one is going to hurt my woman.” Eyes blazing, his voice turns deadly. Another shiver races over my spine. “You’ll be pleased to know that we found the driver who tried to hit her.”
Dominic folds his arms across his chest. Again, his expression falters for a second. If I didn’t know him so well, I probably would have missed it.
“That’s wonderful news,” he says evenly. “Is the bastard in police custody?”
Matteo’s lips slowly twist into a chilling smile. “No. I took care of the interrogation myself. There was no reason to involve the police in this matter.”
My eyes drop to the hand resting against my shoulder. Drawing in a sharp breath, I notice the bruised and bloody knuckles.
“It didn’t take much coercing to extract a confession. Within fifteen minutes he was begging for his life, ready to spill every transgression his own mother had committed.”
Unimpressed, Dominic mutters, “A beaten man will say just about anything to save himself.
“Yes,” Matteo muses, “that is so true. Although I have to say, most men, once they grasp the severity of the situation they find themselves in, have no compunction about ratting out whoever paid them to commit a crime.” He flashes another menacing smile at Dominic. “Trust me, it didn’t take much encouragement before this particular man was eager to hand over whatever details I asked for. Even though he never met with the man who paid him to scare some woman by almost striking her on a busy street, he knew details that only someone close to her could provide.” Matteo pauses before adding in a silky voice, “He was given her schedule in advance so that he would know where to find her at different times of the week.”
Stunned into silence, my eyes stay riveted to Dominic’s face.
No.
The picture Matteo is painting isn’t possible.
Dominic would never do something so awful. He loves me. We’re family. Why would he want to hurt me? A whimper of pain escapes my lips. My godfather takes a step toward me and Matteo lets loose a vicious growl.
“You touch her ever again, and I’ll kill you myself, Grimaldi. Do you understand me?”
Dominic’s fists clench at his sides. “You can’t do that! You have no right to keep Gracie from me!”
Matteo’s barely leashed anger continues to bubble beneath the surface. I’ve never seen him like this. His demeanor should frighten me, but it doesn’t. He’s done everything in his power to protect me, even when I didn’t want it.
His deep voice cracks like thunder, and I wince. “You paid a man to scare her! For all you know, something could have gone wrong and she could have died!”
A wave of dizziness crashes over me. I shake my head to clear it and whisper, “Why would you do something like that?”
What Matteo has accused Dominic of is true. I see it in his eyes and in the stricken look on his face.
“Gracie, please. Just listen-”
Matteo cuts Dominic off. “Tell her the rest, or I will.” He waits a beat and adds harshly, “You’ve had me investigated? Just know that I returned the favor.”
Dominic pales. Whatever Mateo has discovered is worse than Dominic hiring someone to scare me with an attempted hit-and-run.
How is that possible?
How is any of this possible?
“Tell her!” Matteo’s voice whips out, cracking the charged air. “Or I will! Either way, she’s going to find out what a bastard you truly are.”
The man I’ve known my entire life, the one I trusted above all others, deflates. His shoulders sag as if the weight of the world has been dumped on them. Moistening his lips, he clears his voice and admits, “I’m broke, Gracie.” His eyes beseechingly stare at me. “It’s all gone.”
“Finish it,” Matteo snaps.
I rip my eyes away from Dominic to the man holding me. His face looks as if it has been carved from granite. No mercy will be given. Whatever Matteo dug up in the darkness will now be dragged into the light of day.
“I’ve had to dip into your inheritance to pay the bills.”
My brows pinch together in confusion. “What?”
He clears his throat again. “I’ve been borrowing from your accounts. It was-”
Matteo cuts him off. “He has siphoned three million dollars from your trust fund, Grace. It’s gone.”
“It’s not gone. I was going to pay her back!” Dominic plows a hand through his hair giving it a wild, disheveled look. A panicked note I’ve never heard before creeps into his voice. “I needed to get everything under control. You have to believe me! I was just borrowing it. You wouldn’t have ever known it was missing,” he rambles.
Brimming with disbelief, I shake my head as his excuses roll around in my mind like marbles. “I don’t understand how you could pay someone to hurt me.” I thought Dominic loved me. He was my father’s best friend. He’s known me since infancy. He was there while I grew up. And then when the unthinkable happened.
How could he pay someone to hit me with a car?
I feel as though I’m being repeatedly stabbed in the heart with a butcher knife. I can’t breathe without pain filling every recess of my body.
“He was only supposed to scare you, Gracie. He assured me that you wouldn’t get hurt.” Desperation floods Dominic’s eyes. He looks like he’s about to become unhinged. For the first time, I feel as if I don’t know this man at all. “You have to believe me! I love you! I would never do anything to hurt you!”
Tears threaten as I shake my head. “But I was hurt. Whoever you hired jumped the curb. He could have killed me.”
Dominic looks devastated by my words.
Matteo’s deep voice cuts through the thick air. “You wanted her to think that it happened because of me.” His words are razor-sharp. “Because my family is dangerous, right? You were hoping she would break off our relationship and come running back to you.”
Dominic snarls, “You’re nothing but a criminal! A mobster! The scum of society!”
“And yet, you’re the one who paid some low-life, petty criminal that you represented a few years ago to hurt the woman you were supposed to protect. You gave him all her information so that he would be able to track her down.” Matteo tilts his head and asks, “And what if he’d gotten ideas of his own into his head, hmm? What if he’d decided that he was going to throw in a few things free of charge?”
Dominic blanches.
Once I realize what Matteo is alluding to, fresh nausea swirls in my already upset stomach. So much more could have happened.
What the hell had Dominic been thinking?
“He almost hit me,” I whisper hoarsely as bits and pieces from yesterday morning flicker through my mind like a picture show. “If I hadn’t jumped out of the way, he would have run me over.” More hot, angry tears prick my eyes. “You did this because you didn’t want me with Matteo?”
“He wanted you for himself. He wanted total control over your inheritance. Your godfather owes quite a bit of money,” Matteo says.
“No! That’s not true. I love you, Gracie!” Dominic holds up his hands. “Yes, the money would have made life easier, but I’ve always loved you. We’re family. Just you and me. Remember? It’s been that way for the last two years. I’ve taken care of everything. I’ve been there during the most difficult period of your life. That has to mean something, doesn’t it? I know what I’ve done is wrong, but it was the only way to get you to open your eyes and see how dangerous the Valentinis can be! They’re criminals! Part of the mafia! You can’t be with a lowlife like him.”
Tears streak down my cheeks. Dominic’s right, I couldn’t have gotten through the last two years without him. “All Matteo has done is protect me while you stole from me.” My voice grows and gains strength. “And then you hired someone to scare me into leaving him.”
“Gracie, please try to understand-”
Not willing to hear any more excuses, I swipe at the errant tears. “I understand perfectly.” My mind is struggling to keep up with everything that has happened within the last twenty-four hours. As all the pieces fall neatly into place, another thought occurs to me. “We didn’t sleep together last night, did we?”
Shifting from one foot to another, Dominic’s eyes stay locked on mine. “No.”
Relief sweeps through me. I give voice to the suspicions that have nagged me ever since waking in his bed. “You drugged me.”
I may have a glass or two of wine every so often, but I rarely drink enough to get intoxicated. And certainly not enough to pass out. It made no sense that I wouldn’t be able to remember going to bed last night. Or anything else he claimed that happened.
“You’d had such a difficult day. It was just a little something to help you relax. That’s all.”
Oh my God…
Matteo’s fingers bite into my arms as he hauls me closer. I wince. He’s holding on to his temper by a ragged thread. I feel it in his taut posture. Every muscle is whipcord tight. I don’t want him to unleash his fury because it would be deadly.
Staring into his eyes, I whisper pleadingly, “Please, take me home.” It feels like my entire world is crumbling around me. First, I lost my parents and now I’m losing Dominic. He was like a second father to me. I thought I could trust him implicitly.
I was wrong.
Dominic rushes forward as Matteo leads me down the staircase.
“Gracie, please! You have to listen to me! I did all this for you! For us! So we could be together!” His voice grows shriller with each word. “You never gave us a chance! Your parents wouldn’t want you with some scumbag mafia prince!”
Something snaps in me.
I’m tired of him using my parents against me every single chance he gets. Constantly manipulating me with their memory. How did I not see it sooner? I’d thought he wanted to remember them like I did, to keep their memory alive, but that wasn’t the case. They were nothing more than a tool to keep me in line.
Throwing off Matteo’s arms, I fly toward Dominic and pound on his chest in a blind rage with my scraped-up hands. “Stop talking about them! Don’t you dare speak of them again!” Fresh tears pour down my cheeks. “How could you have ever loved them if you were able to steal from their legacy and hurt me like this?”
“No,” he cries, “that’s not true! I loved them. You know I did! Your father was like a brother to me.”
I’m crying so hard now that I can barely see or speak. “No! You stole my money, you tried running me down, you drugged me, and then you lied about us sleeping together! You couldn’t possibly have loved them or me!” Sucking in a shaky breath, I expel it slowly from my lungs in a feeble attempt to get ahold of myself. I need to finish this. “You’ve been lying to me this entire time. I never want to see you again.”
He begins to cry. If I didn’t feel so dead inside, the sight of Dominic with tears running down his face would break me. “Gracie, please. I’m sorry for everything. I… I should have been up front with you about what was going on with my finances. You have to know how much I love you.”
I step away from him, swiping at more tears. Matteo stands silently a few feet behind me. He’s there if I need him, but he’s willing to let me fight my own battles. He’s willing to let me say my piece without whisking me away and taking care of everything for me.
“Gracie… please. Just give yourself a few days to calm down. Maybe then we can sit and talk. I’m sorry, it was never supposed to be like this.”
“No.” Once I walk out that door, I’ll never see him again. He needs to understand that. “We’re done, Dominic. I want what’s left of my inheritance released to me immediately. If the paperwork isn’t delivered by tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the police and press charges for embezzlement, the hit-and-run, and drugging me.”
He pales, but doesn’t say a word.
There are no more arguments.
Matteo’s hands settle on my shoulders. “Let me take you home, bella.”
Knowing this will be the last time I see him, my eyes lock on Dominic’s forlorn blue ones for a moment before I turn my back on him. Fresh air slides across my tear-stained cheeks when I step outside. Victor is there, holding open the door as I climb into the limo. Matteo slides in after me. Once the vehicle pulls out of the circular drive, I look out the back window to find Dominic standing in the open doorway.
The enormity of what has transpired slams into me once more, and I burst into noisy sobs. Matteo pulls me as close to him as possible, gathering me into his arms.
“Please don’t cry. You’re safe now. Everything will be okay, I promise.”
His softly spoken reassurances do little to alleviate the burning ache in my heart.