Chapter 19

Adrian

Three weeks. Three motherfucking weeks. That was how long I had given her. In that time, I had known everything that she had done, every move she had made. I knew she hadn’t left the house in Chicago, not once, until she had been called home again to prepare for her twin’s wedding.

She hadn’t returned alone, though.

Fucking Dante De Stefano had been with her.

I had even more eyes inside the Vitucci compound now, so I knew every move she made on an hourly basis. She had gotten home, and then she had stayed inside, only leaving when she had to go out with her family for dress fittings, or to one of her meetings with the non-profit charities where she sat on the board. She hadn’t tried to sneak out. I knew because I had been waiting for her every night in the same spot she had normally waited for me.

Three weeks was all I was giving her. She’d had plenty of time to think about me—us—and miss me. If she had missed me even half of how badly I was missing her, then I knew she wouldn’t be able to last another day without being with me again. Because I was going off the fucking rails with how much I wanted her back.

I hadn’t wasted the time we had been apart, either. If she wouldn’t be with me because of Klara, then Klara had to go. I had my lawyers working on it. I figured the bitch would be all too happy with the settlement I was offering, if she signed the divorce papers and relinquished all rights to Theo. Hell, she could have twice the amount I was offering if she would just give me what I wanted. I would willingly pay triple if that meant I could get a divorce faster.

Not that I was going to tell the coked-up whore that.

Still, it was going to take time. Time I wasn’t going to spend away from Victoria.

I had tried to call her over the last few days, hoping she would answer so I could tell her what I was doing with Klara. The stubborn woman still wouldn’t take my calls or respond to my texts. I figured she wouldn’t believe me if I told her in a message. Besides, I wanted to see her face when I told her I would be free soon.

Standing outside the dress shop where I had watched Victoria go with her grandmother, cousin, Mary Donati, and my sister hours before, I waited impatiently. She was so close, but not nearly close enough. My skin itched with the urge to just storm in there and throw her over my shoulder like some barbaric caveman stealing his woman.

A blacked-out car pulled up in front of the dress shop and one of the men I had inside the Vitucci compound stepped out from behind the wheel as another man, Paco, got out and opened the back door so Scarlett could get out.

The last time I had seen Scarlett, she had been covered in blood and bruises. Now, there wasn’t even an outward sign of the beating she had taken from Jr., but the look on her face wasn’t exactly a bridal glow, either.

There was a deep frown on her beautiful face, her eyes looking almost lost as she followed Paco into the shop. I didn’t care what was wrong with her as long as it didn’t have something to do with Victoria. Scarlett was nothing more to me than the twin of the woman I loved.

I stayed where I was, down a side street in the shadows, but still able to watch everything that went on inside the dress shop across the street. I watched the women, all of them gushing over the dress my sister was modeling for them.

Irritation burned through my gut that my sister was more loyal to these people than me, even though I was happy she had made friends with Victoria and her family.

Inside, Antony, my man, moved away from the couch where Scarlett and her cousin were sitting and joined several other of Vitucci’s men closer to the door. My eyes skipped over him, however, and sought out Victoria. I watched her every move, enjoying the graceful sway of her hips as she walked around the shop, sipping at champagne and laughing with the other women.

It was nearly another hour before Scarlett went into the back to change from her wedding dress, but she didn’t immediately return.

Needing to face my kotyonok, I moved out of my hiding spot in the shadows and crossed the street. I stopped just outside the shop’s window and took a better look inside. Anya and Scarlett were still in the back, but the other women were standing and hugging Victoria goodbye as their own guards prepared to leave.

I shifted my weight, debating if I wanted a confrontation with all of Vito’s men there to intercede. Not wanting to upset Victoria, or her beloved grandmother, I decided to move around to the side of the shop.

Before I could get completely out of sight again, I glanced back, and as if she could sense me so close, Victoria’s head snapped up and her gaze landed on me.

This close, I could see that the smiles she’d had on her face all day had been forced. Her face was paler than normal with dark circles under her eyes, giving her beauty a haunting quality.

She quickly turned back to her cousin, another fake smile on her face as she hugged the woman then stepped back just as I rounded the side of the shop.

“Scarlett looked so beautiful,” I heard one of the older women say as they stepped out of the shop.

“She’s going to make the perfect bride.” This one’s voice was slightly heavy with an Italian accent. I figured it was Victoria’s grandmother. “And as soon as we’re done with this one, I suspect we will be planning another.”

“Ah, Nona.” The younger of the three women laughed, but it sounded a little forced. “Dante hasn’t made anything official yet.”

I froze at the mention of the man’s name, my ears straining to hear more as they walked a little farther down the street toward their vehicles.

“Dante’s a smart man, cara. I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s anxious to get back home with a wife of his own.”

The fuck he was. There was no way in hell that motherfucker was going to leave with Victoria as his wife. I hadn’t been making an idle threat when I had told her that I would kill the man if he even tried to marry her.

“But Papa is still making a fuss,” Allegra Vitucci said with a sigh. “I don’t even know if he will allow me to accept, even if Dante does propose.”

Relief was like a tidal wave as it flooded over me. Dante could marry Allegra or any other woman for all I cared. He was still a dead man if he even considered he had a chance with my woman.

I heard doors slam shut, and then two powerful vehicles were started. Moments later, they were pulling away from the dress shop.

My phone vibrated with an incoming call. Recognizing the number, I answered.

“They are going out the back.”

“Don’t let her leave,” I bit out then hung up.

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I walked around to the back of the shop and saw that Scarlett, Anya, and Victoria were already getting into the car, but I wasn’t worried about them leaving. Antony was behind the wheel with one of Ciro’s most trusted men climbing into the passenger seat.

With each step I took, I could see that Victoria had realized I was coming for her. Her eyes were glued to me.

There was a commotion inside the vehicle as Scarlett yelled at Antony, but he didn’t move to start the car.

My hands burned to hold my kotyonok again. I could almost feel her soft skin under my fingertips. Fuck, I was going to touch every inch of her later. I was going to worship her as she deserved and finally make her mine in every way that mattered.

I wasn’t blind to the fact that Paco had pulled his gun on Antony and couldn’t have cared less if he shot the other man. Antony tossed the keys at Paco and got out of the car. Still, I barely noticed.

Victoria’s eyes were still on me, still watching every step I took, as if she was anticipating me holding her as much as I was. Her lips fell apart in a soft O shape, and her eyes looked glazed with need. My body went from semi-hard to so hard I could have used my cock as a hammer right then at how responsive she was to just the sight of me.

Two gunshots firing snapped my head up to see Anya was now behind the wheel and Antony was on his knees with a bullet in each one. “Pidor,” she yelled in his face in Russian. “Idi nahui.”

In the next moment, the car sped away, breaking the trance I had unintentionally weaved over Victoria.

No, my brain screamed. I had been so close to having her back and my sister had stolen her away from me.

“Anya!” I roared, betrayal like a punch to the gut at what she had just done.

She had made her choice, had turned her back on me and had picked Victoria.

Antony groaned from where he was still on his knees. I turned away from the sight of him, disgusted that he had let my sister get the drop on him so easily.

“Go get yourself cleaned up,” I snarled at him from over my shoulder. “Before I finish you off myself.”

I went home and got rip-roaring drunk for the first time since I had gotten out of prison and was finally able to mourn the loss of my brother.