Chapter 51

MATTEO

I looked down at Elio sleeping soundlessly on my chest.

I had joined him in bed about an hour ago but hadn’t been able to close my eyes once.

I’d been up all night trying to figure out a plan to contact Zefiro Rossi, the Rossi Don, in order to tell him of the upcoming war that would kill us both. Getting in touch with the Rossis was not easy.

Their headquarters was well protected, only accessible by their own. No Conti had ever set foot in their territory—it was hidden too well.

They were so full of themselves that they even called their don their “king.”

The only way to contact the Rossis was to have another Rossi deliver the message.

That meant I had to do two things: First, find a Rossi willing to listen to a Conti long enough to give them a message—a very hard task. Second, convince that Rossi to get a hearing with Zefiro Rossi—an even harder task.

Only then would my message be delivered. It was almost impossible.

Except that, in a stroke of pure luck, we just so happened to have a Rossi in our dungeons.

One of our captives from the attack a couple months ago, a girl named Elia, hadn’t yet managed to escape. We had been planning on keeping her locked up in case there was ever a need for information…but plans change.

I had spoken to her yesterday, tried to convince her to be the one to deliver a letter I had written out to the Zefiro. At first, as predicted, she spat at me and even tried to take a few swipes through the cell bars.

She continued to hiss and swear at me until I offered her something that would force her to listen: her freedom. I told her I would let her go if she agreed to deliver my letter to Zefiro Rossi. It was an offer I knew she couldn’t refuse.

She was already weakened from being locked down here for so long.

“They’re not going to let me in,” she’d said after I had finished my plan. “I’m not close enough to the core family, I only just got officiated.”

“Yes”—I nodded—“but the king won’t be able to ignore a recently abducted Rossi trying to break into his family. Especially if she has this.” Through the bars, I handed her the letter.

It was written on old parchment paper and sealed with wax and the family emblem in gold.

“The emblem belongs to one of the most powerful families in the world. If you go waltzing into the Rossi family with that letter, there is no doubt the Zefiro will meet you. He’ll have no choice.”

I had expected her to bring up some other point and expose more faults in my plan, but she didn’t. She took the letter and tucked it into her pocket, promising to do what she could.

She was desperate for her freedom.

It occurred to me now that she could have been lying when she’d promised to deliver the letter. She could take the letter and her freedom and never think about me or my family ever again. But somehow I sensed she wasn’t the type to make a vow just to break it, especially one concerning the lives of so many.

I could only hope for the best.

Suddenly, Elio shifted against me and kissed my chest, knocking me out of my intense thoughts. I had almost forgotten where I was, too caught up in my own world.

He set his chin on my chest and sleepily looked up at me.

“You’re disturbing my beauty sleep,” he whispered. “I can feel your concern.”

I sighed. ~Crap. I hadn’t meant to wake him up.~

“Sorry.” I leaned down and kissed him once on the lips.

The action calmed Bruzzatore but only seemed to agitate Elio more. When I pulled away, he sat up, frowning.

“This has something to do with the battle that the Don wants us to train for, doesn't it? Do you know something? Is there something you’re not telling us?”

It didn’t surprise me that Elio immediately knew I was hiding something from him.

Throughout our years together, we have gotten to know one another so well. We knew everything about each other. We could practically read each other’s minds without batting an eye.

I sighed and sat up as well, starting to feel his panic.

I took his hands in mine.

“If I could tell you, I would.” I kissed his knuckles gingerly, staring into his eyes. “Please believe me.”

I felt his concern only grow with my terrible attempt at reassurance.

“I know,” he whispered, honesty pouring from his tone. He paused, studying me. “But you also would tell me if you were in trouble, right?”

~Shit.~

I was going to have to lie to him. And I was going to hate myself for it. I simply refused to put him in danger. If I told him what was really going on, there was no doubt in my mind that he would do whatever he could to help me—even come face to face with a Rossi if he had to.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I was already considering locking him away when the battle started so I knew he wouldn’t get hurt.

Putting on my most reassuring smile, I said, “Yes, of course. I’m fine, I promise.”

He didn’t look convinced. In fact, I was almost certain he knew I was lying. I kissed his lips before he could say anything else and continued. “I’m going to go get some coffee. Do you want some?”

Elio watched me get out of bed, a frown still on his beautiful face. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight. I was thankful he seemed to drop the subject for now.

“Yeah, sure,” he responded.

I nodded once and put on some slippers, then walked back over to him and left a lingering kiss on his forehead.

“I love you,” I said.

The corners of his lips turned up a bit in a sad smile. He nodded.

“I love you, too.”

***

Guilt ate at me on the long walk down to the kitchen.

A sudden sound made my internal battle stop and my feet falter.

Someone was crying—sobbing, actually.

And I recognized the voice.

My legs started running before I had time to process what I was doing. Turning corners and running up a flight of stairs, I found myself in the main corridor of the house.

My gaze fell onto the shaking form of a woman hunched over on the stairs. It was the Donna.

She seemed beyond distraught, sitting on the steps in pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt.

Her body shook with sobs, and her hands were covering her face.

“Donna?” I asked gently, trying not to scare her, but she jumped the moment I spoke.

Her head snapped up, and her tearful eyes connected with mine. She looked a mess, bags under her eyes, hair unkempt. She had lost weight too, a lot of it, leaving her cheekbones—one still swollen from the intense bruise a few weeks ago—caved in and bony.

Fury and protectiveness slammed me like a ton of bricks.

“What the fuck happened to you?”

I approached her as I might a wounded animal about to flee at the slightest movement.

Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, but no sound came out besides gasps and subdued sobs.

I realized just how right I had been to worry about her. I’d had a feeling that something was wrong… But I’d never expected this.

Suddenly, Donna was unexpectedly launching herself at me, her arms wrapped around me in an instant, her face in my neck. I could feel tears on my skin as she sobbed even harder.

Her momentum caused me to stumble back in shock, but I was able to stay upright.

Hesitating for only a second, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer.

She obviously needed comfort right now, and I was happy to be the person to provide it.

“Hey, shh,” I said, running a hand up and down her back.

I wasn’t sure what else to do. It felt wrong holding someone other than my ~destino~ like this, but also right as it was my Donna who needed it. I allowed us to stay like that for a long moment before I decided I couldn’t wait any longer for an explanation.

Somebody had hurt her. And I was going to make them pay.

First things first, she needed her ~destino~, even if he was some Rossi-loving Donnatic.

“Hey, it’s all right, everything is going to be all right.” I leaned back so I could try to look at her, but she kept her head in the nape of my neck. “I’m going to call the Don and he’ll help you. Whoever did this to you is going to face severe consequences. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

Her head lifted and her eyes snapped to mine the moment I mentioned the Don.

“No!” she yelled in fear. “No, you can't call~mind-link~ Luca! I can’t see him right now, I can’t, please, Matteo. Please don’t tell him!”

Not wanting to upset her even further, I nodded in agreement. If she would go so far as to beg me, it only confirmed my fear: that the ~Don~ had done this to her. My respect for Luca had officially reached zero as I looked into the broken eyes of his ~destino~.

“Okay, I won’t tell him,” I said, “but you need to tell me what the fuck is going on, right fucking now.”

I needed answers, and I wasn’t letting her leave until I got them. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

“Luca,” she choked out, “Luca—he—” She didn’t finish. Her eyes widened and her face twisted in pain. She let out an ear-piercing scream and doubled over.

“Donna!” I yelled.

I tried helping her up and asking what was wrong, but she just continued to writhe. She was scratching at her neck and arms, sobbing as if some unknown thing were crawling on her body and trying to break through her skin.

It was horrifying to see.

Then, all of a sudden, her screaming stopped and her hand grasped my arm.

“Something is wrong with Luca,” she said.

~Yeah, no shit. He’s a douchebag.~

Without another word, she turned and sprinted up the stairs faster than I had ever seen a human run. I should have stopped her. I should have never let her into that room.

But my own worry for the Don, traitorous as he might be, blocked my better judgment.

So instead I followed the Donna until we made it into the Don’s room. And I watched as her heart broke.

Luca was sitting on the edge of the bed with a naked woman in his lap. Neither of them looked up as we came barging in, too consumed by their grinding bodies and nonstop kissing.

They hadn’t started the binding process yet, but it was obvious that they were about to.

I looked at the Donna in shock, but she said nothing, only stared at her ~destino~—my Don—preparing to have sex with another woman. Her face held no expression, but she had gone pale and her body was swaying back and forth.

She looked like she would fall over or faint any second.

Although she and Luca had never completed the binding process, she undoubtedly felt her soul being ripped in two, probably the worst feeling in the world.

I wasn’t going to let her stand there and watch as her ~destino~, a man I no longer recognized, bound with someone else. I had to get her out of here.

I considered scooping her up and sprinting away with her, but I couldn’t.

I was too blinded by the rage telling me to beat Luca to a pulp, Don or not. The confusing behavior of the Donna over the past couple of weeks was becoming clear.

It was Luca who had hit her. Probably multiple times. He was neglecting her.

No wonder she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks and had been practically reduced to a skeleton. I couldn’t let Luca bind himself with someone else knowing that it would likely kill her.

She had been through enough already. She deserved better.

I had to stop him even if it meant risking my life and fighting him.

But first, I had to get the Donna out of here.

I quickly stood in front of her, blocking her view.

Thankfully, she didn’t try moving past me, seeming too out of it to even notice. I grabbed her face and tilted her head up toward me.

“Donna,” I said.

She just stared straight ahead with a blank, dead look.

I wasn’t surprised; I would have acted the same way if this had happened to me. But I had to keep at it.

“Donna! Look at me!”

Slowly her glossy eyes found mine.

“You need to get out of here,” I told her in the most urgent tone I could muster.

I glanced behind me. Luca was now moving further with the other girl, back onto the bed, fiercely making out…

~What the fuck is wrong with him?~

~He doesn’t care that his ~destino~ is in the room while he’s about to fuck some other girl?~

The Donna still wasn’t responding, continuing to stare at me without actually seeing me.

Was she even processing my words?

To emphasize my point, I pushed her backward just enough to get her to move. She stumbled toward the door. As she caught her balance, the zombie-like trance seemed to fade and the fog lifted from her expression.

Rather than words, a hard, broken sob left her mouth.

My heart broke. I knew she was finally beginning to understand what was happening.

That she was losing her ~destino~. The tears started again. I approached quickly.

I wanted more than anything to pull her into my arms and hug her until she stopped crying, but now wasn’t the time.

“I know. I know, Donna”—I wiped her cheeks—“I know you’re feeling horrible, like you can’t move, but you need to get as far away from here as possible. Please leave. Right now. Go. Now,” my last words were firm. I pushed her again, this time more forcefully.

She took a few steps back but didn’t keep going; it was like her feet were glued to the ground.

Her body was probably seeking the comfort of her ~destino~, unaware that he was the one causing her pain. She wasn’t going to be able to do this on her own, then. She was going to need help.

I needed to call my own ~destino~, tell him what happened.

“Elio,” I said into the phone.

“What?” His sleep voice answered. “Did the kitchen run out of coffee again? No need to sound so grumpy.”

“Elio, I need you to meet the Donna at the foot of the stairs in the front corridor. She’s going to be coming down soon and she’s going to need help.”

I swallowed harshly, preparing to tell him the gory details.

“There isn’t much time to explain, but the Don is binding himself with someone else and the Donna is in a lot of pain. I need you to take her as far away as you can get her. Wherever she wants to go after that—I’ll meet you there with our stuff as soon as I can.”

He didn’t ask any questions. He immediately knew how serious this was.

“I’ll do what I can,” he said.

Then I directed my attention back to the broken-looking Donna.

“I’m sorry, Donna. Elio is going to meet you downstairs and get you out of here. You ~must~ move.”

I turned her body around and nudged her with the most force yet. At last, with the momentum she needed, she stumbled out of the room, down the hall, toward the stairs, not looking back.

I listened until I heard the comforting voice of Elio, ready to take care of her, and let out a breath of relief.

Then I turned back to Luca, ready to do whatever was necessary to avenge the Donna.