Page 26 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)
The sound of a door slamming open echos from behind, and not more than a second later, I feel someone grip my arm. I whirl around them in a flash, wrap my hand around their throat, and pin them to the floor. The man claws at my arm as my grip grows tighter.
“Dante!” someone yells my name. It’s not Charlie this time, but the voice sounds familiar.
I want to see who it is, but I have to figure out how these men knew we were going to be here.
I need to figure out how they trapped us.
But the harder I try to focus on the man in front of me, the louder the man calling my name becomes.
Suddenly, I’m being ripped away from the enemy beneath me and am being thrown to the ground.
There’s one man putting me in a headlock and two others holding down my arms. I thrash in their hold as another climbs on top of me.
It’s only when I feel two soft hands cup my face that I realize something isn’t right .
No one here has hands this soft. No one here has a touch this gentle. No one here would hold me like this.
“Dante…” my name is spoken softer now. It’s not a cry for help or a command to stop.
It’s a plea.
“Dante. Come back.”
Come back?
“Come back to me. You’re okay. We’re okay. Come back.”
My eyes blink rapidly as I try to make sense of what’s happening. I can feel the men who are holding me down relax their hold as my thrashing ceases.
“Dante…”
The sounds of war fade away, and the smell of gunpowder transforms into that of jasmine.
The darkness of the abandoned building morphs into fluorescent lights as my mind finally starts to register where I am.
I feel a tickle at my neck, and as I turn to see what it is, I realize it’s locks of black hair draping over me.
My vision clears as I follow the dark hair up to a familiar face .
Josephine.
Why is she on top of me?
Almost immediately, I see the beginnings of a bruise forming around her neck.
Who the fuck put their hand on her?
Rapidly, I check my surroundings only to find Sebastian to my left, Enzo to my right, and Luca sprawled out on the ground beneath me. Each of them panting for breath.
Why are we all on the floor?
All at once, everything makes sense.
“Fuck.” I reach up to touch Joe’s neck but stop when all of the guys flinch at my movement.
Joe holds out her hand, signaling for none of them to move.
Slowly, I touch the bruise on her neck with the tips of my fingers.
“I’m so sorry, Amore Mia. I—I didn’t know what I was doing.
The balloon popped… and I—I” I sigh in frustration and anger.
“I thought you were someone else. I would never hurt you on purpose.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” she answers. Her eyes fill with tears. “I’m okay. You’re okay. Nobody is in danger. ”
“Your neck…”
“It’s just a bruise. I’ll be okay.” She looks at Seb, Luca, and Enz before looking back at me. “You want to try to get up?”
“Yes.”
Joe climbs off of me, stands, and holds out her hand for me to grab. And if they hadn’t already tackled me to the floor, the thought of her literally holding out her hand to help me after I just tried to strangle her would be enough to bring me to my fucking knees.
Knowing she doesn’t really have the strength to haul my giant ass off the floor, I grab her hand while hoisting myself up. Turning around, I watch as my best friends right themselves. “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine, D,” Luca answers. “Vita Mia”—he looks over my shoulder at Joe—“do you need a doctor?”
Jesus fuck.
“No. I’m okay. Really.” She looks back at me and asks, “Can you tell me what just happened? ”
I rub my hands over my head, letting the friction from my clipped hair against my palms ground me. “Clara popped a balloon. It sounded like a gunshot.”
Confusion covers her face. “You deal with guns all the time, though, right? I mean, you’re head of security, and you do… other stuff.”
“Sometimes, when I’m not ready for it, certain sounds or smells can set me off,” I admit.
“This has happened before?”
“He used to get them all the time,” Enz clarifies, knowing I don’t like talking about this. I’m not exactly a man who enjoys admitting his weaknesses.
“They got better as time went on. Hasn’t had one in a while, though,” Seb adds.
“Wh-what is it?”
“It’s a flashback. I—I have PTSD from my time in the Navy. Some really bad shit went down right before I got out, and it fucked me up. When I have flashbacks, it feels like I’m right back to that night. The smells, the sounds, the anger, the pain… it all comes flooding back. It feels so real. ”
She takes a step toward me, and when I don’t stop her, she takes another until she’s right in front of me.
I can’t take my eyes off her neck. I did that to her.
I hurt her. And had she not gotten the attention of the guys, I could have killed her.
The fact that the three of them aren’t foaming at the mouth in anger over the fact that I just had her by the neck speaks volumes to their understanding of the situation.
And then there’s Joe. I did what I just did… and here she is. She’s not running. She’s not afraid. She’s not angry or upset. She’s trying to comfort me. She’s trying to understand, and I… I have no words to express how much that means to a person like me.
“Dante. Look at me.” When I don’t comply, she lifts her hands, threads her fingers through my beard, and cups my face, forcing me to pull my eyes from her neck to her face. “What can I do?”
I’m not sure why, but I chuckle incredulously.
She can’t be serious? She’s asking how she can help me.
The cynical part of me wants to tell her to leave me alone.
To stay away from me and not put herself in that situation ever again.
But the other part… the on e that wants, the one that feels alive when I can feel her stare into the depths of my soul…
that part wants her to make it all go away.
I’m torn on how to respond, so I simply say, “I… I just need rest.”
She looks at Luca, silently asking him something, and he responds with a nod. “All right. Let’s get you home.”
“Wait—”
“Here, Sweetheart.” He tosses her the keys to his G-Wagon and digs the keys to my truck out of my pants pocket. “Take my car. Last thing you want to be doing is driving his beast of a truck through the streets of New York.”
“Hold on. You’re—”
Before I can finish, she’s collecting her laptop, coffee, and bag from her desk. “All right, big guy. Let’s go.”
“You don’t need to take me home. I can drive myself.”
Sebastian takes a step forward to argue with me, but Joe holds her finger up, effectively silencing him. “I’m yours, right?” A nod is my only response. “Then you’re mine. And I take care of what’s mine. So march your fine ass downstairs and let me take you home.”
I turn around to look for backup only to find Enzo smiling ear to ear with his hands in his pockets, Luca giving me an I’m-not-arguing-with-her-on-that-one look, and Sebastian curling his lips while trying not to burst out into laughter.
Relenting, I sigh. “All right. Let’s go.”
Stepping to the side, I instinctively place my hand on her lower back, guiding her out of the office. But when we reach the guys, Enzo unashamedly pulls her in for a quick kiss. “We’ll bring some dinner home later, okay?”
She gives him a quick kiss in return. “Okay.”
Sebastian stands by Enzo’s side. Reaching out, he brushes a wayward black curl behind her ear. “You sure you’re okay?”
Joe leans into his touch ever-so-slightly. “I’m fine. I promise. Nothing a little concealer can’t hide.”
Luca pins me with a stare full of concern before he asks, “Are you sure you’re okay?” In other words, can we trust you enough right now to be alone with her?
“I’ll be all right.”
Knowing I would never willingly put Joe in a situation where I thought I’d hurt her again, he takes me at my word. Walking up to Enzo’s opposite side, he leans forward and places a gentle kiss on her cheek. “We’ll see you soon, Vita Mia. Call if you need us.”
“I will.”
As we ride the elevator down to the parking garage, I can’t help but think about how right that moment just felt.
About how there wasn’t an ounce of jealousy between any of us as they told her goodbye.
About how they were ready at a moment’s notice to help her when she needed it.
About how certain I am that I would rather die than harm her ever again.