Page 99 of Tormented Diamonds

“And now?”

“Now, all I see is love, passion, and power.”

Three words that four months ago I would’ve never believed belonged in the same sentence, much less in my life. Becca Brennan changed me for the better, but I can’t help but worry I’ve done the opposite for her. She claims to be happy in this marriage now, but what about a year from now … five years from now … twenty years from now?

What if she wakes up one day and realizes I cost her everything?

“Do you have any regrets, Gianni?”

Her question takes me by surprise. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re somewhere else right now. Plus, you always grind your teeth when you’re thinking too hard.”

“I do not.”

She jabs a finger at my chin. “You’re doing it right now.”

Goddamn it, she’s right.

Unclenching my molars, I turn her toward me and cradle her face. “While I regret what happened to Victoria, I wouldn’t change anything because it led me to you. I just wishyou didn’t have to go through all that pain and suffering.” I stare at the fading bruise on her neck, the image of Flynn’s hands around it burned into my memory. “Now that it’s been a few days, I have to ask… Is this life something you can live with, even after it stole and ruined yours?”

“I told you on our wedding night that actions speak louder than words. You met the challenge. I decided it was my turn.” She lifts her wrist, and everything in my life comes to a halt.

She’s turned her darkest shame into something powerful.

A snake now coils around the rose my father forced on her skin, blotting out the dagger. The Marchesi tattoo has claimed victory over a symbol of deception and pain.

Over the monsters that tormented her.

Over the past that haunted her.

I stare at it. It’s more impactful than any ring. It’s a permanent stain on her skin, one that matches the permanent one on my soul.

“This is my vow to you, Gianni,” she says softly. “A symbol of how entwined our lives have been since childhood. My father may have saved me from a monster, but you saved me from myself.”

I watch every word fall from her red-painted lips.Fire Queen.It seems like another lifetime since she first smeared that shade on and taunted me that day in her office. She was so timid and unsure, a nervous kitten with sharp claws she didn’t know how to wield. I overpowered her back then, toyed with her and bent her to my will. Even as Johnny Malone, she knew things between us went far deeper than what lay on the surface.

And now here we are, over four months later, the same shade on her lips, both of us so different. Dynamics have shifted. Influence has surged. Love has replaced pain and resentment.

Becca claims it’s inevitable, that the onlyconstant in life is change. You either bend with it or fold to it. But anchors don’t fold. They keep you grounded to weather the storms that come your way. Through fire and rain…

Hearts and spades…

And bullets and blades.

I press my lips to her wrist, sliding them up her arm until I find hers. Our kiss is gentle and honest, an effort that takes extreme willpower. That’s one thing about us that hasn’t changed. Touching her will always awaken the darkest side of me. Our connection will always be volatile and demanding, and behind closed doors, she’ll always be my wingless butterfly. But that’s just for us. From now on, the world gets nothing but a united, unscalable wall no one can bring down.

I pull back, my demons licking their lips with anticipation. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Home, Doc.” Taking her hand, I lead her away from the past. “We’re finally going home.”

Epilogue

BECCA

Fifteen Years Later