“It’s going to take a serious amount of effort not to strangle every motherfucker that looks at you tonight,” I whisper into the shell of her ear.
“Hate to break up the lovefest, but we’re on a schedule,” Matteo interrupts, “also, there will be none of this at the event. You’re her bodyguard. Nothing more than that.”
Turning, I pin him with an icy glare. There’s a glint in his dark gaze, and he’s lucky, so fucking lucky, that I care more about Dove than ending his life.
Taking a step back from Dove, a mask slips over my face to cover up the raging inferno that’s threatening to consume me. Every day, this asshole pry’s away another piece of the delicate armor I’ve erected to help stop from losing my shit on him. My patience is thin, and I’m reaching the point of no return. Once I fall off the deep end, I’m not even sure Dove will be able to reach me. Soon, there will be nothing left. No protect, no boundary, and it’s then that I will end him.
“It’s time to go,” Matteo says, interlocking his arm with Dove’s.
She frowns at me but doesn’t say anything, and even though she promised me she wouldn’t, I know she’s still leading him on, playing with fire, so to speak. She thinks she won’t get burnt, but I know better. I’ve done this before a time or two.
An SUV pulls up just as we cross the threshold to outside. I tug at the uncomfortable collar constricting my neck. This is going to be the longest stretch of hours of my life. Matteo being the gentlemen he so clearly isn’t, opens the rear passenger side door and helps Dove in. When she’s tucked away inside the vehicle, he turns to me.
“Don’t do anything fucking stupid tonight, or I’ll make you regret it.”
“The only stupid thing I’m doing is dealing with you.”
Matteo merely smirks before clapping me on the shoulder. “You have a lot to learn, and I look forward to watching you fall to your knees and beg me for forgiveness. After all, it wasn’t, but a couple days ago, you appeared in my office, begging me to relieve Dove of her family duties, am I right?”
All I can do is grit my teeth and clench my hand into a tight fist because if I make the wrong move, if I do the wrong thing, it won’t just be me paying the price, it’ll be Dove too. Matteo releases me and walks around the SUV without another word, climbing into the back and taking the seat beside Dove.
Forced to take the passenger side seat in the front, I climb into the SUV. As soon as I look over, I feel the need to drive my fist into the window beside me. The driver is none other than Alberto, who gives me a slimy grin as soon as I’m situated in my seat.
“You look beautiful this evening,” he compliments Dove as he moves the car from park and into drive.
“She really does, doesn’t she?” Matteo praises from the back seat.
“Thank you, both,” Dove replies timidly, and all I can hear is the blood pumping through my veins.
“Not to ruin the good mood,” Matteo says, “but I want to be very clear. The building the party is held in will be surrounded by my people if either one of you steps out, they have permission to shoot you.”
Don’t lash out. Think of Dove. I talk myself off the ledge slowly and peer out the window, ignoring everyone, including Dove. I can’t think about her, or what we’re going through right now, without wanting to slaughter. For everyone’s sake, including my own, I hope no one touches her tonight because I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from painting the room red.
Misery. That’s what this party is, plain and simple misery. It takes place in a massive hall that’s connected to a hotel that Matteo owns. Of course, he’s invited everyone and their extended family for the homecoming of the century. It feels a little too formal for a homecoming though.
I watch from the door closets to the table Dove is sitting at. She’s surrounded by Matteo’s men, three on one side, while Matteo sits beside her, and another two sit beside him. She’s a swan in a lake full of tar, beautiful, majestic but unable to escape her surroundings.
Our eyes collide from across the room, the heat in those blues scorch me. Her gaze lets me know the most important thing of all. That even though it seems like the world is on fire around us, she is still here, burning in the same hell right alongside me.
Dinner is served, and as her bodyguard, I watch the surroundings while she mingles and eats with her father. Jealousy is like a whip, landing against my skin every time another man takes her hand and presses a kiss to it.
MINE! She is mine. I want to scream from the heavens. Forcing myself to look away, I scan the crowd. None of the faces look familiar, and I’m thankful for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Christian sent some of his men here. Then again, maybe that was Matteo’s intention, after all, to bring him out of hiding.
As my eyes pass over each face, something off to the right side of the room catches my eye. It’s only a split second that I see him. I can’t be too sure, but I swear Xander Rossi disappears through the door at the back of the room.
Why is he here? Has he come to take Dove again? Fear pumps through me at the speed of lightning. I’m not sure if I should say something to Matteo or not. If I can find him, maybe I can strike up a deal with him instead.
Before I can think too long on it, Matteo is shoving out of his chair and moving to the front of the room. He holds a flute of champagne in his hand and smiles out into the crowd like he isn’t a shark willing to shred anyone who stands in his way.
“Good evening, and thank you so much for coming to celebrate the return of my long-lost daughter, Dove back into my life,” Matteo exclaims, and the room erupts in joy. “After her mother’s disappearance, I never thought I would find her, but here she is. At last, home… where she belongs.”
I roll my eyes because the only other option is barfing, and I don’t want to make a scene. My gaze darts between Dove, Matteo, and Alberto, who not so casually slides his hand onto the back of her chair. Dove doesn’t seem aware of it, or she doesn’t care, which only enrages me further.
I’m going to kill him. Murder him. Rip out his intestines and strangle him with them and cut up his body, and use it as shark bait.
As I’m envisioning this, Matteo continues talking, but I’m too far gone to care what slimy bullshit he’s spewing. None of it is true anyway.
“Tonight isn’t just about the return of my daughter though. It’s also about the legacy of the Castro family. As we all know, I’m not getting any younger, and my daughter returning to my life just happened to come at the best time.”
My brow furrows as the thoughts of Alberto’s death slip from my mind. My attention is once again back on Matteo.
What is this fucker doing?
Looking back at Dove, I see that she’s just as confused by his speech as I am, though she could be acting the part. With her, it’s hard to tell which side she’s playing and when she’s playing it. The room falls quiet, and my stomach twists into tight knots. I’m bracing for whatever to come, but I don’t think anything could prepare me for Matteo’s next words.
“I would like to announce the joining of my daughter, Dove Castro, to my finest and most fierce second in command, Alberto Salvatore, in marriage.”