Ruthless Prince (Dark Syndicate 1)

That means her as a priority, and anybody else who relies on me.

“What about the syndicate? You told them about my father’s plan.”

I nod. She knows that means death.

She’s an angel. A being of purity. So, I expect the look of remorse that flickers in her eyes. I can’t even be angry at her for it because that’s who she is.

I reach out for her hands, and she gives them to me.

“Things are going to be hard. I think we have some difficult times to face, some tough things to come our way, but… we have each other. I want to take you away today.”

A slight twinkle returns to her eyes. “Away?”

“Yes, you know, like a normal couple. We’re gonna go out, and we’ll be gone for the night. Just you and me.”

“Really, Massimo?” She smiles.

“Yes, Princesca.”

“Where are we going?”

“Stormy Creek…” I say the words. She smiles, but I get that wave of apprehension that always fills me when I think of the place I grew up.

After Ma’s death, I never wanted to go back there. I wanted to leave the first chance we got, and when Pa was able to, we did. It was a long time after though. I was a year away from college.

I hated the place because of what it represented, and I only visit to tend to my mother’s grave, yet it was home because she made it home.

If there’s anywhere I’m going to find strength today, it’s there.

“I’ve never been there.”

“You’ll like it. It feels like home. Pack a bag. Let’s leave as soon as possible.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Emelia

Massimo drove the convertible with the top down.

As we sped along the freeway, I allowed myself to get sucked into the scenery and the time spent with him. Both helped with pushing yesterday from my mind.

Though I can’t quite forget, and when I think of what is to come and what other truths I might learn, my heart hurts. My soul quivers and my being quakes when I consider Dad having anything to do with Jacob’s death.

I know Massimo was holding back. When we spoke earlier, it felt like that day when he got angry after I told him he and my father were the same. Now I know why he was so furious.

That day, though, he made me none the wiser about the truth of who Dad really is. What he would have known back then was enough to turn my stomach. The way Dad treated his family was unbelievable. All because he was in love with his mother.

There’s something I haven’t mentioned, but I thought about it. About my mother. She would have been with my father during the time Massimo and his family lost everything, and when Massimo’s mother died.

My parents would have been married for five years at that point. To hear that Dad was in love with another woman and behaved that way because she wouldn’t choose him shocked me. I must have been a toddler during that time. Or certainly during the earlier years, my mother would have been pregnant with me.

I always thought my parents were in love with each other. That was a lie too. This man I’ve come to know as my father isn’t the man I grew up with. He’s not. He’s evil. My world is different for knowing that.

It took us a little under two hours to get to Stormy Creek. It’s just past midday.

Massimo verged onto a country road an hour ago, and we followed it all the way to the end. What we’re approaching now is a cottage surrounded by a little bit of land, and a woodland area that seems to lead to the creek. A river flows along our route that looks amazing.

When we pull up in front of the cottage, I’m surprised by the way it looks. It’s so quaint and cozy. It looks like a home in a fairytale book. Like somewhere Snow White would live.