Shadow Warrior (Shadow Riders 4)

She tilted her head and looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. “Is there truth in what she said? Do I meet some important criteria for you? Something that made you notice me?”

“The gunshot wasn’t enough for me to notice you?”

She didn’t buy his diversion. She waited, her gaze steady.

Vittorio sighed and crouched down in front of her, eye level. “Yes, Grace, there are criteria that all of our women have to meet, and you do. Was it the first thing I noticed about you? Not even close. I saw you explode out of the trunk of that car. You nearly lit up the parking lot with your fury. There were two big men, both carrying weapons, enforcers for Miceli. There was Haydon Phillips, trying to sell you for payment of his debts. None of that mattered to you. You were willing to take all of them on at that point. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.”

“I’m not going to let you distract me.”

“I’m not trying to distract you. I’m telling you the truth. I fell in love right there in that parking lot without ever having been introduced to you. I overhead that you had taken loans out to help Phillips. At the time, I thought it was because he was your friend, not because you feared him, but regardless, to me, that showed your loyalty. Knowing you now, I know you would do something like that for a friend. Right down the line, everything I learned about you or observed made me believe you were absolutely the woman for me.”

“And those all-important criteria that make me in the running to be married to a Ferraro?”

He sighed. “You’re not hearing a thing I say. You don’t want to hear me, Grace. Let’s get you back inside. You look tired.”

She didn’t protest, not even when he cradled her in his arms rather than walk with her. He needed to feel as if he held her to him, rather than watch her move away from him. He already could feel her slipping through his fingers.CHAPTER NINEI’m hoping Francesca can work her magic,” Vittorio confided to Stefano as the private elevator took them from the penthouse suite. “Otherwise I’m going to lose Grace.”

“What happened?”

“Eloisa. She deliberately said some things that she knew I couldn’t possibly explain to Grace right now. I wouldn’t mind so much, I could deal with that in time, but Grace is injured and that makes what Eloisa did reprehensible.”

“She’s got to be made to stop,” Stefano said. “Seriously, Vittorio, she’s getting worse, not better. If we don’t find a way to stop her behavior, she’s going to tear apart our family. What did she say to Grace?”

“She said it to me in front of her. She referred to Grace as meeting criteria and that’s the only reason I noticed her. She pointed out that I wouldn’t have looked at Grace for any other reason. I couldn’t explain about shadows or riding to her, or anything about what we do. She hasn’t committed to me. That could be disastrous.”

Stefano stepped out of the elevator. “Francesca is a huge asset to all of us. I’m going to text her and let her know there’s a problem. Hopefully, Grace brings it up to her, so she can help smooth things over.”

“Eloisa knew Grace was an untrained shadow rider for certain. I don’t know how long she’s known, but she did. I could see it on her face and she admitted it.” Vittorio scrubbed his hands over his shadowed jaw. “Sometimes I want to strangle her. Why does she want to make our lives miserable?”

“She’s miserable,” Stefano said as they crossed the lobby of the hotel. It was beautiful, an elegant, well-cared-for space, with high ceilings and crystal chandeliers. Both ignored the sudden hush as several guests ceased talking and stared at them as they made their way to the hallway that led to the conference rooms. “Eloisa wants everyone around her to be the same. She was raised in a cold, unfeeling environment. It was all about work. She knows no other way and that’s what she believes is the right way. The only way to stay safe.”

“We have to have something to live for,” Vittorio pointed out.

Stefano’s sharp gaze leapt to his face. “You’re my steady one, brother.”

Vittorio shrugged. “I still have to have a home and without Grace, I’m back to empty nothing. Walls. Silence. You know what it’s like.”

Stefano stopped walking abruptly, just before they reached the conference room where they were meeting with the Saldi family. “Are you absolutely certain that Grace is yours? She’s not just a woman who would be suitable because she carries the genetic code we need? Francesca is my world. Your woman needs to be yours.”

“Grace is my Francesca,” Vittorio assured. “If I lose her, I’ll allow them to initiate an arranged marriage. It won’t matter after she’s gone because I’ll never have what I need from anyone else. I feel that pull between us growing stronger with every moment I spend in her company. When I’m away from her, all I do is think about her. I want her happy and I know whatever it takes to achieve that, including letting her go, is what I’ll do.”