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She curls into herself, bringing her knees to her chest, and I see it. It’s so obvious to anyone with eyes. I don’t know how I missed it. How her entire fucking family doesn’t see it.
“Dante this is Rose’s uncle, John—”
I jump up, cutting her dad off, and drag Rose along with me. “Excuse me, I must speak to Rose in private immediately.”
This John fucker watches me, his shifty gaze running to our entwined fingers. Fury pounds through my skull, and if I don’t get Rose out of this room right now, I’m going to rip thepezzo di merda’s head off without confirming my suspicions.
My hold on Rose’s hand is so tight, she squeals as I pull her out of the living room. I have no idea where I’m going but I just head toward the back of the house. She doesn’t say a word as we pass closed doors, a bathroom, and finally, I see it. A screen door that leads out to the backyard. It’s frigid outside, just what I need to douse the fiery inferno surging through my veins.
I jerk Rose through the door, and a blast of icy air sends another tremor up her spine. She hugs her arms around her middle, and if I wasn’t so furious I would’ve greatly regretted my decision of dragging her out here. I suck in a breath of frosty air and spin at her, my hands clamped around her shoulders.
My eyes fix to hers and instead of the typical lively blue, a vacant gaze stares back at me. “You lied to me,” I snarl. “Is that the man that hurt you?”
Her bottom lip quivers, and a sob builds in her chest.
“Rosa, tell me!” I shake her until a tear slides free, then another and another. “Damn it, Rosa, what did he do to you?”
“Stop yelling at me!”
“Then tell me!” I growl, unable to keep the anger at bay.
“He raped me! Is that what you want to hear, Dante? My mother’s brother sexually assaulted me repeatedly for an entire summer when I was only sixteen.”
“Fuck….” My stomach revolts, the breakfast from earlier threatening to make a reappearance. I stare at her, my eyes so wide they’re a second from bulging out of my head. I’m going to kill that man. I’m going to chop his cock off and beat him to death with it. How dare he? How fucking dare he take advantage of a child like that? “I’m going to fucking rip him to pieces.” My ramblings burst out unbidden.
“No, Dante….” Her tear-filled eyes lock on mine, the anguish tearing at my heart. “No one knows, not my dad, not my brother, no one.”
“Why? Why didn’t you send thatfiglio di puttanato jail?”
“It’s not that easy.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Rose? It is!”
“He’s my uncle, Dante, my mom’s brother, and we were close. I was young and stupid, and I probably provoked him—”
“No!” I shout, the anger reaching a dangerous crescendo. I shake her again, wanting to force some sense into her. “It’s never your fault. Don’t you understand that?Hedid this. He’s a sick fuck, and he will pay for touching you.”
Her head whips back and forth. “I can’t do this, Dante. I don’t want to re-live the past, unearth all those dark memories. I just want them to stay dead and buried.”
Oh, they’re going to be dead all right. I’m going to bury that motherfucker alive and stand over his grave, laughing, while he tries to claw his way out.
“No one else can know.” She presses her body to mine, desperation in her blood-shot eyes. “Promise me, Dante. Promise me you won’t say anything to my dad.”
My throat tightens, the desire to wrap my hand around that man’s neck and squeeze until his eyes pop out of his head so overwhelming I curl my fingers into a fist until my nails carve half-moons into my palms.
“Please, Dante. I’ve never asked you for anything, but I need this. I don’t want to re-hash the past, I just want to avoid it for the rest of my life.”
That look, the fear in her eyes, it’s strangling. It breaks something inside me, brings those towering walls around my heart crashing down. There’s nothing I want more than to protect this woman, than to spend every minute of my life making sure that nothing like that ever happens to her again.
“Okay,” I finally mumble.
“Okay? We don’t have to talk about it ever again?”
I shake my head. “We never have to talk about it ever again, but so help me, Rosa, if you ever try to come out here and visit without me, I’ll lose my shit. You are never allowed near this house again unless I’m with you. Doyouunderstand?”
She nods, her bottom lip snagged between her teeth.
I pull her into my arms and crush her against my chest. She’s trembling again, but I’m fairly certain it’s from the cold this time. “I know I’ve said it before, but I swear to you, Rosa, no one will ever hurt you again. I’m here now, and I’ll burn down the world for you.”
