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I tilted my head back and fought the heavy sigh that threatened to leave my body. “Exactly why I should be drunk, in order to endure the torture you want to put me through.”
I was on what seemed to be my sixth or ninth glass of champagne, and still I was far too sober for this. I wanted nothing more than to numb the entire night and forget all that was happening.
“Savina.” Dimitri grabbed my elbow and forced me to look at him. “I understand that this is not what you wanted, but the deal has been done, and you are married now. I only ever do things for the good of this Syndicate and you. My job as your godfather has always been to have your best interest at heart. So, trust me when I say this was a necessary move.”
I bit down on my tongue, not wanting to go back and forth with him here. Even at the age of twenty-eight he still fathered me as he had when I was nineteen years old.
He cupped the side of my face with his large hand and kissed the top of my head. When he pulled away, I could see the softness swimming in his caramel eyes that matched Martina’s.
“I need to go and find your mother. She’s been out of my sight for some time.”
“Okay.” I nodded my head and allowed him to leave.
Maybe this was nothing but a terrible and horrible dream, and I would wake up in the morning and all would be normal again.
I stared down at the diamond that sat on my ring finger. There was nothing that I wanted more than to rip this damn thing off. It weighed heavily on my small finger, like an anchor pulling me down.
It was a gorgeous piece of jewelry. A beautiful 12 carat teardrop diamond set in a platinum band. The rock sparkled against the lights that hung in the crystal chandeliers brilliantly. Any woman would love this ring. But a ring was meant to be a token of love bestowed upon the woman from the man that she loved. Mine was nothing more than a shackle that tied me to this horrendous nightmare.
Love. It was almost laughable. The only thing that resided between Andres and me was mutual disgust and anger. He didn’t like me and I loathed him. He was the exact kind of man that I worked so hard to eradicate from my Syndicate. The men who viewed me more as a weakness than a strength. I may not be as big or strong as an average soldier, but my skills and vicious nature were enough to take down even the biggest of goliaths.
“May I have this dance?” Felipe Valdez came up to me with a creepy smile etched on his wrinkled face.
I was tempted to say no, but I had promised Dimitri.
“Of course,” I said with a tight smile. I placed my hand in his and allowed him to lead me onto the dance floor.
He smelt like he had doused himself in cheap cologne that cosplayed as something exotic. It made the insides of my nostrils burn. His other arm wound around my waist, pulling me into his body, making me feel rather uncomfortable, but I said nothing. I played it cool and kept my resolve.
I had learned a long time ago that in order to deal with people like Felipe, you needed to look unphased. He fed off your fear like the Boogeyman.
“I should say welcome to the family, daughter.” His eyes watched me careful, waiting for any kind of slight reaction. “It’s a shame your father couldn’t be here to witness such a historic moment.”
I purposely stepped on his foot, to which he flinched but didn’t say anything.
“Yes, it is a shame,” I bit back.
“Any further clues on the assassin? It’s been nine years. One would think that you’d have caught their killer by now. Had it been me, well… I would have had the son of bitch who dared to kill my family dead already. I wonder how your father would feel about this?”
The blade of my father’s knife heated the skin of my thigh. Why was he asking such a personal question out of the blue? I may have married his son, but that did not give him access to my life.
“If I remember correctly, you are yet to catch your wife’s killer.”
We stilled, the rest of the dance floor flying away and we stood there as foe versus foe. My hand itched to reach for my knife and skim his cheek with my dagger.
Unlike his son, Felipe had no redeeming qualities. He was not only hard on the eyes, but he was also worse than darkness itself. He was a true demon sent from the deepest and hottest pits of hell.
“Unlike you, I don’t make a show of catching traitors. I had my wife’s killer the night she was killed.” One side of his lips tilted up into a sinister smirk. “If you would like me to lead the charge, I’m sure I can have him at your doorstep in 2-3 business days.”
The audacity of this man. He had some nerve talking like this to my face. Like I had said countless times before, he was one of the vultures, and he always prayed on people’s weak points.
The tension between us grew thicker. The noise of the reception faded, and all I could hear was the roaring of my blood as it gushed through my ears.
Seeing as my husband was the next in line, what need was there for this old man now? He could easily be disposed of and no one would miss him. In fact, I would be doing the world a favor.
“May I, papa?” Valerio came out of seemingly thin air, breaking the tension between me and the senior Valdez. “You can’t hog her the entire night, now, can you?”
“Of course.” Felipe held my gaze as he spoke to his son. “I need to mingle with the rest of the riff raff.”
