Page 27 of Where the Wind Whispers

“No?”

“No,” she repeated. “They didn’t take him away.”

That wasn’t a lie. Not entirely.

Kaz had been the one to choose this.

Violet was the one who hadn’t been given a choice.

“Do tell,” Alberto said, smiling in that cold way of his.

“He doesn’t want me—he’s not the …”

Again, she hesitated.

On this lie, she would always hesitate.

Alberto’s smile grew into a sly grin. “The same? Was that what you were about to say to me? Your toy isn’t the same as he was?”

Violet had to beat back the urge to glare. “He doesn’t want me.”

Her father let out a sigh, looking far too pleased with himself. After another agonizing minute of silence, Alberto lifted his hand toward the house like he was waving at someone. Except there was no one there.

Still, she heard the telltale buzz and the clanging of the gate as it electronically unlatched and slowly began to spread wide open. Alberto took a single step back, allowing the iron gate to open completely, leaving Violet feeling more exposed than ever.

This was what she needed to do.

This was what she needed for her father to do.

Now, more than ever, she just wanted to fucking run.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” Alberto asked.

Without her permission, Violet felt her legs move, taking her closer to her father and dragging her suitcase behind her. A man she trusted less than the dirt under her boots.

When she was close enough to Alberto that he could reach out and grab her if he wanted, Violet finally stopped. But her father was already turning away, walking toward the Gallucci mansion.

Behind them, the gates began to close.

Despite not wanting to be anywhere near the mansion or her father, Violet hurried to catch up. She didn’t have much of a choice.

Halfway up the driveway, Alberto still hadn’t said a thing. They were in full view of the entire mansion and all the floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as the property. Violet had no doubt eyes were watching them—her mother, likely, and probably some of her father’s men. Someone was always around.

Suddenly, with absolutely no warning, Alberto’s hand landed hard on the back of Violet’s neck, making her stumble in her walk, drop her bags, and let out a quiet yelp of pain as his fingers dug deep into her skin. Violet’s hand flew up to where her father’s was still squeezing the back of her neck far too tightly.

Alberto chuckled, forcing her to look up at him as he smiled, baring his teeth in the process. It looked far more like a sneer, and Violet’s blood ran cold as she stilled under his rough handling.

“Before we take even one more step, Violet,” Alberto started to say, “I want to make one thing clear. Had you been anyone else and put a gun in my face, I would have had your body parts scattered across New York for the crows to pick apart and eat. It is only my love for you that I gave you a pass—and that is all it was. Just a pass, girl. You’re now on thinner ice than you could possibly know where I am concerned.”

Oh, she knew.

She knew perfectly well.

“Where are they?” Alberto asked.

Violet swallowed hard. “Where is what?”

“Your wedding ring—that engagement ring, too.”