Chapter 14 The new king: Vita mia
~~Charlotte's POV~~
My eyes fluttered open; the pain in my neck was unbearable. I tried to stand up but realized that I was tied up to a chair, maybe a little too tight, as the ropes created red lines along my hand.
My heart quickened as I scanned my surroundings. It was a warehouse with large crates stacked on top of each other. I sat alone in the middle, my gaze sweeping around the place.
I sucked in a deep breath; the smell of wood and cigars filled the air. I pinched my brows together as my eyes scanned the place. I was sure I wasn't in an accident; I had stopped the car before it could fall off the bridge. My mind spiraled as I wondered how I got here. “Damien?!” I yelled, my chest heaving, “Damien!”
The sound of slow, loud clapping cut through the air.
My head spun to the side, my breath catching as my gaze caught Maximo moving slowly toward me.
“The first thing that you think about when you wake up is Damien?” He asked, his eyes filled with hatred and rage.
I swallowed. Had Lorenzo been behind everything?
“Where is Damien?” My voice trembled as I asked.
Lorenzo's jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth grew sharper. “I feel bad for you, you know?” He spoke, ignoring my question, “You have been dragged into this world that you know nothing about. You have fallen for a bad man, and now he is going to be the reason for your death.”
His cold hands brushed against my chin, and my body shuddered.
Lorenzo was a man who had lost his daughter to Damien's hand; he was hungry for vengeance.
“I...I’m sorry about Kate.”
Before I could finish the words, a loud slap landed on my cheek. “Do not speak her name,” he growled.
I looked up at him with tears in my eyes; he was a mourning father who would do anything to get revenge, and I was at his disposal.
Lorenzo lifted his hand and landed another slap and another.
“Do that one more time, and I swear I'll fucking blow your hand off!” Damien's voice barked.
A flicker of hope rose within me as I looked up at him; there were hundreds of soldiers behind him, all armed with guns.
He gazed at me, his eyes filled with regret. “I'm sorry, Charlotte, I'll get you out of here,” he promised, and I nodded.
The loud sound of marching footsteps echoed through the place as Lorenzo's soldiers marched in, guns in their hands and a stern look on their faces.
Lorenzo smiled, but his eyes were filled with pain. "I'm glad you made it; it would have been a shame if your wife died and you weren't here to watch."
Damien took a slow step forward, his gaze sweeping across Lorenzo’s soldiers. “Every single one of you will bow before me today,” he vowed.
Lorenzo cocked his gun immediately and aimed it at my head. “You killed my brother and my daughter, the two people I love most in the world. Now I'm going to make sure you suffer the same fate I have suffered.”
I let out a soft gasp as Lorenzo pressed his cold gun against my forehead.
Hot tears gathered in my eyes. What if Damien was too late? What if Lorenzo pulled that trigger?
“Lorenzo!” Damien barked. “If you pull that trigger!”
Lorenzo scoffed, “Oh, I'm not going to pull it…you are.” His menacing gaze shifted to Damien.
“You are crazy,” Damien growled. "I’d never do that.”
Lorenzo turned to face him. “If you care about the life of your soldiers, you have to kill Charlotte.” He lifted up his gun, and immediately more of his soldiers marched in, outnumbering Damien's soldiers.
“See Damien? This is war!” Lorenzo barked.
A cold shiver ran down Charlotte's spine.
Damien didn't break a sweat; his gaze swept around the place, counting them all with his eyes. “What is your sick plan, Lorenzo?”
“You will kill your precious wife with that bloody gun in your hand, or else my soldiers will lay waste to all your soldiers, and I will kill Charlotte myself, making sure you watch.”
Charlotte's gaze caught Matteo’s in the crowd; his gaze flickered to Damien and then to her. The fear in his eyes was palpable.
“I'm never hurting Charlotte,” Damien said.
“You'd rather let your soldiers die and save Charlotte's life? These are hundreds of men! Let's let them die to save her?!” Lorenzo barked.
Damien slowly began to walk forward. "I'd slowly die to save her if I had to, Lorenzo. When it comes to Charlotte, nobody else matters, not even me, or my soldiers, or you. I'd rip the world to pieces for her, so you'd better take a step back."
My chest heaved as I listened to Damien's words.
Had he died for me?
Lorenzo's jaw clenched. "Since that's how it's going to be…Fire!” He shouted.
Immediately, gunshots flew through the air and bodies began to drop.
My ears rang from the loud gunshots; the smell of gunpowder filled the air.
I curled my feet against the cold ground, my head bowed in fear as the fight ensued
Lorenzo quickly loosened the ropes and dragged me up from the chair.
“Don't kill me,” I pleaded.
“Not until he can watch you die,” Lorenzo spoke in a harsh tone.
Lorenzo's eyes suddenly widened as a bullet pierced through the back of his head; his body jerked, his eyes blazing with anger as he dropped to the floor.
I took a step back, my body jerking in shock.
I looked, and my gaze met Damien, who stood a few feet away from me. “Cease fire!!” He barked, and the place grew quiet immediately.
“If any of you let a bullet touch my wife, I swear I will make you suffer a pain much worse than death!” He barked as he slowly approached me.
“Damien!” I shouted as I rushed into his arms; he pulled me into a tight hug. The metallic smell of blood mixed with sweat lingered on him.
“Thank you for saving me,” I spoke shakingly.
“I love you, Charlotte…I’m sorry I let you get taken in the first place.”
My blood spiked as Lorenzo's men began to approach us.
“Damien! Look!” I quickly pulled away.
Damien slowly turned around. “According to the rules! If I kill your boss, I become your new boss! Bow to me! Now!” He barked.
Lorenzo’s men exchanged glances, their eyes blazing with anger; they hesitantly tossed their guns onto the ground and slowly bowed.
My lips parted, sharp breaths escaping them as the sound of guns clanking against the floor filled the air, and they all knelt.
“Matteo!” Damien yelled, and Matteo stepped forward.
“Put them all in their places.”
“Yes, boss,” Matteo responded.
As Damien's fingers slipped into mine, my gaze swept across the pile of dead bodies.
A few minutes later, we arrived home; we had driven back in silence, and Damien had worn a frown on his face throughout the ride.
Was he angry about something?
Damien walked in front of me as we walked into the mansion. I struggled to keep up with him. “Did I do something wrong?” I blurted breathlessly.
He quickly turned around, shocked at my words, “What?”
“You have had a frown on your face since you saved me. I want to know if I did something wrong.”
His shoulders fell, his gaze softening as he strolled towards me; he cupped both sides of my face and pressed his lips against mine.
“You are not mad at me,” I whispered, a subtle smile on my face.
“Vita mia, you could never make me mad.”
My brows pinched together. “What did you call me?”
“Vita Mia,” he repeated, “it means ‘my life’ in Italian. You are my life, vita mia, my whole world.”
I wrapped my arm around his neck. “You speak Italian? I didn't know that about you.”
“I speak eight languages, love.” His voice dropped low.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Eight?” I exclaimed,
“I travel a lot for business, vita mia; I learned over the years.”
“I only speak a little French I picked up from school.”
He pressed his fingers around my hips and pressed me tightly against himself. “Say something to me in French,” he begged, “please.”
My cheeks flushed red. “It's not very good.”
“I don't care.”
I sighed, “Je t'aime, je veux qu'on soit ensemble pour toujours, Damien.”
His eyes lit up. “We will,” he responded and pressed his lips tightly against mine.
“You have the worst accent I have ever heard; why do I still love it?” He whispered against my lips, and I giggled softly.
“I'm glad you weren't mad at me, but…why have you been frowning all day?”
He slowly stepped away from me. “It only hurts a little, I swear,” he said as he removed his jacket, revealing a bullet wound on his lower abdomen, his white button up shirt stained red with blood.
My hands flung to my mouth, “Oh my God!”
“I did
n't want to alarm you, vita mia,” he spoke softly.
How could he be so calm after he got shot?
“I'll help call a doctor! Wait!’ I yelled as I rushed into our bedroom.