chapter 46 "Passionate Kiss"

chapter 46 "Passionate Kiss"
Alessandro's POV

The scent of blood still clung to my clothes as I climbed the hotel stairs at six in the morning. Ten hours of negotiations in abandoned warehouses had left their mark, not just the metallic stains on my shirt, but the bone-deep exhaustion.

I needed alcohol and sleep.

But as I slid the key card into the suite's lock, something made me pause. The door opened to reveal small changes that shouldn't have mattered but somehow did.

Fresh flowers in a crystal vase on the dining table, white orchids that complemented the room's marble accents. A small ceramic bowl filled with lemons from the local market. Cloth napkins folded with careful precision beside my usual breakfast setting.

These weren't the work of hotel staff. They were Carla's touches, subtle domesticity that softened the sterile luxury of the suite.

I stood in the doorway, studying these details with an intensity that should have troubled me. Why did the sight of her careful arrangements ease the tension in my shoulders? Why did knowing she'd been here, thinking of my comfort, make the blood under my fingernails feel less like a burden?

She was like a stubborn, gentle cat who'd somehow claimed territory in my life without permission. Present when I needed solitude, absent when I craved company, always managing to occupy space in my thoughts regardless of proximity.

Usually at this hour, she would be sleeping. I'd grown accustomed to checking on her, purely practical, ensuring she was secure and hadn't attempted any foolish escapes. I moved toward her bedroom door, my footsteps silent on the marble floor.

The bed was empty. Unmade, as if she'd left hastily.

My hand instinctively moved toward the weapon beneath my jacket as I scanned the room for signs of struggle. Her clothes from yesterday lay draped over a chair. Her phone sat on the nightstand. But Carla herself was gone.

Before I could begin a systematic search, my phone buzzed. Ruggero's name appeared on the screen.

"Alessandro." His voice carried an odd smugness that immediately set my nerves on edge.

"What do you want?"

"I have something of yours. Or rather, someone. Perhaps you'd like to collect her?"

The line went dead.

\--

The address he'd sent led to one of his private clubs in Palermo's old quarter. I'd been there before, a converted palazzo.

The guard at the door recognized me and stepped aside without a word. I took the stairs two at a time, following the directions Ruggero's message had provided.

The door to the private room was slightly ajar.

What I saw through that gap made my vision blur with rage.

Ruggero stood behind Carla, his massive hands roaming over her body while she remained passive in his embrace. Her dress was disheveled, pulled down to expose her shoulders, and his mouth was at her neck like a predator marking his prey.

I kicked the door open.

"Get your hands off her."

Ruggero looked up with infuriating calm, as if my interruption was merely a minor inconvenience. His hands didn't move from Carla's waist.

"Alessandro. You're earlier than I expected."

I lunged forward, ready to tear him apart with my bare hands. But Carla stepped between us, her palm against my chest stopping my momentum.

"Don't." Her voice was steady but strained. "Please."

"You see?" Ruggero's smile widened as he straightened his rumpled shirt. "She came to me willingly. Quite enthusiastically, in fact. All because she wants something you refuse to give her."

I looked at Carla, waiting for her denial, for her explanation of how this bastard had coerced or tricked her into this position.

Instead, she looked away, her silence confirming every word.

"She told me about her situation," Ruggero continued. "About her desperate need for a child. About your inability to help her achieve that goal. I simply offered a practical solution."

The betrayal cut deeper than any blade. She'd shared our private arrangement, our most intimate business, with this opportunistic predator.

"She was quite grateful for my assistance," Ruggero said, moving toward Carla again. "Weren't you, cara mia?"

I turned toward the door, my jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth might crack. If this was what she wanted, if she was willing to debase herself with Ruggero to get what she needed, then she'd made her choice.

But as I reached the doorway, something primitive and violent surged through my chest. The sight of another man's hands on her skin, the smug satisfaction on Ruggero's face, the thought of him claiming what I'd...

What I'd what? She wasn't mine. She belonged to my dying brother, and our arrangement was purely business.

So why did every instinct I possessed scream otherwise?

I spun around, covering the distance to Carla in three strides. Before Ruggero could react, before she could protest, I bent and lifted her over my shoulder like she weighed nothing at all.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, her fists beating against my back.

"Taking what's mine."