Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

DANI
Maverick was right. Marettimo was the best place to get away. I enjoyed my little vacation before Terzo found me. The beach was beautiful, the food was so good, and the people here were kind.
She also said that I would be safe here. Whoever stayed in the house was considered under their protection and off-limits. I still wondered how he hadn’t found me, considering this was their territory, or maybe, he didn’t care and he’d moved on.
Pain beat in my chest. I dropped the bag on the couch. I just came back from the grocery store. I was planning on making some bolognese.
The woman standing beside me earlier just glared at me as if I had just insulted her when I picked up a pack of pasta. I brought the plastic bags to the kitchen.
My world came to a halt. I just made it to the door, and the bags slipped from my hands, dropping my groceries on the floor.
I sucked in a breath to find that I wasn’t alone anymore. Ice floods my veins as our gazes lock. He was just there, standing behind the counter as if he owned the house, looking handsome and very domesticated.
Well, he definitely owned the house. For a heartbeat, no one moved. He looked surprised, too. I was shocked to see him here, to be honest. I picked up the grocery bags with my trembling hands.
“Allow me.” He rounded with long strides to come to me.
I had them in my hands, but he picked them from me anyway. A deafening silence followed for a long moment, and none of us wanted to speak.
When I lifted my gaze, he was staring at me. A mix of emotions flashed across his face, matching mine. I could see the flecks in his eyes, feel the warm breathing from his mouth, the crackling electricity from our skins. I also saw longing, regrets, and I saw pain, a lot of it.
The air between us crackled with sexual tension. My heart rate quickened. My chest rose and fell. His gaze dropped to my lips, then backed up to meet my eyes. Then his free hand came up to cup my cheek, making me gasp, and I instantly yearned for it.
“Terzo,” I mumbled and closed my eyes as his thumb brushed over my cheekbone.
“Dani, mia bella.” His voice was low and rough, contrasting with the way he touched my skin so softly and delicately.
For a split second, I knew what he was doing. And what the hell was I doing falling for the same trap all over again?
I blinked it off, pushed my emotions aside, and glared at him. “What are you doing here?” I snatched the bags from him and brought them up to the counter.
“Is that how you welcome your husband?” His words were a mix of joke and irritation.
“The last time I was with my husband, he locked me up. So if you’re here to talk me out of it, apologize, or whatever reasons you cooked up to bring me back to Sicily, think again. I’m not going back with you.” I put my groceries out of the plastic and raised the pasta. “I don’t know it’s a crime to buy dried pasta. Why are they selling like this in the first place?”
“It has nothing to do with dried pasta. It’s available everywhere and in every household. Homemade is sometimes only for a special occasion. That woman was just bitter because you were beautiful than her.”
“Okay. Why are you here, Terzo?”
He exhaled as if he’d not been expecting a warm welcome. “You’re not safe here.”
My head snapped in his direction. “The last time I checked, I’m not safe anywhere as long as I’m tied to you and my father.”
“Apart from taking you home, that’s why I am here. I want to talk to you about your father.”
“I don’t wanna talk about him.”
“Maybe we should.” His expression didn’t change.
“Why?” I put back the bottle of sauce on the counter and looked at him. “What’s so interesting that you came all the way here to talk about the man who wanted us to find a damn book for his benefits.”
“He’s not who we think he is.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“He also might not be your father.”
“Wow.” I scoffed. “Is that all you got? What else are you gonna tell me, Terzo? I know he’s a very terrible person, and a part of me is embarrassed that I have that kind of father, but I’m also his blood.”
“Did he show you your mother’s picture? Did he tell you how and where they met, the day you were born?” he asked, unblinking.
My stomach lurched as I realized he was completely serious with his questions. “I don’t need to know that story. I know he abandoned me, and my mother didn’t say much, but I am his daughter.”
“You wanted to believe it, but you said it yourself, you don’t feel the connection.”
“Stop!” My eyes widened. “Stop lying! I can’t trust anything you say after what you did to me.”
“I’m only here to tell you the truth, to open your eyes to the fact that he is using you because you know for a fact, deep in your heart, he’s not your father.”
“Fuck you!” A loud smack echoed. The moment my palm hit his cheek, I gasped, instantly regretting my action.
Instead of maybe hitting me back, giving me a warning, he looked down in defeat. “There’s nothing I can do for you to forgive me.”
I wiped the tears off my face, but I didn’t know where. “Time, Terzo. I need time.”
“You have all the time as long as you come with me.”
“What in the time I just said you didn’t understand?” I glared at him, sniffing.
“I made the worst enemy years ago, and I think he’s retaliating. If your father could kidnap us and be willing to hurt you, try one hundred times worse. He doesn’t care if you’re a woman or a child, he will make you an example and use you to get to me.”
Whether it was true or he was desperate, there was no way I would come with him willingly. Unless he took me back by force.
“I don’t care. I want nothing from you.” I turned my back on him and walked towards the living room.
“I’m sorry, Dani. You leave me no choice.”
“What?” I stopped. Before I could turn and face him, my eyes widened.
Terzo caught my wrists and spun me around and held me tight.
“Terzo, let me go!” I snarled, trying to let loose. He was six feet three inches tall, and I was only five feet and five inches, and he outweighted me, and I wasn’t trained to fight like him. But I still tried and struggled.
“Calm down. It’s useless for you to fight. I’m doing this to keep you safe and stay alive. When are you going to get that?”
“Just let me go. I’ll go back to the States and stay with Maverick. I swear.” I twisted in his grip. Then I remembered a video of self-defense from Tiktok. I tried to stomp on his feet, but it didn’t work. I bowed forward and snapped my head back. I failed miserably, and it was embarrassing.
“What are you gonna do next? Elbow me? Knee my crotch?”
“I’m considering it, asshole.” My chest heaved in anger. “Just let go.”
“If you promise to come with me, then I don’t have to knock you to sleep.”
“Are you crazy?” I wiggled so desperately. My movement made him groan. Apparently, he felt I was aiming for a distraction.
“Yes, mia bella. I’m considering it. My sisters are stubborn, but you are ten times worse. And stop grinding against my dick. I know what you’re doing. I have years of training, including months in the agency.”
“Okay, Jack Ryan. How could you even consider me like them? I’m not your sister, asshole.”
“That’s gross, Dani. That’s not what I meant.” He chuckled. “If I let you go, will you promise to behave?”
“Okay.”
His arms began to loosen slowly. The moment I was free from him, I turned and faced him. I balled my fist, swung, and aimed at his nose. I just wanted to break it and make him bleed.
It was a failure— a laughingstock.