The Storm Before the Calm

Chapter 21

Aurora Salvatore
Fuck Dominico Vitale.

Fuck his perfectly tailored suit, muscles I could feel tensing on my own skin, and his intoxicating cologne. Or was it his aftershave? If it was his natural scent, I was going to throw myself off a fucking cliff. No way could any man be this perfect. This has to be some kind of sick fucking joke.

I wasn't sure who he thought he was, interrupting Don Massimo's son speaking to me at the bar, but the fear that spread across his face when he realized who had interrupted us was priceless. I had to hand it to the kid, though. Normally, everyone at the party was too scared to speak to me. Whether my reputation proceeded me, or my ice cold demeanor pushed people away, I was thankful for it.

But, now, being pressed tightly up against Mr. Vitale's strong chest, with his large hand on the small of my back, and the other wrapped firmly around my own hand, while my other rested on his shoulder, I steeled my spine. I needed to get to the bottom of him tonight.

Metaphorically, of course.

I actually looked up to see the left corner of his lips quirk up at my statement, before he looked down at me, and I found myself locked into his deadly green gaze.

"Smart girl."

I said nothing to that. I wanted him to keep speaking, and just give me what I wanted to I could part ways with him.

"Why were you at the cemetery yesterday?"

Well, now I was regretting that silence. I wanted him to say anything other than that.

"What does everybody visit a cemetery for?" I hoped my sarcastic retort covered up the physical response my body had to any thoughts about what I was doing at the cemetery yesterday. Not that it was any of his fucking business.

"The guy that followed you is taken care of." Why the fuck did he know about that? And why the fuck was he telling me that? Was he who had texted Antonio a little while ago before he told me the same thing?

"Why would I trust you to take care of him?"

I was now looking around the room, but this time I focused on my baby sister slipping a cellist some cash, and I listened intently to the next few chords they started playing. She actually paid the cellists to play a rendition of Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande? If Papa knew what was happening, he would have those Choos in a the fireplace before she could sing the chorus.

Then, she ran away in those ridiculous shoes to dance with Hunter.

"Because I hear we have a common enemy." I could feel my heart rate begin to pick up even dancing around the topic of my husband. I surely was not about to delve into that topic with Mr. Vitale.

"You and I have nothing in common." I said a little too sharply. He knew he'd struck a nerve, surely.

"Seems we both want your husband's head on a platter." Your husband.

I wasn't giving him any more ammunition until I knew just how much this man knew about me. He had no idea what I knew about him, so I still had that upper hand, and I was not about to show him that hand any time soon.

"You've done your homework, Mr. Vitale." I said, slowly feeling my anger take over my body. The rage was settling in, the darkness taking over to protect myself again. I looked up at him. he was already looking down at me, when I continued. "But not well enough." I said, tearing away from his grip, storming away from the fucking dance floor and those green fucking eyes.

I couldn't hear my heels over the sound of blood rushing through my ears and the fucking cellists blasting Ariana fucking Grande.

But what I could hear were the footsteps behind me as I exited the ballroom to the back hallway that lead towards the foyer, so I could get my car from valet and get the fuck away from that man. We were alone in the dark hallway when he spoke up again.