Book two of 'The Vengeance Duology'
Five years ago, the lads and I made the biggest mistake of our lives-a reckless decision that shattered everything.
We destroyed what mattered most, but my deepest regret is how much I hurt her.
Every moment of pa...
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The sun is glaring in my eyes, the brightness making it hard to fully wake up. I hear a groan next to me and sit up, blinking against the light. Theo, Gio, and Nicco are passed out on the floor, and Lucas... Lucas is spooning me.
"Jesus Christ," I mutter, shoving him off the bed without hesitation.
Lucas hits the floor with a loud thud. "Ow," he groans, rubbing his head as he pulls himself up.
I can't help but laugh, though confusion is already creeping in. "Where the fuck are we?"
Lucas rubs his eyes, clearly disoriented. "No idea," he says, his voice raspy. "But that wasn't a nice way to wake up."
I glance around the unfamiliar room, my mind still foggy, trying to piece things together. Everything feels out of place.
I lightly kick Theo, Gio, and Nicco, trying to wake them up. "Guys, wake up. Seriously."
Theo lets out a groan, rolling over. "Too early," he mumbles, pulling a pillow over his head.
"Where are we?" I ask again, more urgently this time, glancing at Nicco for an answer. He's the only one who looks somewhat awake.
Nicco groans from the floor, eyes still closed. "Valentina's..."
The second the words leave his mouth, every head shoots up, eyes snapping open as if we've been jolted with electricity.
"What the fuck do you mean we're at Valentina's?" Lucas practically yells, his head popping up from the side of the bed like he's been splashed with cold water.
I look at Nicco, who's now sitting up, rubbing his face. His expression is somewhere between dread and confusion, and I can't tell if he regrets saying it or is just waking up to the same nightmare we are.
"Seriously?" Theo asks, his voice filled with disbelief as he tries to piece together the foggy memories.
"I... think so," Nicco mutters, still groggy. "We were drunk, and... yeah."
"Why the fuck didn't anyone stop us?" Gio groans, running a hand through his hair. "This is the last place we should've gone."
I sit there, my heart dropping into my stomach. We all know Valentina has a way of holding grudges. What did we do?
Just then, there's a knock on the door, and Jacques enters, his face hard.
"What did we do last night?" Theo basically shouts, his voice pleading.
Jacques looks at him for a moment before shaking his head. "You fucked up," he says bluntly, not sugarcoating a thing. "I don't know what your plan was coming here, but if you thought you'd win her back, you pushed her even further away. She was starting to warm up to you all, but you took it too far."
I swallow hard, dread pooling in my stomach. "What did we do?" I ask, my voice quieter than I intended.
Jacques turns to me, his gaze sharp. "Other than refusing to give her the closure she's needed to hear for the past five years?" His eyes flick to her brothers—Nicco, and Gio,—who all remain silent, looking at the floor. "Your sister has been through more than any of you can possibly imagine. And I'm not just talking about the Russians. The things she's had to endure, the horrors she's had to witness—that's the kind of stuff that scars you, both physically and mentally."
