Empire Of Lies

EMPIRE OF LIES A VALENTINO EMPIRE SHORT STORY KYLIE KENT Copyright ©2023 by Kylie Kent Ebook: 978-1-922816-74-0 Cover illustration by Graphics by Stacy Editing services provided by Kat Pagan – https://www.facebook.com/PaganProofreading This book contains scenes of sexual acts and profanity If any of these are triggers for you, you should consider skipping this read. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. CONTENTS Empire of Lies Untitled Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Also by Kylie Kent Please Stalk Me Meet The Author About Kylie Kent EMPIRE OF LIES A Valentino Empire Short Story Thirty years ago, I left Italy. I left him behind to marry another man. I thought I was leaving alone; I didn’t know I was carrying a piece of him with me. How do I face him now after all this time? Now that he knows what I did? PROLOGUE “Lo, you know you don’t have to do this. Just tell Al. He’ll figure something out. He’ll know what to do.” My best friend, always the optimist. “I don’t have a choice, Em, and you promised you wouldn’t tell anyone. I have to do this for my family. My Papa needs me to. Promise, Emma. Promise you won’t say anything. Just let me tell Al myself.” “You’re leaving tomorrow, Lo. When do you think you’re going to tell him? Huh? Who’s going to be the one dealing with his fury when he finds out you’re gone? Me. I will be. And you’ll be off overseas playing happy families with God only knows who.” I know this isn’t ideal. It’s not like I asked my father to arrange a marriage for me. But he’s in trouble, and the only way I can help him is to go along with his plan. I love my father, and I love my family. There is no sacrifice I won’t make for them. That includes letting go of him. Al Donatello. The only boy who has ever made my heart beat so fast that sometimes I’m afraid it’s going to jump right out of my chest. The boy who claims to love me above all else. The boy who makes me feel safe, cherished, and desired. Except he’s not a boy. Not anymore. The once scrawny kid I knew is now a fully grown man. Over six-foot tall with a beautiful olive complexion, toned muscles, and a smile that could melt the panties off any girl in his vicinity. But that smile, it’s always directed at me. How do you tell the man you love you’re leaving the country to marry someone else? You don’t. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to anyway. He’s going to hate me. I know that. But that’s a cross I must bear. It’s for the best if I leave before he finds out. If he knew, there is no telling what he’d do. He would only end up getting us both killed in his feeble attempts to stop this wedding from happening. Al has a ruthless side—a side he usually hides from me. But I know it’s there, lurking under that calm persona he wears like a mask. I guess he’s had to develop that ruthlessness, though. He’s the heir to the throne of the whole Sicilian mafia. I should have known our fantasy of a happily ever after was never in the cards for us. I was a fool to even consider that we could ever be anything more than friends. The problem is, I know what his lips feel like on mine. I know what his body feels like when it’s pressed up against mine. I’ve felt the love he has for me pouring out of him with every touch, every whispered promise, every lingering stare. I’m going to miss my family when I’m gone. But Al? I’m not really sure how I’m going to live without him. I don’t know how I’ll manage. I just know I have to. On impulse, I suddenly decide that I can’t leave without seeing him one last time. “Em, cover for me. I just need a few hours, okay? I’ll be back,” I rush out, throwing a pair of sandals on before I crack the window and jump to the ground. Emma smiles back at me. It breaks my heart to do this to her. To do this to him. But I don’t have a choice. It’s the only way. * * * “Lo, what are you doing here?” Al looks around, surprised by my presence in this bar so late at night. “I needed to see you. Can we go somewhere? Anywhere?” As hard as I try, I can’t keep the desperation out of my voice. I just can’t. Al’s eyes screw into tiny slits as he looks me up and down. “What happened? What’s wrong?” His tone is hard. Firm. Commanding. “Nothing, I just… I wanted to see you. Can we go somewhere, please? Take me somewhere, Al.” I’m practically begging him to take me away. Anywhere without an audience. “Okay, let’s go.” He grabs hold of my arm as he drags me out of the bar. “You should never be in a fucking place like this, Lo. Do you have any idea how sick the bastards who frequent an establishment like this really are? What they’d all fucking love to do to a little innocent thing like you?” he growls into my ear as we walk towards his car. “I… needed to see you.” “Get in,” He grunts, holding the passenger door open. I wait until he pulls into