Red Card to Your Heart: You Don't Deserve My Love Extra Time novel Chapter 24

At two in the morning, I finally located Carina's necklace among the reeds. Despite my exhaustion, pain, and the blood I'd discreetly wiped from my thighs, I drove to her apartment to return it.

When the door opened, I found Salvatore standing there, bare-chested, water droplets still clinging to the defined muscles of his torso. Behind him, Carina leaned against the wall in a sheer negligee that left little to imagination.

"Salvatore and I worked up quite a sweat," she purred, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "We just finished showering."

She stepped closer, her voice honey-sweet. "Don't misunderstand, cara. Don't be angry with him. He just hates seeing me upset—he's not trying to hurt you."

Salvatore's eyes narrowed as he took in my appearance—clothes still damp from the lake, hair matted against my face, lips tinged slightly blue from the cold. I stood shivering in the doorway, my body betraying my weakness.

His expression darkened as he reached for me, pulling me roughly against his chest, his body heat penetrating my frozen limbs.

"Why the fuck couldn't you just apologize?" he growled, his voice a mixture of anger and something else. "Where's that manipulative charm you're so good at using on me?"

I gently pushed away from him and extended my hand, offering Carina's gold crucifix pendant resting in my palm, still wet from the lake.

A bitter smile crossed my lips. "I don't want to charm you anymore, Salvatore. Your heart is stone—I can't warm it, and I've stopped trying."

"I understand Carina is special to you. Her tears matter more than mine. Here—I found her necklace. Go comfort her now."

"And don't keep her hidden away like this, like some mistress. It's beneath her dignity."

"Who the fuck said marrying me was her life's only wish?" His voice was sandpaper wrapped in velvet, each word a caress and a threat. "You think your words mean nothing to me, Isabella? That I let just anyone wear my ring?"

His fingers gentled on my neck, thumb stroking my pulse point even as he kept me pinned. "I believed you, bella. Made the mistake of taking you at your word."

He pressed closer, the heat of him seeping into my frozen body.

"You want to run now?" The dangerous smile in his voice made my skin prickle.

"Too fucking late for that. In this family, breaking promises has consequences."