He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 12

He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 12

“Miss DeLuca. I know I was wrong. I swear. I’ll never appear in front of you again. Just please. Please tell Lowell to let my family go.”

I stood up from where she had cornered me.

“Instead of begging me to let you go, try begging yourself and Lowell to stop showing up in my life.”

“I’m engaged. I’m going to have a new life. Every time the two of you appear in front of me, I get no peace.”

Talia grabbed my pant leg in desperation.

“Miss DeLuca. Please—”

She didn’t finish.

Lowell appeared and yanked her away by the arm.

I had never seen him that enraged.

“What the hell are you? Who gave you permission to bother Verona?”

Talia’s jaw tightened. She shouted back.

“Lowell DeLuca. What will it take for you to let my father go?”

“You made me lose Verona.”

He looked at her. His voice had almost no temperature at all.

“That’s the price you pay.”

He chased Talia off. Then he turned back to me.

His expression shifted completely. Pain. Supplication.

“I got rid of her. I took care of it for you. Verona. Can you forgive me now?”

Not far away, Shepard rose from the bench where he had been waiting for me. He lifted a hand and signaled security.

“Mr. DeLuca just sent Miss Whitfield away.”

He walked over to me and took my hand.

“Now it’s my turn to send him away. Seems fair.”

Lowell thrashed against the guards. His voice cracked.

“Shepard Lombardi. This is Verona’s home. What gives you the right to throw me out?”

I was getting tired. I leaned against Shepard’s shoulder and yawned.

The cedar scent on him made me even sleepier.

“Because Verona is my fiancée. Tomorrow we’re going to the County Clerk’s Office to get our marriage license. The wedding is next month.”

He scooped me up without another word and carried me inside.

Behind us, a dull thud.

Then the security guard’s voice drifted back.

“Mr. Lombardi. He walked into the door frame. He’s unconscious.”