28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella (24 page)

“And that’s why she turned to the PTSD drugs. They were already known to be effective. Adding them to Valentine to get the exact result she needed was brilliant.”

“But there are other memories of much more recent events that she hid as well. The man in California, my birthday party.”

“The training she gave you on the drugs.”

I nodded. I hadn’t thought of that one. “I wonder why I can’t remember her training me but I can still recall everything I learned.”

“Tony and I talked about that. He thinks it’s because your recognition is based on a physical response not a mental one. You need to actually see, smell or taste the drug to identify it. If Teresa’s drug worked differently, taking out your physical memories, you could have easily forgotten how to breathe.”

I settled down heavier in his arms, a rush of thoughts making me close my eyes. My mother was brilliant but the risks she took were just unfathomable to me. How many people had she tried recipes on until she found one that worked? How many people had died in the process?

I opened my eyes and Cole was watching me with an intensity that bordered on dangerous. He brushed his fingertips across my eyes. “I see what they mean by Valentine resolution.”

I gave a half smile. “Cole, you’ve told me a hundred times that I have the ability to command this family, to make them follow orders I set.”

“Second only to your father although he doesn’t concern himself much with the business side of things any longer.”

“And you.”

“Actually, you can overrule me, Ariana. Were we to disagree, the men would follow your orders rather than mine. Even if it was the wrong decision and got them killed, they would follow you.”

“It’s not my intention to get anyone killed.”

“No, but it could happen. You are new to this world and may not recognize a lot of the dangers that exist. I consider it part of my job to make sure you are aware of those things. So, I suggest that you and I make sure we’re always in agreement where family business is concerned. Clearly, you’ve made some resolution in your head so let’s see if we can come to a compromise.”

“So you assume we’re going to disagree?”

“There is no doubt in my mind.”

I laughed. “How many people know the recipe for my mother’s drug? The one she gave me.”

“Ah,” Cole frowned and shook his head. “Yes, we are definitely going to disagree. It will be a battle with your father as well, though for entirely different reasons. Four, as of right now.”

He obviously knew what I was going to say but I was determined to make it clear anyway. “I don’t want the house of Valentine to manufacture it. Ever.”

“We’ll start with your father’s objections. It will be damn profitable.”

“That’s it? That will be his only reasoning?”

Cole considered. “He might try the emotional avenue...it was Teresa’s last and most notable creation. Her life’s work, so to speak.”

“Tony’s new concoction is worth a million times more than her recipe. It’s a legitimate market which means safer and less hassle. With both drugs already having FDA approval, there is no lag time. It could go into the market tomorrow. Switch up the components in different percentages and you’ll have a damn addictive street drug as well. Whichever method appeals.”

“Or both. Both will appeal to the Valentine bottom line.” Cole nodded his approval.

“My mother was many more things some drug. That is not what she deserves to be known for.”

“True, but not convincing enough to dissuade Franco.”

I sighed. “Her most notable creation was the one she made with my father...me. I was her life’s work and the drug was merely a way to keep me safe until my father, the only true love of her life, could be at my side once again.”

“Absolutely true,” he gave me a quick kiss, “and fucking cunning as hell. You almost had
me
ready to give in.”

“But?”

“But,” he ran a finger down my cheek, “until we find a way to safely wean you from it, without the drug you’ll die.”

“I don’t think it would-”

“Ariana, you’ve no idea how close I came to losing you so please don’t belittle it. This is our job, it’s what we do. A half hour longer and you would have dropped into circulatory shock and you never would have awoken. If Tony hadn’t figured it out, if you had been too far gone to identify the substance, if I hadn’t known where to get the missing component, you would be dead. We were lucky and I’m not willing to leave your life up to chance.”

“So..stalemate.”

“No,” he chuckled. “Compromise. We will continue to manufacture it but only for your use. It’s just an addition to Valentine so Tony can do that himself. But, once we find a way to get you off it, we’ll never make it again. Assuming you get your father to agree.”

“Compromise didn’t work so well for my parents.”

“We are not them, Ariana. Despite what history you think is repeating itself, we can choose the path we take.”

“As long as its together, I don’t give a damn about anything else.”

“You can be romantic,” he chuckled, nuzzling my neck. He gave me a long, drawn kiss before pulling a breath away. “You and I, Ariana, will make the world jealous.”