Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
"I have," I say. "Most of them knew what awaited them when they made the choices they made."
"That doesn't justify murder, Domani."
"I'm not trying to justify it, mio sole. I merely explain. If you're looking for a reason to view me as anything other than a monster, I don't have one for you. I've committed damn near every crime there is to commit. I know what I am. I know what I do. I don't justify it, Finley. But if you're looking for a reason to condemn me, let it be the truth. The men I killed knew what was coming for them. Some deserved it far more than others, but none were innocent. None were victims. In this life, it's kill or be killed. I chose not to be killed or to allow the same fate to befall the people who matter."
"The people who matter? You mean the Valentino family."
"Sometimes, yes. But not always. Sometimes, the people I protected had nothing to do with the Valentino family or the mafia." I cut my eyes in her direction. "Sometimes, they were like you, just trying to survive men like your uncle. He isn't the only monster I've met. He's not even the worst."
She processes this for a long moment and then nods. She doesn't have to ask what I mean. She knows. Finley is smart, far too smart for her own good, I think. "Did you take those girls too?"
"No. I took care of their problems and walked away. They never even knew I existed."
"But you took me," she whispers.
"I told you; you belong to me."
She rolls her head to the side to look at me. "Did you ever think maybe you're just crazy, Domani?"
I chuckle at her question. "The thought crossed my mind a time or two, mio sole. But no, this isn't madness. It's something else. Something bigger." I glance at her again to see her eyes locked on my face as if she's really trying to understand me. "I know you feel it, too."
She swallows, shifting her gaze away from me. But not before I see the acknowledgment in her eyes. She does feel it. The electric charge between us. The irrevocable certainty that this is where she's supposed to be. Even before I saw the rope burn on her wrist, I knew she was leaving that house with me. If that makes me a fucking monster, I'll own it.
We fall silent again. It's not uncomfortable or awkward. It's just…silent. Still. Peaceful, even. I feel her gaze on me periodically as the SUV flies down the road, quickly putting distance between us and the mess I'm leaving behind. But mostly, she looks out the window, avidly curious as only one starved for sight is.
"You told me that we'd talk about my uncle in the car," she finally says. "You expect him to come after me, don't you?"
"Don't you?" I ask instead of answering.
Her slumped shoulders are answer enough. She knows he'll come after her. "I don't think he cares about me. I could die tomorrow, and he wouldn't shed a tear. But he hates losing. You took me from his home. He'll be angry about that." She pauses. "And I'm valuable to him."
"Why?"
"Because he wants to keep control of my trust fund. He's the executor. He has final say over the trust fund until I'm twenty-five unless I get married or file to have him removed." She grimaces. "I think he plans to cling to control for as long as possible."
"Why? He has his own money."
"He has my dad's money," she snorts. "Everything he owns, he got from my dad. And it's a drop in the bucket compared to what's in that trust fund, Domani."
"Cristo. What happens when you turn twenty-five? What's his plan?"
She shrugs one shoulder. "Kill me? Marry me off to one of his cronies? I don't know, but I'm sure there is a plan. There always is with him."
There's no question then. He will be coming after her with everything he's got. And he'll go to war to get her back.
Cazzo. I fucking knew my night was going to end in a bunch of bullshit as soon as Mattia popped in to see me. I didn't kill anyone, and I'm not bleeding either, but somehow, I'm more fucked than ever before.
But it changes nothing. Actually, it changes everything. Because it's more important than ever that Cillian not get his hands on her. Rafe and Mattia may disagree when the stakes are this high. She's Irish, not Italian. We stay out of their shit, and they stay out of ours. That's how it's supposed to work. But I won't condemn an innocent woman to a life under Cillian's rule. I won't send one to her death. Especially not this woman.
He'll kill her or marry her off to get her money. And considering the fact that he ties her to the goddamn bed, I'm not willing to gamble on him marrying her off. Even if she didn't belong to me, it's not a risk I'd take.