Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
“Hired you to do what?”
“To keep an eye on you.”
Chapter Nine
Venus
I felt blood drain from my face, then flush in absolute fury. “Keep eye on me.”
“Yes.”
“How long, Piston?” I clenched my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms. The pain grounded me as points pierced my flesh.
“Since the day you first met Giovanni.”
“Blyad!” I shoved away, needing to put space between us. I felt like when I had to get on airplane. Panic seized me, making it hard to breathe. Only this was much, much worse. “Was all this” -- I waved my hand back and forth between us -- ”Just so you could stay in my life? Did you think I’d roll over, let you do whatever Giovanni told you to with me? Did you --” I had to gasp for breath and loathed myself for it. This was weakness I could not afford to show. “Was this all honey trap?”
Piston gave a humorless laugh. “Baby, the only person trapped in this relationship is me. I was trapped from the day I first laid eyes on you. Anything I did earlier was more for me than you because I’ve been in love with you for a fuckin’ decade.”
I gasped in another much-needed breath, not sure if I could believe him, but wanting to with all my heart. And that was a problem. My sisters were only people I could honestly say I loved. Everyone in MCs I worked with I considered mine to protect, but I wasn’t certain I could honestly say I loved any of them. Maybe. If push came to shove, though, I could sacrifice them all. Maybe. But Piston? I’d gone from him being annoyance to getting used to him. Somewhere along way I’d grown to rely on him. He had my back even if I felt need to push him away. I knew he wasn’t going anywhere so I felt safe doing so. After what he’d done to me few hours before, I realized I might possibly feel more for him than I should. With my stomach rebelling now, I knew I was fucked.
I was in love with Piston. And everything I thought I knew about him was possibly lies.
“Ulyana…” Piston didn’t move closer to me, but he was watching me like hawk. Probably afraid I was going to eviscerate him. Or run. While I wanted badly to do former, I was afraid I was going to do latter. And that just pissed me off.
“It was Giovanni, wasn’t it? He told you my name.” I remembered him using it before and knew something was off.
“He did.”
“How much did he tell you about me?”
“He kept the personal stuff to a minimum. Honestly, I don’t think he considers anything personal to be important unless it directly affects the situation at hand. If he knew a situation would have an adverse effect on you he wasn’t certain you could power through, he’d tell me, but otherwise, the only thing personal I really know is that you had a rough plane ride escaping Victor with Millie and that you have issues flying now.”
“So he didn’t tell you the reason I ended up in Salvation’s Bane.”
He narrowed his eyes. “No,” he said slowly. “I just assumed he sent you there.”
“No.” I frowned. “At least, I don’t think so. Am starting to wonder.” It didn’t escape me I was talking through my doubts with Piston when he should be last person I trusted. Had he truly been in shadows all this time?
“OK. Why did you take up with Bane? You made a pretty good impression on Thorn or he wouldn’t have patched you in. He’s the fuckin’ hardass in a room full of hardasses, so you have his respect.”
“I helped him out of tight spot on ExFil mission. Together we saved his team even if mission got scrubbed.”
“Must have been one hell of a save. He basically took you in the same day you came back.”
“It was.” I looked around, finding my pants and snagging them. “I need to leave.”
“Venus, stop.” That fucking gruff voice of his was my bane. It had been hard to resist him before, but after we’d had sex, after he’d completely blown my mind, I wanted to obey him. At least, my body did. My mind was screaming and railing at me to bust his balls and leave.
I took a breath. “I don’t want to.” Blyat! I sounded like petulant child.
“We’re not done. No matter what you believe my motives are, you know I’ll always protect you. You know it.”
He was right. I did know, but I didn’t want to give in too easily. “Just because you’ve been shadowing me for years doesn’t mean I know you as well as you know me. And you’ve already been lying to me.”
“I have never lied to you. I didn’t tell you everything about me, but I’ve never lied to you.” His face hardened as he spoke. Clearly, Piston didn’t appreciate my accusations.