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“You ever fucking do that again and I’ll remove it,” he hisses. “Understand?”
“Yes, boss,” I snap angrily.
“I’m offering something more than this,” he growls.
“Thank you for your kind offer,” I spit out, “but I’ll leave it. It’s over.”
“It’s not over until I say it’s over.”
“Unless you’re planning on raping me, Vinn, we’re done.”
He steps back, releasing me, and for the first time, I see a flicker of hurt in his eyes. “I have to marry her. I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Vinn. Always.”
“Not in my life . . . not for who I am. You don’t understand. If I backed out of this marriage, there’d be a war.”
“And I’m not worth the fight, right?”
“People would die. I might die . . . or Gia. I can’t just walk away, Raven. I have a responsibility.”
“So do I,” I mutter. “I have to protect myself. I’m sick of being second best.”
“That’s not what you are, Corvo. This wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a fuck to stop the itch. I went and bought a flat outright because I couldn’t stand the thought of ending us. You’re not second best, but I can’t stop this marriage.”
“You’ve never even kissed me, Vinn. What we have isn’t real. It’s exactly what you wanted it to be—a fuck.”
“You know that’s bullshit. Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not crazy jealous when you see me with her,” he snaps.
“I’m not doing this,” I mumble, heading for the door.
“Just like I can’t look you in the eye and tell you I didn’t wanna fucking rip Mac’s head off tonight for walking out of here with you. The thought of you and another man,” he pauses, shaking his head, and when he next looks at me, his eyes are dark, the way they go when he’s just killed someone.
“So, what happens if I move into this flat, Vinn?” I ask. “When Sofia gets pregnant, when your first child is born, when you get the son you desperately want. What happens to us?”
“I don’t have all the answers, but I’m trying to find a solution to suit us both.”
“It’s to suit you,” I yell. “It’s to suit you. Because I’ll tell you what happens in the end, shall I? You walk away with your life and pretend this never happened. And I will have put my life on hold for you. So, when you leave with the perfect family, I’ll have nothing. I know the ending because I’ve seen it before.”
“I can’t let you walk away,” he whispers.
I smile sadly. “It’s my choice.
MAC
I happen to glance up just as Raven is rushing towards the exit. Vinn’s not far behind her, but when she doesn’t respond to him shouting her name, he gives up, looking pissed. I catch his eye, and he scowls before heading back to his office. She shouldn’t be leaving alone, so I head after her. It’s the right thing to do, and I’m annoyed at Vinn for leaving her like that. She’s almost at the end of the road when I spot her. Jogging up behind her, I shout her name, but she ignores me, just like she did Vinn. “Hey,” I yell, “wait up.”
“I’m fine, go back inside,” she mutters, marching ahead.
“You’re not fine. What happened back there?” I place a hand on her shoulder, and she spins to face me.
“I’m not like the others, Mac. I can look after myself!” she snaps. She’s angry and needs to shout to release it, so I smirk.
“Sure, you can. You think because you’ve stood around while the men do their shit, because you clean up a little blood, you’re all equipped to scare away the bad guys.”
“What is it with you fucking men?” she yells. “Why do you assume women are these little creatures you have to protect when the only thing we need protecting from is you?”
“You’re right,” I say, shrugging. “We’re natural predators, and you’re natural prey.”
