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Cane’s expression didn’t change, but I couldn’t see his eyes behind his glasses.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Had some very interesting things to say.”
Cane stared at me in silence.
Crow turned to his brother, obviously having no idea what was going on.
“I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt to explain your behavior,” I said. “And to tell me you’re just angry and this will blow over once you come to your senses.”
“I’m not going to come to my senses,” he said simply. “I risked everything to save that woman, and in return, I get to keep her. That’s her payment for my sacrifice. I’m not the kind of guy who hands out charity. I didn’t do all of that so she could go back to her life in America and forget about me.” His attitude shifted and was noticeably dark. He obviously didn’t care about my opinion on the matter. Adelina was right when she said he’d flipped a switch. It seemed like I was talking to Cane from two years ago, the ruthless barbarian who didn’t hesitate to beat me to within an inch of my life.
Crow eyed his brother, his eyebrow raised.
“That’s wrong, and you know it.”
“I know it’s wrong.” He shrugged. “But I don’t give a damn.”
I shifted my gaze to Crow, silently asking him for help.
Crow picked up on my request and turned to his brother. “So, what’s your plan? To keep her locked up in your house all day?”
“Yep.”
“And you don’t think she’ll run?” Crow asked.
“I put a tracker in her,” Cane said simply. “And she knows what I’ll do if she tries to run.” The threat was so easy, rolling off his tongue like it meant nothing.
“I thought the reason why we saved her was because you loved her,” Crow said.
“I did, at one point.” Cane looked at the house, shifting his gaze elsewhere. “Not anymore.”
“You don’t just stop loving someone,” I snapped. “When you love someone the way you love her, you can’t stop. It’s always there, no matter how much you try to fight it. Keeping her like a dog isn’t right. You don’t do that to someone you love.”
“Which is why I don’t love her,” Cane countered. “She’s just a woman I fuck. That’s it. That’s her only job. If she embraces the situation, she can get a lot out of it. She can be a wealthy woman living in Tuscany. I can take her to see the world, give her a lifestyle she could never afford on a teacher’s salary.”
“Money isn’t everything.” I didn’t love Crow because of his wealth. I loved him because I was as broken as he was. He fixed me, put me back together so I was more whole than I had been before I was broken. “I can tell it doesn’t mean anything to Adelina.”
“That’s a shame,” Cane said. “She might be bored, then. Not my problem.”
I wanted to slap him upside the head. “Knock it off, Cane. You’re being a dickhead.”
“Because I am a dickhead,” he said simply. “Pussy Cane is over. The real one is back.”
“No one likes the old Cane,” I snarled. “He’s an asshole who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. You’ve grown so much over the past year. You’re really going to throw that all away just because you didn’t get what you wanted? Did it ever occur to you that maybe Adelina is just scared to love you? That she needs to come to the realization on her own?”
Cane’s cold ferocity disappeared. He turned his face back to me, looking me in the eye through his shades. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“She wants to go back because she wants to see her family. She wants them to know she’s okay. She wants to be there for Lizzie’s parents. But when she gets there, she’ll realize it’s not home anymore. After everything she’s been through, she knows she doesn’t belong there anymore. The only person who truly understands her is you. That’s when she’ll come back. But you have to be patient, and turning into a controlling psychopath is only going to sabotage your chance to really be with her. So, cut the bullshit. I’m not buying this act.”
Crow watched his brother, his hands in his pockets. “I let Pearl go once. She went to America, and I let her be. We both knew being apart wasn’t right for either of us. We came back together because that’s where we belonged. If you love this woman, you have to let her go.”
“And don’t say you don’t love her because we both know you do,” I barked. “You sacrificed everything for her, and in return, she made you into a better man. Don’t piss that all away. Get your act together, and maybe Adelina will forgive you.”
