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His wounds shake me to my core, but I want to remain strong for him. “Yes. I’m here, Marcello.”
Suddenly, he jolts up. “Wait … what, how?” It’s almost like he’s surprised to find out I’m not a figment of his imagination but a real flesh-and-bone human being. “And what are you wearing?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, and I inspect the chains around his wrists. “Let me help you.” I fish a hairpin from my ponytail and shove it in the lock, prying it open.
“This won’t work,” Marcello says.
“Yes, it will,” I hiss, working my ass off to get it done. I won’t stop until these chains are off.
Finally, after much fiddling, the metal clicks, and I rip the chains off his wrists.
Marcello immediately lunges forward and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tight.
“Fuck, I can’t believe you’re here. What happened? And why are you dressed like this?” His hands slide along the leather as though he still can’t believe I’m real.
“I came to negotiate with Stefan, but he wouldn’t relent,” I reply.
Marcello sits up, scrunching his face to hide the pain. “With what?”
I rub my lips together and look away.
He cocks his head and says, “Kitten. Tell me what you tried to trade.” He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him while his face darkens. “Tell. Me.”
“Me.” I swallow. “I tried to trade me.”
“No,” he says, keeping my face cupped in his hands. “You cannot.”
“But I—”
“No,” he interrupts. “No fucking way will I ever, ever let you trade yourself. Not for me. Not for anyone.” He inches as close as possible. “Do you hear me? You are mine and only mine.”
I nod, a blush spreading on my cheeks. “I just wanted to do something. I couldn’t let you die all alone in here.”
“Dying is better than seeing the one girl I love in danger.”
My lips part as I stare into his soul-crushing eyes, my heart pounding a million times over.
Did he just say the word love?
Real … love?
Marcello’s lips hover close to mine. “I can see the doubt in your eyes, Kitten. But trust me, what I feel for you is more than just the desire for naked flesh.”
My body zings from the electrical zaps rushing through my body. “Marcello, I—”
He plants a finger on my lips. “You don’t have to say it.” He lowers his eyes, deepening his gaze. “Yet.”
I swallow. “What about your fian—”
His lips smash on mine so hard I can’t even finish my sentence, let alone breathe. The rawness in his kisses has my heart fluttering and my body singing with desire. I can’t even think about anything other than his mouth, his tongue wrapped around mine. His powerful kisses make me feel dizzy and light-headed. Each one of them more demanding than the one before.
Our lips only briefly unlatch to suck in some much-needed oxygen before we faint.
“I need only you,” Marcello whispers, clutching my cheek. “I would be lost without you.”
His words bring a smile to my face. How could I not fall head over heels with this man who sacrificed himself to save me?
“But now you are here, sharing the very same cell,” he adds, sighing. “I was hoping you would be kept safe by Mario and Ricardo.”
“They tried,” I reply. “But I was determined to try to save you myself.”
“Hmm … Not even they could stop my fiery Kitten from doing something reckless.” He inches closer again and pecks my lip sweetly. “What are we going to do about this situation?”
I sigh. I honestly don’t know either. Without my gun and locked in a cell, there is not much we can do but wait.
“She said this would be my last day with you.” My throat clamps up at the thought.
Marcello frowns, his face darkening even more than before. “So she intends to kill me.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head at the thought. “She can’t. She knows it would hurt me.”
“That’s exactly why she wants to do it,” he replies. “Hurt me to hurt you … because you hurt her husband.”
I swallow hard. Fuck. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Of course, she’d want to punish me for what happened to Frank.
But to punish Marcello? For saving me?
“I can’t let her hurt you,” I say, grinding my teeth. “There must be something I can do?”
“No,” he says resolutely, but then he places a hand on my belly, and the look in his eyes softens. “I would die before I ever let them lay a hand on you or our baby.”
I shake my head, realizing that even if Marcello fights for me, he will be no match for Molly’s endless stream of guards and torture devices. It’s no use. I already tried to talk my way out of this mess. “It won’t work. You can’t win. She wants our blood.”
Marcello clutches my arm and pulls me close. “Stop. Don’t think like that.”
