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Or call Adam.
The phone in my hand rang when I pressed his name on the screen, and I had to wonder if I knew what I was doing.
I just wanted to go home, but alerting Adam might be like declaring war. He was unpredictable and there was absolutely no way to know how he might react to me being a prisoner in Matteo's home.
"Hey pretty girl," he answered, affection always in his tone. When I was silent, I could feel the way he radiated tension through the phone. "Ivory?"
"I need your help," I whispered, sobbing over the line.
Twenty-Two
Matteo
Ivory knew the moment her uncle arrived, if the wide eyes she threw my way when I stormed out of my office were any sign.
"You think you're clever, don't you?"
She didn't respond, staring at me silently as she stood from the couch and making her way to the door. I blocked her, stepping into her path and catching her up in my arms. "He will not take you from me. Do you understand?"
"You already lost me, so what does it matter," she hissed, the wildcat in my stubborn little angel rising to the surface after her temporary shock.
I looked forward to her wrath when I took her to bed later.
But in that moment, I needed to remind her who called the shots. I stepped back from her, going for the door. Her sneakers squeaked against the floor behind me, a reminder she hadn't changed after her arrival although all her clothes were being unpacked systematically. "She doesn't step foot outside," I ordered Scar, passing through the space he allowed before he closed it to block Ivory in.
"Yes, boss," he grunted, absorbing Ivory's slap to his chest.
"Let me out! Matteo!" she yelled, and I closed the door behind me to drown out the sound.
I didn't need her uncle thinking she was being tortured.
"Bellandi," Adam greeted, crossing his arms over his chest and attempting to stare me down. He knew I wasn't so easily intimidated, but he still had to try. "I'm taking Ivory with me."
I knew there was a gun in his holster, the man went nowhere unarmed. But I didn't even consider needing to proceed with caution. He was too smart to pull a gun on me in my turf.
If he did, he'd be dead. Shot down by any of the guards undoubtedly on edge after I gave the order to let him in the gate.
"Ivory is with me now."
"I know your reputation. I know what you do. Ivory isn't the woman you involve in that kind of shit, Bellandi. You know that and I do."
"She's mine. Always has been," I grunted.
He sighed, nodding. "I know, but you threw her away. Now she wants to leave, and you have to let her."
I pulled the tiny box from my pocket, fingering the velvet and holding it up so he could make no mistake about what it contained. He eyed it warily, a deep sigh rattling in his chest. He hung his head, knowing what it meant for a man like me.
Men like us didn't let go of what was ours.
Not when it came to wives.
"Fuck," he whispered, and the way he warred with himself almost made me feel bad for the poor guy.
"If
you hurt her or let anything happen to her, I'll make her disappear, and even you will never find her. Got me?" Adam asked, glaring at me.
I nodded. I could live with those terms; after all, it was much easier than I'd anticipated it would be to convince him.
