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Chapter Thirty-Six
Ava
Marguerite leaves with one last look over her shoulder, and I find the strength I need to stand as Vincent comes into the room.
He closes the door and takes in the mess I am.
I won’t lie there in my grief and not find whatever strength I need to thank him.
Dad is dead… and there’s no reason to keep me here.
I’m supposed to leave in a few days. We’re supposed to end, yet there was no part of today that felt like that. He came for me and saved me.
He’s injured. I can see it on his face. There’s a massive bruise on the side of his cheek and a cut by the corner of his eye. He’s wearing a T-shirt, and all along the side of his arm is battered with bruises so deep it distorts his tattoos.
I suck in a sharp breath, holding the tears back as he walks up to me.
Vincent takes me into his arms. I sink into the warmth of the embrace. He rests his chin on top of my head while I hold him too.
“I can’t thank you enough,” I whisper. My voice sounds hoarse and raspy.
He runs his hand over my head and cups the back while he looks down at me.
“You’re mine… remember? I take care of my things. No need to thank me.” He seems to be trying for lighthearted. I wish I could try too, but I can’t. There are too many dead faces in my head. “I’m sorry about your father, Bellezza.”
I start shaking again as another bout of tears takes me. “They killed him, Vincent. They killed him… because of me.”
“No… please don’t say that. How can it be?”
If I answer that question, I’m going to have to tell him more. I don’t have the strength for that.
I don’t have the strength for anything.
“Ava… it wasn’t your fault. That’s the first thing you need to know. I’ll be straight up with you because if you want to cast blame, then it’s my fault too. I took you to the party. That’s where you saw them. I accepted your offer and brought you into my world, where you don’t belong.” I clutch his shirt and wish his words away. We might have started out the way we did, but I never felt like I didn’t belong with him when I was with him.
“Please don’t say that to me,” I answer.
“It’s true, Ava. A better man than me would have let you go.”
“Look what you did for me today…” I say, trying to get the words out. “I don’t have anybody who would have done what you did for me today.”
When I think of the elaborate setup to save me and the way everyone moved around to clear the way for Vincent to get me out of danger, it was amazing.
He was amazing and pushed the limits. My God, did he ever push the limits. I would have been dead in that apartment. I wouldn’t have stood a chance. I wouldn’t have gotten out.
“Well… maybe I can remember that as something good. Ava, we don’t have time for guilt and blame. I am going to be straight with you, and I hope that you can trust me.” He takes a breath and continues. “We were approached by the Ivanezh Bratva a few weeks back to form an alliance. The last few weeks has seen me battling in my head the question on whether or not to do it. That’s how I came to know them.”
I listen, taking his words in, knowing what he’s expecting me to do next if he’s talking business with me.
He’s a mafia boss. He’s not supposed to be talking business with me, not like this.
“It was weeks ago?” My voice shakes.
“Yes. It was complete coincidence. It all just happened. I didn’t trust them from the outset, and I was going to say no to any business relationship with them.” He cups my face. “I had no idea they knew you, or… had any kind of link to you. I would never put you in danger. Not ever. I need you to believe me when I say that. There’s no way I would have taken you to that party if I had any idea who they were to you.”
His words…
He’s talking like he knows something. He’s talking like someone’s filled in the blanks and pieced together some parts of the puzzle.
