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62
Luca
"No, you don’t," I say with more confidence than I feel.
Of course, I deserve her slap. I deserve that, and a lot more, for everything I’ve put her through. But she’s safe now. As safe as anyone can be in our line of work. For the time being, though, all known enemies have been squashed. For now, I can breathe easily. And once we legalize all of the of businesses of theCosaNostra, I hope the threats to her life will fade away completely. I still.
So, I’m going to do it then?
I’m going to walk away from the traditions of my ancestors. From the customs interwoven with that of this land in which I’ve grown up. The conventions that are in my blood, in my very cells, in every breath I take. I’m going to turn my back on all of it. For her. If I can keep her safe, if I can protect her and cherish her, it will be worth it. She is more important to me than my life, my past, the way of life that once meant everything to me. None of it matters if she isn’t by my side. It’s for her that I will shed the facade I once wore, the one that put me on a path endangering the lives of my near and dear. It’s for her that I will become the kind of man she’d be proud of.
"You don’t mean it." I hold her gaze. "You love me."
"I don’t," she spits out. "You broke my heart."
"And I’ll put it back together."
"It won’t be the same," she snarls.
"It will be better."
"You don’t know that."
"Don’t I?" I squeeze her ass cheeks.
She draws in a breath. "Is that your answer to everything? Sex?"
"It’s a start." I brush my lips over hers. "I love you. I can’t live without you. I’m sorry for everything I put you through. But if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t hesitate, because it was the only way to ensure that you would be safe."
Her forehead creases. "I know you meant well. I know you took a bullet for me. I know that, in your mind, it was the only way forward. But you can’t deny that you used the situation to your advantage. You wanted to be the one to put Freddie out of commission."
"You mean, I wanted to be the one to kill him?"
This woman... She can’t bring herself to talk about death, and I’m the man who deals with it day and night.Not for much longer. Not if I go down the path of becoming the CEO of a company instead of a Capo.
She tips up her chin. "Do you deny it? You wanted to take the credit for it. You wanted to show your brothers that you could do something that none of them have been able to do."
I peer into her features. So smart. This woman is so astute. So intelligent. "Fuck, when you get all incisive and perceptive, you turn me on even more, you know that?"
She scowls. "Answer the question."
I arch my eyebrows. "You don’t get to order me around… but I’ll allow it… This time."
"Well?" She huffs. "Am I right?"
"You are." I lift my shoulder. "I saw the opportunity and I took it. I knew there was a good chance Freddie would send someone after you. I also knew he was waiting to take us out. I figured I could not only protect you, but also use the chance to flush him out."
"By faking your death."
"But I didn’t die," I point out.
"You allowed me to think you were gone."
"I’m still here." I blow out a breath. "What would you have me do instead?"
"You could have told me." She bursts out. "You could have shared your plan with me. Involved me. That’s what husbands and wives do. That’s what a marriage is about. You share your secrets with me, you allow me to weigh in with your opinion. Plus, I’m an actress, or did you forget that?"
"And would you have let me go through with this?"
