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“Fuck!” My curse echoes off the walls. I switch gears and slide into the security room. “Everyone get the fuck out. Now.” I glare at the monitors as I wait for everyone to exit before I rewind the camera feed and watch.
There they are.What are you up to, Angel?I watch as she leads Izzy out of the house. Switching the view to the cameras out front, I see them both get into a black SUV. Angelica looks up at the house before she climbs into the back seat and closes the door.
“You really shouldn’t have tried to run from me, Angel.” I pull out my phone and send her a message.
Me:There is nowhere in this city you can hide from me, Angel. I will find you.
Within seconds, I see the message has been read. She doesn’t respond though. Firing up the GPS tracking program I use, I find her exact location. I then send her coordinates from my phone to my car’s mapping system. I’m only ten minutes behind her. Wherever she’s heading, she won’t be there long.
Chapter Twelve
“Why do we have to stay in the hotel again, Mama? Does Zio T not want us?” Izzy asks from the back seat of one of my father’s SUVs.
Two of his soldiers look to each other in the front seat. Made men are the biggest gossipers I’ve ever met in my life.
“Of course he does, but we have a perfectly good hotel room to stay in. Uncle T and Aunt Holly need some space—that’s all.”
“I like it at Zio T’s.” Izzy pouts as we pull in front of the Four Seasons.
“Me too, Izzy. Come on, let’s get settled in.” My father’s soldiers start to follow. “You two can leave us now,” I tell them. They share a look before nodding their heads and turning around. I don’t need or want any of them following us. Once we’re back in our suite, Izzy heads to her room and I head for the wet bar. Pouring myself a large glass of red wine, I take a huge gulp and sit on the sofa.
I hope I’ve made the right choice. No, I know I have. As much as I wanted to take Neo up on his offer to go home with him, I couldn’t. He sold the fairy tale well. Almost had me believing that Izzy and I could have him, that we could play happy families. But Neo is a made man. And not just any made man; he’s the underboss of the Valentino family. That means, God forbid, if anything were to happen to my brother, he’d become the boss.
I can’t do that to Izzy. I need to find a way to get us out of this lifestyle. I can’t let her grow up to be a weapon. I can’t allow my daughter to be used like I’ve been. I can’t let her fear the shadows, wondering when someone’s going to jump out and take her down. I can’t have her soul tainted like mine. I’ve come to terms with the fact that there is no place in heaven for me. I’ve accepted the choices I’ve made, and there is no redemption for the things I’ve done.
Neo calls me his angel, but there’s no pureness to my soul. My blood runs just as dark as his does. My heart, just as jaded. My mind wanders to the parts of him my body’s still craving. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his cock was coated in some kind of addictive orgasm-producing drug. Because even though I had him less than an hour ago, I want him again.
Maybe I should have gone with him. For just a few days. What could it hurt to pretend for a little while? If it were just me, I would have. But it’s not. I have to think of what’s best for Izzy.
Closing my eyes, I feel a presence in the room. I know it’s him, yet I still reach for the gun I have strapped to my ankle.
“You can put that down. I’m not here to hurt you,” Neo says, pouring himself a glass of whiskey from the bar.
“Why are you here?” I don’t drop the gun. I keep it pointed right at him.
“I told you you’re coming home with me. If you needed to make a detour, Angel, you should have told me. I would have brought you both here.” He smirks.
I seriously think he has a few screws loose.What the hell?“I’m not going home with you, Neo.” I drop the gun and sit back down on the sofa, retrieving my glass of wine from the side table, and attempt to drown my misery with the sweet red liquid.
“Okay.” Neo sits on the sofa opposite me and just stares.
“What do you meanokay?”
“You don’t want to stay at my place, then we can stay here. It’s the Four Seasons—it’s by no means a hardship.” He shrugs.
“Were you hit on the head too many times? Should I call Helena to come and get you? Because you’ve clearly lost your damn mind if you think you’re staying here.”
“Cute.” Neo pushes to his feet and stalks towards me—yes, stalks. He plucks the wine glass out of my hand and sits it back on the side table. Then, leaning over me, he whispers into my ear, “The only one who has lost their mind around here, Angel, is you if you think for one second I’m spending another goddamn night without you in my bed.”
“Neo, did you come to watchBeauty and the Beastwith me?” Izzy’s voice has him straightening his spine.
“I sure did, Bel. How about we order up some room service and veg out for the night.” Neo smiles. Did my ovaries just flip? Nope, I don’t care how cute he thinks he is, or how sweet he acts towards my daughter. He’s a made man. I need to remember that.
“Ew, we’re not going to order veggies, are we?” Izzy asks.
Neo laughs as he approaches her. “God no, what kind of monster would order veggies, Bel? We’re going to order ice cream, and popcorn, and candy, and chips. All the good stuff.”
“My mom would order veggies. She’s the monster,” Izzy whispers.
