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“I’ve always been fair.”
He has. One day, he will make a great leader.
He hands me a gold envelope. It must be the invitation. I flip it over in my hands, a speck of blood staining it from my cut. I lean in to give him a hug goodbye, and he presses a kiss to my forehead before he takes his son back from Fin.
I watch my brother walk out, and I wish I could do the same.
“Want to know why the baby stopped crying?” Fin asks.
I roll my eyes, not interested in having a conversation with him.
“Because I like kids, and I don’t fake it.”
“I like kids.” I rear back, insulted. I will love any niece or nephew that comes into my life. I want to be the fun auntie. He’s giving me this look like he knows more than I do. “I fucking like kids,” I repeat.
“Okay. My bad, I was wrong.” He doesn’t sound like he thinks he’s wrong. It’s not like I’ve been around many kids to really know what they’re about. But I like the idea of them being innocent and happy. I bet I’ve been around more kids than Fin.
He pulls me into his chest, my face smashing up against him. His scent wraps around me, and I try to wiggle free, but he keeps me in place. “I’d make babies with you,” he murmurs.
Using all my force, I push myself from his grip. “I will never make babies with you. We will never have sex.”
“You’re so hostile for a little package.”
“I’m a woman, a human being, not a package.” I don’t know why I even bother with his type of men.
“I bet you would like a little hair pulling.” His reflexes are fast, and he gives my hair a little yank.
I swat his hands away. “Fuck off.”
Mysister’sengagementpartyis today, and I’ve never been so excited to leave this prison. I only have so many days to complete my contract before it’s considered void. People have been known to go missing if they miss a target. I don’t want my reputation—or worse, my life—to be lost because Fin can’t get it through his thick skull that I can take care of myself.
I ignore him while I get ready. I don’t fight him when he hands me a dress. It’s easier to kill people in them.
I hum along with music while I take my time curling my hair. Each piece, I count to ten before I release it. Fin’s on the couch, tapping his foot. He told me we had to leave fifteen minutes ago. I like to be fashionably late. I want to make an entrance—and it pleases me I’m annoying him.
“Did you hear that Romeo Mancini is being hailed as the man who united the two Italian mafia families?” he asks, and my eyes cut to him. “See? It’s a good thing I didn’t let you kill him,” he adds, referring to us seeing each other in the rafters.
“I don’t know why men have to act like it was all one person who did this magical thing. We all know truces are temporary. And maybe my sister should be the one hailed as a queen to make everyone think it was them who succeeded, when it was actually her. That is a true queen. But people still talk about the ‘sinful kisses’ she willingly handed out.”
“Yeah? What’s your sin?” he asks me.
I envision my killing him and smile. “You.”
His lips kick up. And he missed my meaning. My sin would be killing him.
“That wasn’t a compliment. What I meant was—”
He holds a finger to my lips. “You’re my greatest sin too. But somehow, it feels right.”
There’s no point in arguing with him. He’ll stand his ground until I bury him.
“I’mdriving.”Istealthe keys that hang loosely on his finger in the other hand. He opens his mouth to argue, and I cup his balls. I hold with enough pressure he doesn’t move, and his head tilts toward me. His eyes glimmer with a silent challenge.
“As my bodyguard, you are not to be heard or seen. You are to fade into the background. By now, Ron Wheeler probably knows there’s a contract on him, and only so many people are brave enough to accept it.”
Or stupid enough.
Once again, if I’d known this was my future, I would have never accepted the contract.
