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“You’re really tracking me, Tommaso?” I forced the accusation past my lips, my throat drying as fear twisted my stomach. I had to try everything I could to dissuade him from looking at that GPS. He couldn’t know where I went or who worked there, because he’d definitely kill Merrick if he found out, regardless of whether I went there to see him or not.
“Do you blame me?” He trailed his fingers up and down my arms as though attempting to soothe me. But I could still see that mistrust and wrath barely caged in his eyes. “You just tried to leave me less than a week ago.”
He stepped back abruptly, and before I even had a chance to say anything, he pulled his phone out and tapped a few times on the touch screen. The blood drained from my face, and I attempted to school my expression, not allowing the sheer panic coursing through me to show.
“Hmm,” he hummed absentmindedly, feigning a nonchalance I knew he didn’t feel. He scrolled through something, and I pushed down the urge to step behind him and look over his shoulder, suppressing the urge to come up with an explanation until I saw proof. I knew the games he played, and I wouldn’t let myself admit anything too soon. “Are you sure you didn’t go to see anyone?”
“I already told you I went out for dinner. Stop playing games,” I huffed, continuing to feign ignorance.
“I didn’t know they served dinner at The Inferno,” Tommaso announced as though that information was the smoking gun he’d been looking for.
“I wanted to go somewhere that was out of town, somewhere I wouldn’t recognize anyone,” I shrugged, raising a brow in challenge. “I unfortunately found out when I got there it was just a bar filled with low lives, so I stopped by a café downtown on my way back.” Pretty little lies, that’s what they were—something I’d grown accustomed to fabricating. The thought of a tracer had stuck in my head on the drive home so I made sure to do just that, weaving lies together into a beautiful tapestry for him. I could only hope it worked this time too.
“How convenient,” he said in a mocking tone, his brow lifting to mimic my own. A game of poker was what this was, he had the winning hand and all I had was my bluff. I just had to hope he didn’t call me on it. “So you didn’t run into anyone at The Inferno?” he asked seriously, catching me off guard. I shuttered my true emotions and drew my brows together in confusion.
“Of course not. Who on earth would I meet at a place like that,” I said with a derisive snort. “Need I remind you I don’t have anyone who is even willing to see me anymore,” I spat, adding a bit of bite to my words, knowing he wouldn’t believe it otherwise. He knew exactly why I didn’t have anyone in East Haven—because of him.
“Oh, so you’re telling me you didn’t know that Merrick Ford owns The Inferno now?” he asked in a condescending tone, any lightheartedness there had vanished the moment he spoke that name. “You just so happened to go to the bar he owns out of any other place you could’ve gone.” Venom leaked from every syllable as he pocketed his phone.
I sucked in a shocked gasp, for once not feigning my surprise. I’d thought that he simply worked there, not that he owned the bar.What the hell is he doing mixed up with the Demon Riders then?
“Save the theatrics, Giana,” he sneered, pinning me with a look of contempt. “What did I tell you would happen if I found out you were seeing either of them?”
“I honestly had no idea that he owned the bar, Tommaso,” I assured him gently, wrapping my fingers around his. I needed to cool the anger simmering just beneath the surface before he did something stupid. “I never would’ve gone there if I knew that.”
“You really expect me to believe that?” he asked in disbelief, but he didn’t pull his hands from mine; that was a good thing.
“Yes I do. You know what I’ve done to protect them, why would I put them in danger now?” He stiffened at my question, and I immediately knew I said the wrong thing.
“Still after all this time?” he spat incredulously, ripping his hands from mine. “After everything I’ve given you, the life I’ve tried to build for us. Is it still not enough?” My eyes widened but I bit back what I truly wanted to say. He knew this wasn’t what I wanted, but he couldn’t hear that right now. He might do something brash and stupid just to get back at me.
“Is it not enough that I’m here?” The question slipped out before I could clamp my mouth shut. We were in dangerous territory now. He was still holding the airport over my head.
“Are you really?” he barked out a sardonic laugh. “Because last I checked you tried to leave last week.”
“We should wait till tomorrow to talk about this, Tommaso,” I sighed, attempting to walk past him.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me,” he snarled. His arm wrapped around the front of my shoulders, catching me and shoving me back.
My heels twisted and I scrambled to keep myself upright but I couldn’t find any purchase on the tiled floor. I flew back and my body smacked against the hard stone. A cry slipped past my lips as agony radiated along my spine, my muscles spasming as they absorbed the impact.
“Look what you made me do!” he roared, stomping toward me. His hands clasped my biceps, and I flinched away from him, a sob racking my chest as the sudden movement sent another jolt of pain through me.
Ignoring my fear, he reached for me again, easily plucking me up from the floor this time. Tucking me against his chest, he carried me up the winding staircase, each step causing a jolt of pain. He turned to our bedroom and settled me gently onto the bed, much to my surprise. I bit back the wail I wanted to let loose and composed myself the best I could. Even the slight jostling sent shooting pain up my spine and stars sparked in my vision.
“That’s nothing compared to what could have happened to you tonight,” Tommaso grumbled, settling on the bed beside me. He eased the shoulder bag from where it had twisted around my torso and pulled my sore feet into his lap before easing my heels off. A hiss of pain escaped, and I winced as my ankle twisted, silently hoping it hadn’t been sprained. To my surprise he massaged my tight calves through my pants in an attempt to soothe me. My muscles were still pulled taut, still on edge around him. “You can’t go back there again, Giana,” he breathed, some of his anger simmering.
I kept my mouth shut though, rather than continuing. There wasn’t any point. He was still too worked up, and even on a normal day there was no discussing anything with him. His word was the law I had to abide by … for now.
“They could’ve killed you tonight,” he continues, unwilling to put this conversation to rest. “And if I ever catch you near either one of them again, I won’t hesitate, Giana. Do you understand?”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, gritting my teeth against the pain as I pulled myself up. Taking an uneasy step forward, I pulled in all of my strength.I can get through this, I chanted to myself.Just get to the other room and you can let it all out there.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, shooting up after me.
“I’m done with this conversation for tonight, I’ll sleep in another room. I just can’t deal with this right now,” I groaned, taking another step away from him. Every inch sent an agonizing jolt radiating through my muscles, but I worked past it, the need to get some space away from him mounting with every word that came out of his mouth.
“Don’t walk away from me,” he snapped, rushing in front of me in a blur.
