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“So then, what do we do? How do we keep ourselves safe and ensure he doesn’t involve the council further. When I was working there, I heard rumors in the casino that the Doubeck family is trying to be on its best behavior since many were speculating you guys were involved with that FBI agent that got arrested.”
His jaw tightens, his nostrils flaring. “Oh yeah? What else did you hear?”
I shake my head frantically. “Nothing. Only that the two guys were saying Adrian and his family are trying to stay on the right side of the council for now. To calm everything down for the moment.”
He scans my face, his gaze landing on the swell of my cleavage. “When Valentina and Adrian got together, her father tried to pull something similar.”
I suck in a breath, knowing she’s safe and sound right now at Adrian’s side. “And what did they do to make him reconsider?”
His eyes snap to mine. “They got married. Marriage supersedes the request of the father since the council has no rules on who gets married and when, or even how.”
I shake my head. That doesn’t seem right. “Wait a minute. You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” I try to wiggle out of his hold, but it only makes him grip me tighter and pull me closer to his body. Heat radiates all around me as he towers above me. “No. We can’t. I’ll run before I let that happen.” My thoughts swim like I’m in a fishbowl with nowhere to escape. “Let me go, and I’ll run, and the council can come in here and search to their heart’s content. We both know they won’t find me.”
“That’s what your father wants. He wants me to turn you over or for you to run. Either way, he’ll get you and punish you for making him work harder to get what he wants. I hate to break it to you, Cilla, but things are no longer about just whether you live or die. Multiple lives are hanging in the balance now.”
I clutch his shirt, trying to pull him closer so I can feel him better while also pushing him away. “I don’t know what that means. Just let me go. He won’t find me. I’ve got a plan I’ve worked on for years. If I want to disappear, I’ll be able to disappear.”
He trails his free hand from the back of my neck down the curve of my spine, and splays his fingers over my ass. “You won’t be able to hide well enough. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing left now but to make the right choice.”
My breathing comes out in pants as I let my eyes fall closed to surrender to the sensation of his hand kneading my ass, pressing me harder into his erection, which is growing against my stomach. “I don’t understand. What’s the right choice?”
When he releases his grasp, I draw in a full breath, even though he wasn’t really preventing me from breathing. I’m powerless against the sensation of his full lips sliding from my earlobe to my collarbone and back up. “The season is open right now. Do you know what that means?”
I swallow and nod once. “Yes. I know what it means.”
He lifts his face up to stare into my eyes. “No. I don’t think you do. With the season open, nothing is stopping me from walking into your father’s house, shooting every person in the head, and walking back out. Then doing the same to the council. Right now, everything is fair game. It will close again in a few weeks, so we don’t have much time.”
“So you’re saying,” I whisper, my voice shaking with the effort to stay calm. “My choice is to marry you, or you’re going to kill a whole bunch of people?”
He shrugs.
Shrugs.
Who the fuck is this guy?
I try to pull away, but his grip is an iron shackle wrapped around me. “No. You don’t get away from me that easily. I’ve never hidden who I am. You, yourself, called me an animal when we met. Just because this animal has a taste for your flesh doesn’t mean it’s any different. Besides, I’ll only kill those who want to take you from me. Anyone else is free to carry on unless they were involved in my kidnapping. Those assholes are dead regardless.”
“I can’t let you kill everyone. That’s not…you can’t. It would be my fault. I can’t let that happen.”
He steps away and turns me toward the door. “Then I guess we will get married.”
“When?” My voice doesn’t shake this time, but I can’t bask in its pride as he leads me out to the elevator. Hell, I don’t even have my shoes on. He’s carrying the boots he gave me in his hands. “Where are we going? What’s happening?”
