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“Kevin Costner’s character inThe Bodyguard.”
“Imaginative.” Antonio covers his chuckle with a cough.
We could easily lay all our cards on the table, tell her everything and see what happens, but how’s that going to help anything? We need to keep her safe, and the best way to do that is to keep her here with us.
“Those people after you are dangerous. This is the safest place for you. We can protect you here. Besides, you’re ours now, and we take care of our things.”
“Wrong answer.” Antonio raises his hands before taking a step away from me.
She pulls her hand back and smacks me hard across my face. The skin on my cheek burns from the impact, but I don’t back down. Celia needs to understand that we are doing this to protect her, even if it’s from herself.
“You said I wasn’t a prisoner here,” she questions, her voice trembling slightly. “Are you going to lock me up like a prisoner and call whenever you need a warm hole to stick your dick in?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, blowing out a deep breath, my irritation growing tenfold. Celia needs to understand that we will do anything to protect her, even if that means locking her up and throwing away the key.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
CELIA
Salvatore rotates his jaw, his eyes blazing with anger, but I refuse to back down. “Stop putting words in my mouth, Celia. You’re not going. End of story.”
My mouth drops open as I stare at him, no longer having any words to speak. I search his eyes, trying to see if he’s playing some sick practical joke on me, but the only thing I see is resolve. Spinning around, I look between Matteo and Antonio, begging them with my eyes to talk some sense into him, but neither of them says anything. They just stand there staring at me in solidarity with Salvatore. I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that all three of them want to lock me up and throw away the key or that deep down, I know they’re right.
“You think just because you fucked me, you own me, don’t you?” I snap, “What, do you have a line of women tucked away in this McMansion, waiting for you to call?” I scoff, pulling my arm back to smack Salvatore a second time, but he’s ready for me, quickly catching my hand in his grasp.
“Go back to the room, Celia. Once you’ve calmed down, we can all sit down and come up with a plan, but you’re not leaving this house,” he commands as I yank my arm from his grasp.
“Fuck you,” I spat before running past him into the room, slamming the door shut tightly behind me.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to believe the bullshit they were spewing. I thought they actually wanted me to be a part of their lives, to protect me from whoever has my sister, but I should’ve known better.
I hear their muffled voices through the door but can’t make out any words. When did this turn from a way to save my sister into something more? When did I start seeing these three as men that I could trust and want to spend my time with? Men that I trusted enough to give them my most precious gift. When did just being in their presence make me feel like I could do anything, like take on the men holding Willa hostage and come out victorious? When did just seeing one of them smile put another crack in the walls I’ve built around my heart since I was young?
Rubbing the sore spot over my heart does nothing to ease the ache filling my chest. An ache signifying that I could feel something for these three men. Something I refuse to put a name to, but now that I’ve seen this side of them, I’m not sure what it is I’m feeling for them.
“Thanks for the reality check.” I sniffle before throwing myself onto the bed and giving in to my emotions, muffling the sound of my tears with a pillow.
I don’t know how long I sob into my pillow, drifting in and out of sleep, before my phone rings. “It’s probably Lyra calling me to bitch about missing my shift.” My eyes open, and I come face to face with the younger Genovese brother. I don’t want to see or speak to any of them, but Antonio is the lesser of two evils.
“Here,” Antonio whispers, handing me my phone and brushing a few strands of my hair from my face, but I pull away from him.
“Thanks,” I grumble, snatching my phone out of his hand and freezing. “It’s them.” My hand trembles as I open the phone and bring it to my ear.
Antonio stands and strides toward the door, probably alerting Matteo and Salvatore.
“I don’t think you’ve been taking us seriously, Celia.”
The blood pounds in myears. My heart thuds in my chest. My feet are tingling. I never should’ve come here, not that I had much of a choice, but instead of letting them have their way with me when I woke up, I should’ve run as far away from these men as possible.
“How am I not taking you seriously?” My voice quivers as I lean forward, resting my forehead on my knees and trying desperately to maintain control. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to!”
“But not fast enough. Maybe this will put a little pep into your step.” The only thing I can hear on the other end is silence. I hold my breath, waiting for them to say something or give me any clues as to what is going to happen next when I hear the most beautiful sound.
“Celia?” Willa’s voice cracks slightly, full of emotions.
“Willa?” I snap up, my eyes locking with Salvatore, who is standing directly in front of me. “Oh my god, Willa? Are you okay?”
I hated these men just minutes ago, trying to come up with plans to never see them again, but now, everything has changed. All the anger drains from my body, now replaced with fear.
