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“I’ll take the compliment.”
“I never said it was a compliment.”
Matteo chuckles. “Ok, then. I love red because … well, because it reminds me of all the blood I’ve spilled in the name of the club. It’s a good reminder to never forget what I’ve done. In my job, death can be a necessary part of it, so I’ve gotten used toit, and that can be … scary at times. But that’s why I don’t take death for granted. I like red because it helps me never to forget.”
“Wow, that’s a pretty serious reason to like a color.”
“Yeah. I can be serious when I want to be.”
I meet his gaze, and his dark eyes feel like they could swallow me whole. “How many people have you killed?” I whisper. I want to know. I don’t want to know.
Matteo’s eyes turn inward like he’s thinking of a memory. “Twenty-two.”
I gasp. “That many?”
“In this line of work, you run into people who become casualties. Also, working with your brother has put me into some positions where I’ve needed to kill people. A lot of times, it’s been self-defense. Protecting my territory. Other times … I was on the attack.”
“Were the people you attacked innocent?”
He snorts. “Is anyone fully innocent in this world?”
“Yes.”
He pauses before saying, “Maybe. But the people I’ve attacked were bad people. Human traffickers. Drug lords. Not good, innocent people, trust me. If you’re asking whether I’ve killed innocent civilians, then no. I haven’t. I’ve only killed people tied to my line of work.”
I release my breath and nod. “That’s … something, at least.”
“I know I’m nowhere near being perfect. I know you’ve lived a very sheltered life. I also know you have high standards. But this is a part of me. I’ve done arguably bad things, but I’ve done them to protect the people I’m loyal to. One of those people is your brother, you know. I’ve gone out on the line for him many times in the past.”
“I see what you’re doing.”
He opens his eyes wider, more innocent-like. “And what am I doing?”
“You’re trying to get me to see that you’re not all bad by using my brother as an example. You know I love my brother, and you think if you remind me that you’re close to him, I’ll warm up to you even more.”
“Is it working?”
I stare into his dark eyes for a moment. “Maybe.”
“Hey, I’ll take a maybe over a no any day.”
“I know my brother isn’t an innocent man. I know he’s done arguably bad things in the name of his business. The kicker is he’s kept a lot of those things from Serafina and me. He doesn’t want us to know.”
“Why would he? You’re his sister. He just wants to see you safe.”
“Just like you do, apparently.”
“I do want you to be safe, Adelina. I want that more than I want a lot of things in life.”
“You’re going to make sure nothing like yesterday happens to me ever again?”
“I promise. You’ll remain at my side from now.”
I huff. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I … don’t know. I just know I never want to feel that helpless again. It was the scariest moment of my life.”
