AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Once he’s dead, you think they’re going to come after me?” I asked incredulously. “All they’re going to care about is taking his spot. You think they’ll give a shit that his daughter hated him so much she shot him? It’s a family matter, not a business one.”
“If you want to kill him, just take a gun and shoot him.”
“He expects that, so it won’t hurt. He has to trust me. He has to think I’m his loyal daughter.”
Victor took a deep breath then scratched his beard as he considered it. “I thought about killing him myself. When Iwitnessed what he did to you…I could no longer see him the same way. He had the others watch me, like he thought I might retaliate. It hasn’t been said out loud, but I know he lost the respect of some of his men when he shot his own daughter. Family is the most important thing in our culture, and he shit all over that.” His arms crossed over his chest, and his food remained untouched. “I’m willing to do this for you—but it’s still a lot to ask. I’m putting myself at risk, and your father is one of the smartest men I’ve ever met. He’s not exactly easy to cross.”
I felt like there was more, so I stayed quiet.
“So I want something in return.”
“You want something in return?” I asked with a light laugh.
“I could just slip poison into his scotch. Could stab him in his parlor and walk straight out the door. But this plan is far riskier. So if you want me to do it your way, you need to make it worth my while.”
“What do you want, Victor?”
He stared for a long time.
I knew where this was going.
“I want another chance.”
“Another chance to what?” I played dumb, hoping he would back off.
“Another chance to be with you. I’m not the man I used to be. I’ve proven that by agreeing to help you.”
“If you were the man you should be, you would kill him because he deserves it.”
“I’ll go kill him right now—but it’s not the way you want him to die. And I know you want to be the one to pull the trigger.”
I felt the intensity of his stare, knew how angry Bartholomew would be if he heard this conversation—even though he would have no right to be angry. “I’m not ready to move on, Victor. Bartholomew and I just split up a couple weeks ago. It’s too soon.” I couldn’t imagine another man’s lips on mine. Couldn’t imagine someone else in my bed. Couldn’t picture anyone but Bartholomew.
Victor seemed unsurprised by this. “Then when the time is right, I want the opportunity.”
“Victor.” I didn’t understand his ongoing affection. “It would be easier for you to find someone else and start new. With us…we’re always going to be living in the past. It’s not as if you can’t have any woman you want.”
He didn’t say anything to that, like he needed time to form a response. “That’s true. But you’re the woman I love.”
I couldn’t meet his stare. “I don’t know how you can say that when you’re the one who asked for the divorce.”
“I didn’t ask for it because I didn’t love you. I just…couldn’t handle what happened.”
“Well, what happened has still happened. I was raped, Victor. I will always be a woman who was raped. If we sleep together, all you’ll think about are the men who forced themselves on me. Nothing has changed—just the date.”
He didn’t flinch when I said all of that. “That’s not how I see you, Laura. I thought that before because I was a boy. But now I’m a man, and I see you as you are—a strong and beautiful woman.”
I was the one to look away.
“It hurt to let you go. It wasn’t like I just forgot what we had. Years passed, women came and went, but I never forgot you. I think we’ve been given another chance to be together—and we should take it.”
“The only reason we have a chance is because Uncle Tony died, my father shot me, and my boyfriend dumped me. How romantic.”
“You know that relationship had no future. It was based on lies. His lies.”
I still didn’t look at him, thinking about the man who had ripped my heart out of my chest. There was no scenario in which that relationship would have lasted, but I still felt like I’d lost the best thing that ever happened to me. It hurt more than when Victor asked for a divorce. “Maybe that’s true…but I’m still heartbroken, nonetheless.”
Victor studied me for a long time, swallowing my confession with a stern face. “Are we in agreement?”
