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Ade’s cheeks flush. “Sorry, I forget,” she says sheepishly.
“Don’t apologize,” Hayden says as he wraps his arm around her stomach and pulls her into his body.
“She was asking what his new bride is like,” Rocco says. “Teagan Mitchell is the daughter of Bear. That reminds me, Elio, you need to get a ring and sort out the engagement notice.”
I nod, already on the ring. It’s being made as we speak and should be ready to collect in two days.
Jade sucks in a deep breath. “Tell me you are joking?” she hisses, her words vibrating with anger. “Tell me you are not forcing that woman to marry you because of some sort of vengeance?”
“This isn’t any of your business, Jade,” I say, really not in the mood to argue with my sister-in-law.
“Oh,” she says, waving her hand, “it fucking is. Tell me, Elio, are you taking the Famiglia back into the eighties? I mean, that’s when the men all raped their brides.”
I laugh mirthlessly. “You got your fucking revenge, Jade, so don’t come at me for how I get mine,” I snarl.
She throws her hands in the air. “This is an innocent woman we’re talking about.”
I pin her with a glare. “How about we trap you in a fucking car, burn you until you’re unconscious, and then set you alight? Hmm? Then you come to me and talk about what I’m doing. Until then, stay the fuck out of my business.”
Her eyes widen at my words. Not once have I been this angry with her. I’ve never treated her as anything less than my brother’s wife. She’s always been given the respect she’s due. But she’s pushing me to the limit, and there’s only so fucking much I can take.
I turn to my brother. His jaw is set. No doubt he wants to punch me for speaking to his wife the way did. “Call me when Niccolò has answers,” I tell him as I turn on my heel and walk out of his house. My anger rises with every step I take.
“Jade,” I hear my brother say, “I get that you’re angry, but he’s right, this isn’t your business.”
“You’re going to let him hurt that girl,” she says. “You know that, right? You let this happen, and he’s going to hurt her.”
“I know my brother, Jade. I know what he’s capable of.”
I hear laughter and know that it’s coming from my sister-in-law. “He may not rape her, Roc, but there’s more than one way to hurt someone. I don’t condone this. I can't believe you do either.”
I don’t listen to this bullshit anymore. I’ve got more important things to sort out. Like who the fuck killed my man.
Teagan Mitchell is a pain in my fucking ass. The woman has got under my skin, she’s invading my thoughts, and now my sister-in-law is concerned about her.
I need a solution. I need to find a way to keep her at arm’s length. The way she is, the sweet that she has in her, that fucking vulnerability… it’s a weakness for me, and I’ve already been burned by a motherfucking Mitchell. I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.
ELEVEN
TEAGAN
Two weeks later
Iwatch as the sun shines over Indianapolis. It’s become my thing since I started to live here. It’s been two weeks since I last saw Elio, since he kissed me and left me wondering what happened. One minute he was kissing me the next he's angry as hell that I’m touching him. He’s constantly giving me whiplash and I hate it. I can’t decipher him. I learned a long time ago to watch people and gauge their reactions, learn from their movements and their expressions. Eyes are the depths of the soul; they’re a window for us to see what people truly think. Learning all the ways people hold themselves has kept me alive. Until Elio. The man has me so confused, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.
I hear footsteps behind me. “Why am I not surprised that you’re already awake?” Portia murmurs.
I went against Elio and have had both Nell and Portia staying with me. They’re my friends, and I have an extra room. I have a warm place to stay, and I want the same for my girls. They’re the best people I have met. They don’t want anything from me; they just want to be friends. They have protected me, and I love them for that. I’ll always do whatever it takes to help them.
I shrug. “I doubt it’ll ever change. I have coffee ready,” I tell her as I clutch my own cup between my hands, trying to warm up, but it’s no use. The coldness I have throughout my body never warms. It’s always going to be there.
She makes her coffee and then comes to sit beside me, both of us watching the sunrise. The window in this apartment is huge and you can see the entire city from it. “Still unable to sleep?” she asks softly.
“No,” I reply emotionlessly. Since that first night I moved in, I haven’t been able to sleep for more than two hours. The nightmares that plague me leave me shaking and unable to breathe. There’s no going back to sleep for me after I have them, and they’re happening every night.
“Shall I try and get you some sleeping pills?” Portia asks. “It could help you sleep?”
I shake my head. “Thanks though.” I don’t want to be in a position where I’m extremely vulnerable. Not again. No way.
