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A surprised laugh escapes me. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like her. “Well, you’ll have to excuse me for giving you options. Unfortunately, you don’t have much time to think about it.”
“Can I have the night?” she grits through her teeth, feral like a wolf.
“You want to risk a night?” I know for a fact Bianchi will find her quicker than she thinks. Honestly, I’m shocked he hasn’t already.
“I don’t think Bianchi will find me, but I need to think this over. You’re asking me to change my entire life.”
“Rosie, your entire life changed the moment you stepped inside that club last night. Your entire life changed when your brother stole from Bianchi. Nothing will be the same after this. It’s up to you to decide how you want to adapt to this situation. Waiting around could get you killed, or you are with me, and I can protect you and your family.”
“What kind of power do you have that Bianchi doesn’t? Who says I’m safer with you than on my own? Aren’t you both the same?”
“No,” I clip, yet sounding confident. “First, don’t ever compare me to that man. Milazzos are much classier, and we do our best to balance the law. We don’t hurt women either. We don’t sell them as if they are cattle.”
She gasps in horror. “They do that, and you haven’t done anything?”
“Doing something takes more time than you think. Milazzos run this city and always have, Tesoro. We have power in very high places while Bianchi has power in very low places. Take your pick.” I spread my arms out.
“Right. Take a chance on one devil or the other,” she murmurs.
My phone buzzes and it’s an update by one of my men following her brother. I turn my phone around and show her my screen. “This is the kind of man I am. See that? That’s your brother. I have one of my best marksmen following him. I could kill him. Right here and now. My world will spin to go on another day but yours won’t. That’s how easy it is for a man like me to ruin your life, but I won’t because I’m not Bianchi; but if I can find you and your brother, so can he. You have ten minutes to decide or I’m going to walk out those doors, kill your brother, and deliver his body to Bianchi. I’ll have an alliance for life if I do that.”
“It wouldn’t mean shit without the stone,” she seethes, big wells of tears threatening to spill over her eyes. “And I won’t give it to you.”
“You mean, that stone?” I point to Gianni, and she turns around quickly, the round curve of her ass pressing against my groin. I bend down while she begins to breathe heavily and whisper, “You see, while you were fighting with me, Gianni slipped in the back, found the same purse you used last night, and plucked it right out. You should be smarter, Tesoro. You should have hidden the stone.”
She spins around. “Give the stone back.”
“I don’t think so,” I pout as if it bothers me not to give in and help her. “But I will once you decide.”
“You aren’t making your case any better by going through my things. You don’t respect privacy.”
“No, I don’t. Not when your life is hanging in my hands. And you can fight that all you like, but you know the truth. I bet you couldn’t sleep last night because of the things you have done, what your brother did, and trying to figure out your life from here on out.” I brush my thumb under her eye where the dark circles shadow her face. “I slept like a fucking baby. You and your issues weren’t on my mind at all.” That’s not true. I thought of her eyes, lips, and that body squeezed into the tight dress. I fucked my fist until my orgasm sent me to sleep. “That’s the difference between us, Rosie. I’m a man capable of sleeping without regrets while you’re someone who falls asleep with them.”
“I don’t fall asleep with regrets. You’re wrong,” she says proudly, the determination in her eyes is almost strong enough to hide the sweet little lie.
“No? You mean you don’t stay awake at night, going over every single step you made throughout the day, wondering how and why you missed your opportunity to make your dreams come true? There’s Rosie, taking care of everyone, all the time, and no one is taking care of her. Mom and Dad do nothing but sit on their ass while you bust yours. You think about how much you hate them. You love them, but you don’t like them. You can’t stand how lazy they have become. You can’t stand that they don’t take care of your brother. Oh your sweet little brother, trying so hard to help you, but can’t seem to make the right decisions. You regret not standing up for yourself sooner. You regret not getting out of this fucking store that barely makes a dollar. You regret every choice you have ever made to lead you to this moment.”
Her bottom lip trembles as puddles swim in her eyes, but her jaw is set, and anger ignites that stubborn soul. Before I can move away from her, her palm meets my cheek, and my skin begins to burn.
“Fuck you for thinking you’re so much better than me. Fuck you for looking into my life without permission. And fuck you for thinking you know me well enough to conclude that I regret my family. I love them.”
I rub the side of my face and hold up my hand to stop Matias from killing the sweet girl. “It’s fine, Matias. She’s only protecting herself.”
A tear drips onto her cheek but her resolve and strength don’t change.
“How dare you find out information about my family. You had no right to invade my personal life. I don’t know you and maybe some of the things you found out are true, but it doesn’t change anything for me. I know my place in life and this is it.”
I growl in disagreement, invading her personal space again, not caring how much she hates it. “That’s where you’re wrong. You deserve so much more than the life you have settled for, and I can be the reason it changes. I’ll even give you the stone again. You can have it. I’ll make it part of the agreement.”
She lifts a brow. “I can keep it?”
“I don’t need the money. You do. And if it makes you feel safer knowing it is in your possession, then it is yours and I won’t tell Bianchi you have it. I’m a man of my word, Rosie. I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t.”
“Okay,” she drawls out, still sounding unsure. She exhales, running her fingers through her curls.
God, I want to touch them. They look so soft and wild. I want to mess them up only to watch them spring into place.
“And my family would be safe?”
