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“Mass…” I try again to interrupt him. He doesn’t let me.
“Liv, you could have died. I almost lost you. Don’t fight me on this. I’ll be happy to fight about anything else. I’ll even compromise on occasion. Not with your safety though.” Finally he takes a breath.
“Come here.” I hold out a hand for him. The same one he was holding earlier. His shoulders slump and he does as I asked. He grabs my hand and sits on the edge of the bed. “I like you Massimo.”
The biggest smile I have ever seen spreads across his face. It squishes his cheeks and crinkles the corners of his eyes. He looks so relieved to hear those words from me. “I like you too. I really, really, like you.”
“But, I can’t be with you.” The smile is gone. He rips his hand from mine.
He looks angry. “What do you mean you can’t be with me?” There’s an edge to his voice that he’s never directed at me before.
I hate that I am doing this. I can’t stop myself.
“We aren’t right for each other. This life. I can’t be a part of it.”
“You’ve been in this life. You worked with your dad. He dragged you into it. Not me. It’s too late to back out now. You’re in it. You’re compromised.”
“When everything dies down…” I try to make him see reason.
“No. It won’t die down. Not enough to let you go back to your old life. I’m sorry. But no. Ramirez knows who you are. He’s probably told his entire network of men. Even if we end him, and kill his army, you still pissed off the Irish and the Russians with the stunt your dad and you pulled.” I slump back into the bed. I shouldn’t have brought this up. I don’t have the energy to argue with him. “You’re staying here.” He gets up and heads to the end of the bed.
“You can’t keep me as a prisoner Massimo!” I raise my voice at him.
He turns, the glint of the beast that everyone fears rising to the surface. “Like hell I can’t! You are mine. My woman. You will do as I say. You will stay where I can protect you.”
“Mass, come on…”
“Enough!” He crouches down at the end of the bed. I hear the clanging of metal on metal. When he rises, he has a chain in his hand. No, no, no. He wouldn’t.
“Don’t do it.” I try pleading with him as I try to shift away from him. With the IV tugging on one arm, and the other in a sling, I’m making little to no progress. When he reaches for my foot, I kick out at him. He grabs my leg mid-kick. In a flash, he has the shackle clasp around my ankle. I continue to thrash, to pull on the chain. It doesn’t have much slack. Tears rise in my eyes. My voice is low and raspy. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”
The anger has faded from him. His beast calmed for now. “Yes you will. You and I will be spending a lot of time together. I will show you the kind of man I can be. How good I can be to you.”
“A good man would let me go.”
“I didn’t say I was a good man.” He’s closer again. His hands reaching out to cup my cheeks. His thumbs rubbing circles and sending chills down my body. “I said I’d be good. You will want for nothing. I will provide everything you need.”
His forehead leans against mine as I whisper. “Except my freedom.”
“Are any of us really free?” He places a kiss on my lips. I try not to return it. I keep them immobile. He continues to move his against mine. Licking the seam of my lips. The memory of our previous kiss floods my mind. New and old sensations take over. I open without protest. His tongue immediately darts into my mouth. I’m a goner. The fight in me has left. I lean into the kiss. My mouth moving in time to his. Then he pulls back. The smile I love so much playing on his lips. “Be a good girl, and you’ll have more freedom.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Massimo
THE DOOR TOthe study slams open and hits the wall. “You’re keeping my daughter prisoner?” Shouts Raphael.
Fuck. I forgot about her fucking father.
“Yes.” I admit.
Luca raises an eyebrow at me. He knows she’s in my room. I haven’t told him that it’s involuntary. Raphael stops in his tracks. He must not have expected me to admit it. Why? I have nothing to hide.
“Let her go.” He growls.
“No.” I turn my back to him and continue to look at the collection of documents that Val has pulled on Ramirez. The fucker is still in hiding. It’s been over a week since he escaped. For all we know he could be out of the city, hell he could no longer be in the country.
“Mass…” Luca starts. I know he’s trying to look out for me. But this has nothing to do with the family. This is between me and my woman. I don’t need to answer to him on this.
