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“I don’t regret it, but I’ve struggled with my choices,” I admitted, giving him a dose of sobering truth. “I thought I was just throwing myself at you to do whatever it took to survive, but I don’t think that’s the truth.”
He nodded, and if he was hurt by my words, he didn’t show it. “And what do you think the truth is, princess?”
“I think I’m attracted to bad,badmen,” I laughed, shaking my head.
His eyes darkened, catching me off guard. “Like Victor Sanchez?”
“Uh, no,” I immediately replied. “I wasneverinto that guy. He’s the kind of dark that you don’t make it out of alive. I’ll pass on that.”
“Probably for the best,” he chuckled. “Though some would say that I’m not much better than he is.”
“You don’t have the sadism in your eyes,” I answered, my voice softening. “I’ve gotten pretty good at picking out creeps.”
“Good to know,” he held my eyes, my core tightening with excitement. The man got to me inallthe ways, and the more he opened up, the more I didn’t want to run from those feelings. He leaned forward, and I caught my breath, nearly reaching for him.
But I stopped myself, clearing my throat. “What was your family like growing up?”
“Uh… Well…” He let out a sigh. “I guess it was normal as a little kid. I lived with my mom on the upper east side of the city. She got the money from family—she was rich, I guess… But she never brought me around any family on that side. Maybe I was a disgrace. I don’t know, but I thought life was normal until he started showing up.”
I furrowed my brow, trying to follow. “You mean your dad, right?”
“Yeah, he started showing up when I was probably ten. I kept getting into fights at school, and one day, I got home, and he was there, waiting for me in the living room. He said,‘Son, it’s time to tell you who you are.’He took me, against my mom’s wishes, to a fight club in the Bronx. That was that.”
“You were ten…”
“You know how it goes. I grew up fast and started helping him out. I met my half-brother and sister. She never had much to do with me, but it was alright. My brother… He started getting jealous when I hit eighteen. It took me no time to prove my worth, but while he was mean as fuck, he wasn’t very bright… And then my mom died.” His face took on a distant look as he continued, pain contorting his expression. “Came home one day and found her in her bed, and I knew… I fucking knew why it happened. She was the thorn in my dad’s old lady’s side.”
“I’m so sorry…”
“Had nothing left to fight for after that. I got in deeper and deeper, but I started working side jobs for another family.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to bring my dad’s family to their knees for killing my mom,” he said, his tone matter of fact as he met my gaze. “But I never did. They put a gnarly hit on me, and I was fair game to anyone—payout of over two million for my head. No one gave a shit about loyalty then.”
“And now someone knows who you are…,” I thought aloud, the urgency suddenly settling in on me.
“Yeah, but my half-brother is dead. I got word the family dissolved, so I don’t know who would want that kind of information.”
I nodded, and the realization suddenly hit me—Icanbe an asset. “I’ll dig into it for you when I get out.”
“I don’t think so. It’s a dangerous game to get involved in.”
Shaking my head, I met his gaze as laughter spilled from my lips. “It’s not the first time the mob has come on my radar.”
Chapter 22
Axle
“Is that right?” I asked her, tilting my head as I leaned a little closer. “Because I better be the only fucking mobster that’s fucked you.”
She smiled coyly, the gold in her eyes glistening. “I said, they’ve been on my radar, not between my legs,Ghost Eyes.”
I chuckled darkly. “Why do you call me that? I get the fact that my eyes are gray-blue, but like a ghost? I don’t think so.”
Rachel scooted to the edge of the bed, her knees brushing mine, sending a jolt of arousal through my body. “I don’t know. I guess because they were maybe a little spooky.” There was a teasing tone to her voice that set my cock on fucking fire for her.
“I can be spooky,” I said in a low tone. “Is that what you want from me?”
