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The last thing I want to do is walk away from Bianca. I itch to pull her into my arms. She needs me, not her sister.
“Butcher!” Antonio snaps.
“Go.” Bianca turns into her sister’s embrace as Angelica glares at me.
“Bianca, I–”
“She told you to go.” Angelica’s voice is lower now, deadlier, and her eyes could bore a hole into me.
Fuck. I’ve fucked it all up. With heavy steps, I follow Antonio out onto the porch, the wind blowing leaves onto the driveway as he leans against one of the supports.
The door clicks closed behind me, and I’m grateful that Bianca didn’t go running. She’s still here. She’s still somewhere I can keep and protect her. But now I have to get rid of Antonio and Angelica–problem is, neither of them seem inclined to leave us alone.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” He lets out a long sigh, his back still to me.
“I wasn’t.”
“No shit.” He turns. “No fucking shit. You just disappeared. I didn’t know where you were. Gilly was trying to track you down. Then we had a fucking army of Larones and Frangiones on our doorstep.” He throws his hands up. “I got fucking shot. And where were you?”
For the first time in a long, long time, guilt washes over me. I left my friends high and dry while I went off on my own, half-cocked and with no plan whatsoever.
“So I’m going to need you to explain to me–right fucking now–what the hell you’re doing with Bianca Larone held captive in your house. Because if you don’t, Angelica may walk out here and tell me to kill you.”
“You could try,” I growl.
“If she told me to, I would.” He stares back at me, dead serious.
“If she wants a dead husband, sure.”
He shakes his head. “This is going nowhere. Explain what the fuck you were thinking so I can give her some sort of plausible explanation.” He glances at the door. “Because if Bianca says you’ve hurt her in any way, it’s going to go badly for both of us.”
I lean against the wood siding and rub my temples. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” I reach back into my memory of when I first saw her. “I was at the house. Angelica was doing Skype or whatever with her. Then I just … It’s like I snapped. Not like I do when someone pisses me off by trying to pass off bullshit information when they’re under my knife. It was different. Sort of like something in here”–I tap my temple—“or here”–I tap my chest over my heart—“clicked. After that, I just went into motion, and I didn’t stop until I’d kidnapped her and brought her here.”
“You’ve never done anything like this before.” His brows are drawn together. “I’ve known you since we were kids, and you’ve never even thought of taking a woman like this.”
“I know.”
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Okay.” He gives me a hard nod, as if he’s come to some sort of decision.
“Okay what?”
A smirk turns the corner of his mouth. “This is good, because Ireallydidn’t want to have to fight you.”
My confusion only grows as I stare at him, a smile spreading across his stupid face.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He shrugs and walks over, clapping me on the arm. “I know exactly what’s happened. I don’t know what to do about it, but at least I understand it. Now, the Frangiones want to marry her to Len, one of the younger brothers. They’re searching for her everywhere, even had the nerve to send some of their goons to one of our warehouses to ask questions.”
I crack my knuckles, and the old bloodlust begins to pump through my veins. “I hope you kept them for me.”
“Not necessary. We’ve already crippled them, and they won’t be stepping foot any closer than that small inquiry. They’re still licking their wounds, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous to whoever has taken their prized bride.” He gives me a pointed look.
My bloodlust intensifies a hundredfold. “I’ll never let them take her.”
“I know.” He runs a hand through his hair again. “I get it. For now, I think the safest place for her is here with you. I can have Gilly work on some backchannel intel to send the Frangiones searching far afield for her, throw them off the scent as best I can.” He leans against the post again. “But it won’t last forever. They’ll come, and when they do, we all need to be ready.”
“So you’re with me on this? You won’t let them have her?” I ask.
