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Wariness shines in her eyes. It annoys me. She acts like I’m a petulant teenager.
“You do see the irony, don’t you? You wanted to go into law enforcement and now you’re in organized crime.”
I laugh as I cut my steak. “You know, don’t you, that many cops and agents work for us?”
She sighs, letting me know she’s suspected as much. “You still could have chosen something else. I envy you that."
Her words sting a little, strangely, and I don’t know why. At the same time, I know she's right. I could have chosen a different path, one that didn't involve bloodshed and violence. But now that I'm here, there's no turning back.
“Do you really think you could have walked away?” I ask her. Very few leave the Family, at least alive.
She shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe not. But whatever happened, it would be because I was exerting my own power, my own will.”
“Is that what you want? Power?” I push my plate away, intrigued by her bravery to speak so candidly.
“Not power like you. I don’t want to rule over people. I want personal power.”
“To do what?” I pick up her fork and poke a cooked carrot.
“Be free.”
“There’s more than that.” I hold the fork up to her lips, encouraging her to eat. She stares at the carrot with reluctance but finally bites into it. “What is freedom, really? Even in your so-called real world, people are ruled by others. Bosses in a job. Police. Rules of society.”
“I could decide what my job would be.”
“You have a passion?”
She looks down, and I see that she doesn’t.
“So your goal then is just to escape your father? To avoid marrying Romeo, right?”
She shrugs again, and I feel like I’m losing her in this conversation.
“I can help you with that.”
She purses her lips at me. “Your kidnapping me wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“No, but you proposed a solution. You tell me all you can about your father’s business and anything you know about the Abates.”
Her expression perks up. “And you won’t hurt my sister or Kate?”
I stare at her, noncommittal. Her loyalty to them is my leverage, and while I’m not opposed to deception, I don’t want to make a promise to her that I don’t know I can keep.
“You said you’d do whatever I asked of you. I’m willing to agree to your terms. But you need to behave. You need to take whatever your parents taught you about being a good woman and use it with me.”
Her eyes close for a second, as if she’s repulsed by the idea. It pisses me off. I deserve more respect.
I toss her fork on the plate.
“Or, I can send you to spend your time locked in less comfortable accommodations. I’ll find out what I need to know from your sister.”
“No. Please. I’ll do whatever you want.”
She says the words I want to hear, but I hate that she doesn’t mean them. She doesn’t want me. How fucked up is it that I’m thinking that? That I care about how she thinks about me? I should send her away for how she’s making me feel so pathetic.
But I remind myself that my goal is revenge against her father, including bringing her into my Family, making her the perfect companion for me, not Romeo Abate.
I sit back and study her. “Have I been unreasonable? I mean, for our world. Not yourrealworld. Do you think Romeo would give a shit about your enjoying his touch? Worry about your health? Spare your life or at least not fuck you up for going behind his back? I’m not so bad, Elena.”
