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“I’m not trying to talk down to you,” I responded, keeping my tone neutral. I had to keep her safe, and if it meant tangling with her stubbornness, so be it. “I’m trying to make sure nothing happens to you.”
“What if something happens to you?” she countered, crossing her arms over her chest. “What then? Is your life worth less than mine?”
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. It was like trying to negotiate with a brick wall. “No,” I said. “But I can defend myself. If it comes to defending the three of us…I mean, that’s harder, right?”
Her hand fell on her stomach as I spoke. She was quiet then, studying me for a long moment before slowly shaking her head. “So what? I’m a prisoner now?”
The words felt like a punch in the gut. After everything I’d done for her…it was insulting. I stiffened, lifted my chin, crossed my arms.
“Sure,” I said. “If that’s the thing that’s going to make you stay the fuck here, you’re my fucking prisoner.”
“I don’t think my father would like that.”
“Then he doesn’t need to know.” I extended my hand. “Give me your phone.”
We stared at each other for a tense moment, Adriana glaring daggers at me.
“Well?” I said, keeping my hand out. “Prisoners don’t get phones.”
She looked like she was going to run…
…and I couldn’t let that happen.
I lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, tugging her flush against my chest and searching her pockets. She let out a yelp, trying to slap my hands away, but I was bigger than her. And maybe it made me a sick bastard, but she felt fucking good writhing against me, my hands sliding over her curves for the first time since I’d knocked her up.
I finally got the phone and she shoved me away as I slipped it into my pocket, her face flushed with the exertion of trying to get away. “You’re an asshole, Callahan.”
“I’m protecting you and our child,” I snapped. “You’re reckless and I don’t trust you not to call someone who will get us into more trouble. This is on you.”
“So you’re going to keep me locked up here and force me to have your baby?”
I narrowed my eyes. “If that’s what it takes to protect you, yes. I can’t help the fact that you’re a silly girl who doesn’t know the realities of this business.”
We both went silent, Adriana looking like she was ready to tear my throat out. “
“I don’t have time for this,” I said, now that I was just done with the conversation. “The sooner I’m done with this, the sooner I can come back. Is there anything you want?”
She glared at me. “You don’t just get to offer to buy me snacks after what you did.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Right, okay. Well…I guess I’ll just have to guess what you like. Don’t want you going hungry when you’re carrying my legacy.”
She didn’t respond, just continued to glare at me with that fiery gaze. With another sigh, I turned the doorknob, pulling the heavy wooden door open and stepping outside into the morning chill. As I walked towards the car, each step made me angrier.
She was ungrateful, reckless.
She had no idea what could happen to the women in families like ours.
The things that had happened to my mother…to Kieran’s.
She was in more danger now than she’d ever been in before, all thanks to one mistake.
The drive into town was quiet, the tranquility of the deserted road doing nothing to ease my mind. My thoughts were swarming with doubt and fear. This wasn’t how I’d envisioned our life together. Trapping Adriana in an isolated cabin, away from her family and the familiar comfort of her home, felt wrong on too many levels.
But what could I do? It wasn’t safe out there for her anymore. Not with the Rossis stirring up trouble and both Orsini and Callahan families rushing headlong towards an all-out war.
And she was carrying my child. Of course I didn’t want her to get hurt, but this wasn’t just about her. It wasn’t just about us.
