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“Why did you do that, Sophie? Was it out of fear?”
I sit back in my chair, shoulders relaxed, and arch an eyebrow. “Do I seem afraid of you?”
He chuckles, but there’s little humor in the sound. “No, you don’t. So, why did you advise her to trust me?”
“Because as much as it doesn’t fit in my ‘perfect, new-life box of black and white,’” I snap, throwing his words back at him because I’m still sore about that comment, “I believe that a man like you has a better chance of protecting Maria and her daughter than WITSEC does.”
He looks at me, but he’s not wearing his happy face. “You think you know me, Sophie Kellan?”
Right. He doesn’t like it when I show that I can read him so easily. Too bad. Well, he should stop talking to me then. “I know you better than you think, Nico Vitelli.”
“I was going to kill you,” he grinds out, watching my response closely. “Did you know that?”
“Yes, on the plane,” I say with a feigned air of boredom. “At least, you thought you were going to.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me,” he says quietly.
I shrug. “Maybe not, but I didn’t have to, Nico. You were never going to pull that trigger.”
“Is that so?”
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I say, meeting his eyes.
His eyes take a faraway look and his jaw clenches tight. “No,” he admits. “I couldn’t go through with it.”
I nod, satisfied.
He shakes his head like he’s exasperated with me. “That is not a good thing.”
“Actually, I have to say that from my position, it kind of is—the whole I’m still breathing thing, you know?”
“I’ve done far worse things than put a potential threat in the ground. And I have always done what needed to be done. You fucked with that,” he says, his voice harsh.
Hmm, he isn’t just conflicted here; he’s pissed—at me, it seems.
I sit up straighter in my chair. “I didn’t fuck with anything, Nico. It wasn’t me who broke into your office. I didn’t invite myself along on your trip back home. You did those things, and if you don’t like what came of it? Well, that’s on you.”
And then it hits me why he’s here—what problem it is he wants me to solve.
“You want me to tell you how to turn it off,” I say, shaking my head slowly.
He doesn’t deny it.
“There’s no button to push or faucet to turn, Nico. You care, and you hate it. And fear it.”
“I don’t—”
“Yes, you do,” I snap, cutting him off. “You liked the clever setup Reaper Druids MC have and the way they dominate Harmony, similar to your ownership of Chicago. You admired Phoenix, Grease, and Razor. Mud Night was like one of your clubs, albeit with a rawer edge. You’re used to refined spirits, Nico, but Harmony is like that gritty, unfiltered ale that captures you with its full-bodied charm.”
“Fine, woman!” he concedes, “I care, and I want to shut it off. But it’s not because I fear it, but because it needs to be off, Sophie. In my world—”
“I know your world, Nico,” I interject again. “And you know what? I know my dad’s world too. It’s every bit as cunning and ruthless as yours, but he doesn’t see an enemy in everything that doesn’t belong into his world. You complain about my ‘perfect, black and white box’, but you sure seem to be trying to cram all your limbs into a tiny gray box of your own.”
He suddenly stands up and crosses the space between us, reminding me how much bigger he is, how he pretty much towers over me when I’m standing up, never mind when I’m sitting down.
“I should want to punish you for the way you speak to me.”
A shiver runs down my spine, but it’s not cold; it’s hot, just shy of scorching. It has me thinking about the ripped planes of his chest and his perfectly etched abs beneath his suit. I can practically feel the hard length of his cock beneath my hand and the tantalizing piercing I’d never quite gotten to see.
