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“Let’s get one thing straight. I was never OK with harm coming to you. I’d have taken your place on your knees in those fucking woods if I thought it would've made things better. But I can’t do shit to help Levin if I’m dead. He’s a brother to me. My best friend. Same with Dom. We protect our own.”
“I meant what I said,” I called out, slipping into my suit jacket. “She’s still yours as much as mine. She gets my name on paper, but she belongs to all of us.” Vincent grunted, refusing to look at me.
Perfect. My plan was already rolling out without a hitch. I huffed out a breath. In a few short hours, I’d be a married man. Bianca D’Angelou would be my wife. And then, I’d put my baby inside her, an heir to the De Santis throne. We’d rule it our way. Together. As a family. A real one, none of the shit I grew up with. Sometimes saving a life required making a new one. I was willing to do whatever it took to keep her alive, even make her hate me. Maybe I was getting a hang of this love shit.
And in a few hours, she’d be my best friend’s wife. I’d never have her like Dom would. She’d never have my name. She’d never fully be mine…
“Finish your job,” I managed to choke out. “Kill me so I'll stop hurting. So I'll stop thinking.” “You really loved Fallon, huh?” The sadness in Vincent’s voice made more tears fall. “Like I loved the kings.”
To win, to survive, to become queen of the bullshit, I’d submit. But just for one night. And then, I’d let all hell loose.
He grew silent for a moment before he spoke softly, “Is this what love feels like?” “Yes,” I whispered, sniffling. “Then I love you so fucking much it feels like it’s choking me.” He pressed a fierce kiss to my head before falling silent.
I’d done some fucked up shit to Bianca. I’d lied to her at the dance. I’d made her run. I’d chased her. I'd held a gun to her head. She believed I killed Fallon. Hell, I'd knocked her ass out and stuffed her in my trunk next to Fallon. I was a big offender.
I’d always been a villain. Nothing had changed, except now I was a villain in love with a queen and willing to do anything to keep her breathing and mine.
“She loves him. He loves her. Just like we do. Keeping him a secret is only going to kick us in the ass. If she finds out he’s alive and we really did end up killing him later on, it’ll be over. We’ll lose her for good. You know this, man.”
I released her, my heart aching, as she scrambled up and approached Fallon. He stared at her hungrily. The moment she was close to him, he hauled her into his arms and held her, whispering in her ear as she buried her face in his chest, sobbing softly. I hated it, but I loved her. And love, as I was learning, had a fuck of a lot of sacrifice.
“B, it’s just business, you know? Besides, you both said you were done—” “I know what I said,” I snapped. He frowned. The fact Levin had moved on so quickly hurt. Maybe he was doing it just to cause me pain since I hadn’t been kind to him when I'd needed to be. Or maybe it was business. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter why, it just mattered that he was. And that really fucking broke my heart.
Slowly, I turned to face Levin and choked out words that burned like acid on my tongue. “I’m so happy for you, Boo Bear.”
Levin was the master at heartbreak, but I was probably a close second. We did this to each other.
Levin had said their breakup hadn’t gone well. She’d threatened to kill herself if he left, and he’d left her his knife to do it with. Sounded like a total Levin thing to do. But even I could feel for her. Levin was a hell of a catch.
