“Giuliana, wait.” Lance’s voice is the last thing I hear before I slam the door shut behind me. Running down the steps, I head toward the large silver gate that keeps me in. Apparently, it’s meant to keep me safe inside, but there’s nothing out there that can produce the pain I feel right now.
I punch in the numbers I recall from the page Seth had left for me, and magically the gate slides open.
“There she is.” The deep voice of my father comes from in front of me at the same time as I hear my nickname, “baby girl,” from the pained grunt of the man I love coming from behind me.
And right then I realize I’ve just fucked this whole thing up.
Lance
I want to run to her, to pull her into my arms and keep her safe. But that’s a contradiction to what I just told her. My mind is a mess, my emotions are at war with themselves, and Arthur glares at me as if these are my final moments.
“Lance.” He nods, stepping over the threshold of my property. Behind him, he has two of his goons who follow him around like puppies. “Giuliana.” He smiles angrily at his daughter. There’s no affection in his gaze though, and I realize her opening the gate may have just sealed our fate.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” He guffaws. The sound is low, harsh, almost rumbling like thunder in the distance. “It’s intriguing to me that you think I’m even going to afford you an answer. You deserve nothing from me.” His sneer is pure venom. Pushing by her, he saunters toward me. He’s cold, calculating, and I can see the rage simmering beneath the surface.
“Arthur, you—”
“Are you even trying to explain yourself? Years of planning, of making sure my daughter was safe from the likes of you,” he grits out angrily. His jaw is ticking with annoyance, and his blue gaze is burning right down to my soul. “She was promised. Meant to be with a man who can give her a life.”
“Don’t you dare talk to Lance like that!”
“Take her away,” Arthur orders in a tone that demands attention. The two goons grip Giuliana by her arms, tugging her backward on her heels. She kicks and screams, but they’re double her size. There’s no way she can fight them.
Her gaze, the one that matches her father’s, meets mine. Betrayal burns in her stare, and I can’t look away. I want to, but my heart is hers, and I drown in her accusations. I deserve them all. Every bit of hatred she offers me, I deserve. The azure depths of her eyes pull me under the tide, and I allow it.
Watching her get taken turns something inside me. It’s a rigid, burning flame that slowly flickers to life. I promised her, and myself, that I’d never let her father take her again, and this time is no different.
She’s angry, but I can’t change what I’ve just set in motion.
Without her, I’m a monster. I’ve come to accept it. And soon, Arthur will see exactly who he’s dealing with.
“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.” Arthur grins, looking back at me. The screaming finally gets muted after they shut my girl in the SUV.
“You didn’t have to do it like that,” I tell him.
He shrugs noncommittally. “I guess she’ll hate you more now than she ever has before. My plans always come to fruition, Lance. You should know this by now.” He’s right. All m
y life, growing up alongside him, I knew he would never lose. Not to me. Not to the Cartel, and not even to his daughter.
“I’ll always love her.”
My confession causes him to tip his head to the side. He regards me with a shrewd glare. I can see the wheels turning in his head. He’s deciding what to do. Games are his forte, and I know this will be no different. He’ll give me a choice. One that will either kill me or if I win, I’ll finally end up with Giuliana on my arm.
“You said she’s better off without you,” he remarks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
I nod. “She is, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her. And it doesn’t mean she’s forgotten her feelings for me.” I finally look away from the SUV toward the man who has been my mentor since I was merely a teen. “Give me the choice.”
The corner of his mouth tilts. He knew I’d ask for this. For the final game of choice, he loves to play. There are parts of the Tabella Della Morte Headquarters that aren’t spoken about. A dark place that none of the Cavalieri enter because we’re the soldiers, not the men who Arthur wants dead. But every now and then, he threatens us with the Bowels. The place you walk into, and rarely — depending on your strength and will to live — walk out of again.
“You’re far too good for that, Lance. My first soldier. The man I watched grow before my very eyes. I have a final job for you. If you complete it, you can try to win my daughter’s heart.”
Shrugging, I try to act calm, giving off a relaxed air about his offer, but inside, I’m tense. My muscles are tight with anxiety because even though I know I can win her heart and her trust back, Arthur will send me on a suicide mission.
But instead of telling him I’m afraid, I smirk and respond with ease, “You know I’ll complete any job you give me.”
“Perhaps. It’s not the job you should be worried about this time though, because if, and I really do mean if, you manage to take out your next mark, you should be more concerned about Giuliana’s wrath, not mine.” He turns toward the gate, glancing at me over his shoulder. “You’ll get an email soon.”