Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

“I mean, I really want to go home, but what does it matter?” She shrugs. “I’ve gone from being held captive by someone else to being held captive by my sister.”

Her words sting. “You’re not being held captive. It’s safer here, for both of us. I didn’t go through all the trouble of getting you back just so we could end up in the same situation again.” My voice rises, and I do my best not to scold her, knowing her head isn’t in the right place, but I’m not letting her leave here.

Amelie tilts her head to the side, and her green eyes become luminous. “You like him, don’t you? That’s why you don’t want to leave.”

She’s pulled the rug right out from underneath me. “No. That’s not it. It’s not safe. As soon as it is, we will leave. Markus means nothing to me,” I lie. The words feel like acid on my tongue as I speak them.

“Whatever. I’m tired.” She’s starting to shut down, and still, I want to help her. All of this is my fault—all of it.

“Do you… want to talk about anything? About what happened while you were held captive? I’m here for you, Amelie.”

“I want to sleep,” she answers in a monotone voice.

I let things be and don’t push her any further. “Okay. You can stay in here. If you need anything, I’m right down the hall.”

Amelie doesn’t respond, and I force myself to walk out of the bedroom. Everything feels like it’s falling apart. My entire life is a lie. Everything I’ve come to know, a lie. It’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I head back to the bedroom, and thankfully, Markus isn’t there. Stripping out my clothing, I turn the shower to hot and wait for the bathroom to steam up. I step into the shower, and like a faucet being turned on, everything I’ve been holding in breaks free.

It comes barreling out of me in the form of tears.

My body shakes and trembles, so much so I lean against the tile wall to keep myself upright. I’m in love with a man who can never love me, a man who paid a million dollars for me, a man who is a violent, dangerous criminal.

I’m adopted, my entire life a lie, and the whipped cream on top… I’m the spitting image of my dead half-sister, the only woman that Markus has ever loved.

I’m so caught up in my self-loathing that I don’t notice someone else is in the bathroom until the glass door of the shower slides open, and Markus’s naked physique appears in front of me. I try to pull myself together, but it’s not happening, and all it takes is one look for him to know that I’m shattering.

“I’m here for you, Fallon.” His gravelly voice washes over me, and my nipples harden at the sound.

“I’ve been strong for so long… I’m tired of being strong,” I sob, and he takes me into his arms, holding me to his chest like a piece of glass that’s going to crack right down the middle.

“You don’t have to be strong. I’m here, you can lean on me. Let me be your strength.” His breath tickles my ear, and I shiver.

“You would do that?”

“I care about you, Fallon. Maybe not in the way you want or need to be cared for, but I’ll try my best. I want to help you through your pain, through the secrets that we uncovered. We can be the same without all the bullshit, without the auction or money that I paid for you hanging over our heads, and when this is over… you can leave, if that’s what you want.”

His confession only makes me unleash a new wave of tears, and I suck a ragged breath into my lungs. I knew he would do this, push me away, eventually. He’s giving me an out, letting me leave when he said he never would. Little does he know, I don’t want to leave.

I want to stay forever, but I’m afraid… afraid of what happens when this is all over. Afraid that we may fall apart before we have the chance to become whole.

“I want that. I want you, even if it’s not fully. Whatever you can give me, I’ll take it.” I bury my face into his muscled chest and sink deep into my mind. I think of all that I’ve discovered, how twisted and thorn-filled our lives have become.

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I know that I’ve done all I can do. I’ve saved my sister, and we’re safe here with Markus as long as we stay put.

In the end, that’s all I want. I can’t make Markus love me. The only thing I can do is hope that when the time for me to leave comes… he doesn’t let me go.