Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“You should. All you have to do is say you'll marry me. I'll prove it to you.”
“I'm not ready to get married, Antonio.”
“You’re choosing wrong. This means, tomorrow will be hard for you but remember that everything I do is to protect you, Lina.”
I turn my head to look at him, frowning. My eyebrows pinch together as I worry about what he’s saying. My entire body tenses as I think it over.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask. I can't keep the apprehension out of my voice.
“We can worry about it tomorrow. It's just the two of us tonight, and I need that more than anything, sweetheart.”
His voice is so sweet and warm it wraps around me. It’s probably because I need the same thing. I’ve been worrying for so long, that tonight I need a break. “I want that too,” I admit, relaxing into him.
His lips press against the shell of my ear and then further down to the side of my neck. “Sleep, il mio tesoro. I will keep you safe.”
I wish it could always be just the two of us. No matter how much I deny it, Antonio is where I belong. I just know it.
I close my eyes after my silent wish. I hope like hell the powers that be grant me their favor.
antonio
Sitting at my desk, I lean back in my chair as I absently click my pen. My mind wanders to Melina for the millionth time. I have Levi and Stone upstairs guarding Melina's room because I gave Victorio the day off. He’s too damn pretty to keep around my woman. At some point, I will have to make up my mind and offer him a higher position—either that or ugly him up.
I sound pitiful and it’s not that. I’m secure with Melina. Oddly enough, though, I trust her, and that’s a first for me. I don't do the whole trust thing, especially with women. Hell, I've never had a woman in my home. Things never made it past the hook-up phase of meeting up in a hotel room. Even then, not one of them slept with me the entire night. Looking at it objectively, I didn’t allow it because there was no trust. To lie next to someone all night with my defenses down, makes me vulnerable. In my job, that’s not a good thing. A sleeping man is a dead man way too often in my world.
My home is sacred, my safe space. It’s my sanctuary. Other than my mother, Melina is the only woman who has slept in this house. I like that. She belongs here. It feels right.
Killian and Marco walk in, pulling me out of my thoughts. Gordon escorts them, watching everything very closely. He’s a stickler for details which is the main reason he works for me.
They sit in the chairs across from me. Looking Marco over, I find myself frowning. Marco looks back at me as if he hasn’t suffered one hell of a beating and struggling to move. He’s sitting up tall like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Still, he can’t hide his labored breathing. This had to happen after the wedding. One eye is swollen shut and has turned a nasty purple color. He has open cuts that his silk shirt and black slacks aren't hiding. He cleaned up before coming to see me but with the way he tenses as he exhales, I'd wager he has a busted rib or two.
“Did I miss a party?” I murmur.
Marco grunts. “Very funny.”
“What happened?”
“My father. He sent two of my brothers to show me his displeasure that his plans had been ruined. Oh, and to also tell me that I have until the end of the week to recover my sister and fix this.”
I can't help the smirk that tugs at my lips. "What happens when Friday rolls around, and Kelly’s delivered back to his family in pieces, while your sister has the last name DeLuca?”
“If I recall correctly, rivers of blood and a very slow, painful death were mentioned,” Marco replies dryly.
“That's something I'm looking forward to.” I smirk as his forehead creases and his annoyance with me leaks out.
“Your father's blood being spilled,” I qualify. “Does this mean none of your brothers have your back?”
Marco shrugs, trying and failing to hide a wince. He takes a second to catch his breath. “It’s not as if we’re a close family. We've been trained to follow his orders. That's just what we do.”
“Is that why all of you turned your backs on my woman?” I ask, not even trying to hide my contempt for how she was treated.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growls, showing that he does indeed have a spine. The debate is still out on if I need to sever it, however. “I have never turned my back on my sister. I did what I could when I could. If I did too much, the bastard would do worse to her—just to prove a point. The truth is, she's the only reason I’m still working under the old man. If I hadn't been worried about what would happen to her when I left, I would have left already. I stayed to protect her as much as possible,” Marco defends, his teeth practically grinding with the need to strike out at me.