Page 99 of Tainted Love

Zappia points at the monitor. “That’s your girl…” Confusion paints his face. “I thought she was dead!”

“She will be,” I growl, anger burning my chest.

I dart toward the door.

Elijah blocks my way. “Dante, relax!”

“You’ll lead me to Hart?” Marty asks.

“And his entire family.”

White knuckles poke out of my fist as my nails dig harder into my skin.

Marty chuckles. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Something like that.”

Lucy fucking Vaughn.

“Move.” I grab the door and jerk it open before Elijah or Lilah can stop me.

She’s officially gone too far now. I can’t believe I once considered this part of her to be attractive. That stubborn defiance. That ill-mannered mouth. Her complete inability to follow orders — even ones put in place to make sure she fucking keeps breathing.

I charge down the stairs onto the casino floor and march toward the poker table.

She doesn’t even see me coming.

Her jaw drops as I raise her out of the chair by her arm. “Lucy, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Marty climbs out of his seat, shocked by my sudden presence.

“I’m doing what I have to do,” she says, her voice solid as a rock.

“How did you—” I look at her left hand and freeze.

“Ouch!” she cries as I grab it and hold it up.

The joint is swollen and purple. I’ve seen it before because I’ve done it before.

I loosen my grip on it, falling silent at the lengths she went to defy me and the lines she crossed to take what was hers.

God, I fucking love this woman.

Chapter 34

Lucy

“Are you fucking crazy, Lucy?”

Dante keeps a firm hold on me. Every eye in the house is on us but he doesn’t seem to care about that at all. His blue irises are thick and wild. I can’t tell if he’s about to bend me over his knee or rip my clothes off.

I tug at his vise grip on my arm. “Let go of me—”

“Are you serious?” he barks back. “I did a good thing here, Lucy. The right thing. I saved you from destroying yourself, gave you a chance at redemption, and you fucking ruined it!”

“I never asked for that!”

“Yes, you did! Every kiss, every smile, every damn day. Your life is worth more than mine and I won’t let you throw it away over this.”

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