Page 14 of Fight

That marble glitter was back in her eye. “Good. Then you see that I’m not property.”

“Not mine,” I said.

I had nothing but disdain for those men who used women up and then discarded them. However, even if I had been one to do that kind of thing, I could see this woman would be nothing but a pain in the ass.

“Not anyone’s,” she replied, her voice almost feral.

“That’s to be determined,” I said, ignoring the little jab in my chest at the shock and hurt in her expression.

Then I got out of the car, closed the door as the black vehicle that I knew to be Vasile’s pulled up.

For a moment, all else was forgotten.

I had no idea what Vasile would do.

He might shoot me right here. Decide that I was too much of a fuckup to bother with and be done with me.

But coming to him had been the only option.

He was my leader, and I had made a commitment to honor him and Clan Petran. I wouldn’t waver from it, not even to save myself.

He got out, but didn’t walk toward me. But the fact that he emerged instead of waiting in the car as I explained myself to him was one of the reasons he was so respected, even by those who were not in his clan. He treated us like men, and seldom indulged in the put-downs and snobbery that were so frequently common from others with less than a fraction of his power.

“Something important, Ioan?”

I had no doubt that he had already heard of what had happened, but this was a test, his attempt to see whether I would lie or not.

“Someone was at risk. I intervened,” I said.

“A member of Clan Petran? Family?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, but I couldn’t stand by.”

“So instead you bring this to my doorstep?”

“Which I regret doing,” I said, choosing not to tell him that I didn’t regret helping the woman, even though she was being insufferable rather than grateful.

“Your regret doesn’t interest me, Ioan. Clean up your mess,” he said.

With that he got back into the car and the vehicle sped off.

My heart raced, with both relief and concern.

Relief because he hadn’t killed me, but concern because that simple message contained so much meaning. He’d told me to clean up my mess, which meant I was in this alone, without the support of Clan Petran.

I glanced back at the car, looked at P, who still made no attempt to hide the way she openly stared at me.

Maybe this was an opportunity.

If Vasile had handled this, fixed yet another of my mistakes, I would have had no hope of ever regaining his respect or my former status.

But taking care of this could be the chance I had been hoping for only hours ago. I could show him that I could be trusted, that I was smart, and that I could take care of myself.

I walked back to the car and entered, more hopeful now, but still aware of the danger as I drove off.

“So…” She started speaking and then trailed off. After a few seconds, ones where she seemed more nervous than I had seen her before, she started again. “How bad is it?”

“Bad,” I said.

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