Page 96 of Bound in Debt
“Did he hurt you? Do you need me to take you to the doctor or?—”
“I’m okay, I swear. Billy already told you.”
“You look like a beautiful wreck, princess. I can see it in your eyes.”
I feel like a wreck. But when Dante says it, all soft and throaty, I don’t feel like a puffy-eyed train accident.
“He scared me.”
“I know.” His eyes glimmer with what might be regret, and I reach out to stroke his hip in reassurance.
“I promise, I’m alright. Just a bit shaken up. It’ll pass.”
“I don’t want you to be scared to go to school.”
It would be a lie to deny it, but I refuse to let Liam mess with my education. And I’m not about to drop out after Dante paid for my semester at Thronewood. Although I could shift focus, putting all my energy into my culinary classes at Graham, maybe pick up some business classes there, and never worry about running into Liam again. It’s a little too tempting.
But I don’t want Liam to win.
“I’ve dodged him before,” I quip. “I can keep?—”
“What do you mean ‘before’?” he growls. “Has he been following you? Why didn’t you tell me?—”
“I didn’t want to bother you—” Dante’s grip on me tightens and I gasp at the intense look on his face.
“You’re my responsibility, Victoria.”
“It’s Vee.”
“Victoria,” he grinds out. Maybe he thinks my nickname is too childish, or maybe he just doesn’t want to use the same name for me his nephew did. “You’re dropping out.”
My whole face twists in a scowl because, again, I refuse to let Liam affect my life just because he can’t accept that he lost. “No. I won’t give up?—”
“You’re enrolled in a different school for your culinary classes, yes?”
“Yes, but?—”
“Then it’s done.”
I rip myself out of his grip and glare daggers at him. “I said no. I agreed to be your wife so you could help me get out of this mess. Not so you could boss me around.”
“Consider yourself bossed,” Dante quips. “Because I need you safe. And my fucking nephew?—”
“Is an entitled prick, but I’m not trying to waste your money. Dropping out of Thronewood will just put me behind.”
“You’re not going to graduate from Thronewood, princess. Or Graham, for that matter. When I take down Angelo, we’re leaving the States.”
“I—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he dismisses, waving a hand as if to erase the words from the air. “Go take a shower. I’ll make you a sandwich while we wait for Ellie to swing by.”
“No, we’re going to talk about this now.”
He lifts a brow. “Only if you’re ready to tell me what Liam said to you.”
“That’s not the same. I won’t be safe without you. Going after Angelo is too risky. You can’t run off to do crazy shit and keep me in the dark. I deserve to know what’s happening.”
“I’m not new to this, Victoria. I’ve got some experience being a mobster.”
