Page 73 of Coerced Wife

“I guess you’ll never know how it feels because you won’t allow that, will you, Saverio?”

A muscle ticks in his jaw as he only watches me.

“Thought so,” I say.

He lets me go with a sound of agitation, hesitating as he stares at me. A battle rages in his eyes, but then he mumbles a curse and says, “I’ve been to see Kearney.”

My palms turn clammy. “What happened?”

“Things went south.” He holds my gaze for a moment longer. “Giorgio killed him.”

Dear God, no.

I slam a hand over my mouth, pushing back the sound that wants to escape.

“It took time to clean things up,” he continues.

“Saverio.” It hurts to speak through the knot in my throat. “You promised me.”

“I didn’t see Giorgio coming.”

“Fuck,” I say, wiping a trembling hand over my brow. “He’s dead because of me.”

Saverio takes my hand and pulls it away from my face. “No.” His voice is harsh. “You willnotthink like that.”

“It’s true though. Look me in the eyes and tell me it isn’t.”

The set of his mouth turns hard, but at least he doesn’t lie to me.

Fresh tears burn at the back of my eyes. “How am I supposed to live with myself?”

Saverio rubs his thumb over the back of my hand. “If he was an honorable man, this wouldn’t have been his fate.”

“Don’t patronize me.” I pull free from his grasp. “Unlike you, I don’t pretend to be God. It’s not our job to judge and to execute. Besides, you shouldn’t throw stones when you live in a glass house.”

“Fine,” he says, his nostrils flaring. “Killing him wasn’t the plan, but it happened. That’s the kind of business I’m in. Guilt comes with the job. I’d much rather carry that burden for you.”

“It’s mine to carry now.” I study him with a solemn gaze. “That’s what a life with you means.”

“You don’t have to,” he says in a beseeching way, his infinite-blue gaze pleading with me.

Maybe that’s why Rachele didn’t ask. Maybe she’s wiser than me, but I can’t turn a blind eye.

“Don’t ask me to be ignorant.” I shake my head. “I can’t do that.”

He doesn’t seem pleased, but he relents with a tight nod, accepting my boundaries.

I don’t know how to process what happened. It will hit me harder later when I’m alone. That’s how it always works. I’ll have to find a way to live with myself, and it’s not going to happen overnight, but for now, I have another concern.

“What if you get arrested?” I ask.

I don’t think too hard about what kind of a person that makes me to be more worried about Saverio than the man they killed.

“I won’t,” Saverio says in a level voice, watching me with an equally level gaze.

“How can you be so sure?”

A beat passes in which I swear the air turns more stifling.

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