Page 71 of Stolen Queen

"What, you're just going to ignore me now?" Ava's voice drips with venom. "After manhandling me and throwing me in your trunk?"

I down the whiskey in one gulp, relishing the burn. It's become a habit, I realize. Whenever things get tough, I reach for a drink. It's not healthy, but it's better than losing control completely.

"I was only doing what you told me to do. You said I had to go. Time was up."

Ava's words freeze me in place. I set my glass down hard, the sound echoing through the room. "The plan was for you to tell me where you wanted to go and I’d send you there with your new identity. Not for you to wander the streets with no money and no phone.” I suck in a breath and turn to look at her. “What was your plan?”

She flinches at my tone but stands her ground. “It’s none of your business. And I’m not completely inept. I would have figured things out."

"Like you 'figured out' how to handle that creep in the alley?" I scoff, my anger rising again at the memory. "You have no idea what's out there, what could have happened to you."

Ava's eyes flash with defiance. "I was going home, if you want to know the truth.”

That confession pisses me off even more. After all I’d done for her to give her the freedom she wanted, she was going home? What the fuck?

Seething, I throw my glass across the room. Ava flinches but doesn’t try to run.

Pain follows the anger. “I’ve risked everything to protect you and you just throw it away. Why? Why would you do that?”

She looks down, her fingers nervously fidgeting. "I heard you arguing with Elio. If I went back, told my father I ran away on my own?—”

“No." The word comes out as a growl. "You don't get to make that decision, Ava. Do you have any idea what your father would do to you if you went back?"

She flinches at my tone. “It is my decision.”

“So everything I’ve risked to protect you… that means nothing to you.” Fucking hell, why does my chest hurt so much?

She tentatively steps forward. “It means everything, Matteo. But I can’t come between you and your family.”

"To hell with all of that!" I slam my hand on the bar, making her jump. "I chose to protect you. I knew the risks. But you don’t care about any of that.”

Tears well up in her eyes, but I'm too angry to care.

"Did these past weeks mean nothing to you?" I demand, advancing on her. "Was it all just a game until you could find a way to escape?"

"No!" Ava cries, her voice breaking. "I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't bear the thought of coming between you and your family."

“If you’re going to run, why not go away? Why were you going home?”

She wipes a tear from her cheek. “Because as long as I’m gone, missing, I’m in the way of you and your family, and my father would want to kill you.”

“He’s going to want to kill me no matter what. And I’m okay with that, Ava. I’m not okay with him taking you and sending you off to Nardone. I can’t live knowing that’s your fate.”

“All this started with me, didn’t it? This way, I could fix it.”

I close my eyes as I begin to understand her motivation. But I’m the protector here, not her.

“Everything I’ve done is to protect you. Your going home nullifies all of that. Why would you do that?”

She wipes a tear from her cheek. “Because I love you.”

I struggle to process her words, my anger warring with a surge of unexpected emotion.Love? She loves me?

I should tell her how I feel, but for some reason, that feels scarier than the threat of Rinella holding a gun to my head. Tonight, I’ve felt the worst sort of pain. If that’s what love brings, I don’t want it. And yet, even if I can’t say the words, I know it’s there. She’s become a necessary part of my life. Like breathing. I have to give her something.

I step closer to her. "Did you think I could just let you go? Watch you marry some old bastard in New York?"

Ava shakes her head. "I thought… I thought it would be easier for you if I was gone. That you could make things right with Elio and the others."

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