Page 39 of Triplets for the Mafia Prince

His eyes bore into mine with an intensity that makes my breath catch. "I'm going to kill him.”

Before I can fully grasp the weight of his declaration, Nic's lips crash against mine. The kiss is urgent, desperate, filled with a passion that catches me off guard. Despite everything I've just learned, despite my anger and fear, I find myself responding. I sink into the kiss, my body betraying my mind's doubts. Nic's hands slide from my arms to my waist, pulling me closer. I should push him away, I know I should. Doubt and confusion swirl in my mind. Can I trust him? After everything I've heard, everything I've learned about his world, how can I be sure this isn't just another manipulation?

I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him so badly. But I’d be an idiot to do so.

As reality crashes back, I push him away forcefully, stumbling back a step. "No. You don't get to do that.”

Nic reaches for me, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

"Don't. You've known who your father is all this time. You know what kind of monster he is, what he's capable of. But you didn't do anything about it, did you?"

Nic’s jaw tightens.

"He threatened your sister, your niece. He's hurt countless people. But you didn't think to stop him then, did you? No, it's only now, when he's tried to kill you, that you suddenly decide to take action. What about me, Nic? Did you ever think about protecting me from him?"

Nic opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "Of course not. I’m just a pawn in your and your father’s sick game.”

“I decided to kill him for you.”

15

NIC

Iam not myself. I mean… since when do I give a fuck what people think of me or how I make them feel? Except for Gia and the kids, I don’t. Until now.

When I saw Bella heading out the door with a bag, my first feeling was anger. What the hell was she thinking? Then she essentially accused me of being like my father, which pissed me off, but more than that, it hurt. And then she said she’d rather take her chance in the brutal cold or with a hitman than end up with my father. And she meant it.

Of course, she wasn’t done yet. Then she accused me of not caring about my father’s behavior until he came after me. And the fucked up part is that she’s not entirely wrong about that. I haven’t done enough to protect Gia and the kids. I initially came on this trip to retrieve Bella for my father knowing the man he is.

Shame washes over me. I step back, giving Bella space. Or maybe I need the space as my mind races, replaying all the times I could have, should have, done more for my sister. The moments I knew following my father’s orders to bring Bella home were wrong and yet, I was still doing his bidding. All thefantasies I’ve had about killing my father but never committed to doing it.

“What?” she asks in response to my statement about making the decision to kill my father for her.

The weight of my failure is suffocating. I've prided myself on being smarter than my father, on being better than him. But in this, I'm just as guilty.

“You're right. I should have done more. I should have killed him sooner for Gia and the kids.”

My eyes drift to Bella, and I'm suddenly back in that moment in the kitchen when she kissed me. The softness of her lips, the warmth of her body pressed against mine. It was more than just a kiss, it was a wake-up call. In that instant, everything became clear. I couldn’t let her become another victim of my father's cruelty.

“And yet you didn’t decide that until he tried to kill you,” she accuses me again.

I shake my head. “I didn’t just decide to kill him at this moment or even during the call with Max. I decided to kill him after our kiss.”

“I don’t believe you.”

It’s shocking to me how much that hurts even as I can’t blame her for her doubt. I wouldn’t trust me either.

“You don’t have to. Just know that I’m not going to bring you to him. You won’t suffer because of him. I will kill him for you, for Gia, for Gia’s mother, and all the women he’s inflicted his sick pain on.”

She takes a small step back, and I fight the impulse to close the distance between us. It’s another new sensation to want a woman to come to me. To believe in me.

“Look, if you want to take a chance out in the cold, you can. I won’t stop you.” Fucking hell, how can I say that? “But you must see the problem with leaving now? The cold will kill you. But ifyou stay, I promise to protect you. Not just from the elements, but from my father, from anyone who might try to harm you."

She glances at the door and I know I’m losing this argument.

“And when my father is dead, you can do whatever you want. Return to your father and whoever he tries to sell you off to next. Or maybe your sister. Or… I can offer you freedom."

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

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