Page 61 of Spider Demon's Kiss

“No, Dante. It’s not about him. It’s about me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’ve already had the chance. You didn’t. You’re not gonna hurt me.”

“You don’t know that. And the reason that you don’t is because I don’t know it.”

“Kuroi,” Dante said approaching me and encircling my biceps with his large hands.

“No, Dante. I kill people.”

“You won’t kill me.”

“I kill the people I love. You don’t want me to love you. Let me go, Dante,” I told him soberly.

Dante let go of my arms and I walked away. When I was alone in the guest bedroom with the door closed, I sat on the bed, lowered my face into my hands, and I cried.

Chapter 10

Dante

I was gonna kill Matteo for whatever he said to Kuroi. Until I had left for the bathroom, everything had gone well. Yeah, I had found out that my father had invited his treacherous brother back into our lives so he could kill me. But Matteo and Kuroi had been getting along.

What could Matteo have said to him? I had never seen Kuroi like this. It was like he was a different person. I wanted the Kuroi I knew back.

Hoping all he needed was a good night’s sleep, I headed to my room and bed. Remembering the feeling of Kuroi in my arms, I couldn’t fall asleep. By morning, I had slept three hours at most. And when I returned to the living room to find the guest bedroom door still closed, I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Are you up?” I asked knocking on his door. “Kuroi?”

“What?” I heard him say from within.

“I need your help. Can I come in?”

“It’s your house,” he said not sounding good.

Entering, I found what he was wearing the night before on the floor while his pillows were smeared with makeup. I hadn’t known Kuroi long, but this didn’t seem like him. Looking down at him as he buried his face into his pillow, I said, “I could use your expertise today.”

“What is it?”

“I need to find my Uncle Vinny. If he’s in town, I’m gonna need some back up.”

“Why don’t you ask Matteo?”

“I don’t trust Matteo with this. I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Like you said, you kill people. And if it came down to it, I need someone who won’t hesitate out of family loyalty.”

What I had said was true, wasn’t it? Uncle Vinny was family even if he wasn’t a member of our pack. Both Matteo and Lorenzo could hesitate if things went south. Kuroi wouldn’t. He really was the only person I could trust to have my back.

“Come on, Kuroi, I need you.”

Kuroi turned to look at me.

“I’m serious. You’re the only one I can trust with this,” I told him sincerely.

Kuroi looked down, wiped his face on his pillow and then got up.

“Fine. Give me a few minutes to get dressed.”

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