Page 67 of Victorious Vice

“Fuck.” He pulls out of me and shoves his cock back into his pants. “How the fuck am I supposed to live without you?”

“You chose to leave me,” I say.

He doesn’t respond.

He knows the truth as well as I do.

Finally, “You know I had to do that.”

I sigh. “I know yousaidyou had to do it.”

“Do you think I would have you in danger?” He shakes his head. “You’re in danger right now. More than you know.”

“You and I are the only two people in here.” I raise an eyebrow. “Unless you’re a danger to me?”

“I am.” He pounds a fist against his chest. “Because of the name I carry. The genes I carry. The business I?—”

I rub my forehead “For the love of God, Vinnie, shut up. This isn’t anything I haven’t heard a million times before. You can’t be with me. I’m in danger when I’m with you. Let me tell you something. I faced death. I faced my own mortality. And I’ve decided that I would rather live one second of wonderful than a lifetime without the man I love.”

Even in the dim light, I see the hard lines of his face soften.

“Do you find that surprising?” I ask.

“To the contrary,” he says. “I understand more than you know. But let me tellyousomething, Raven. I don’t want to live in a world without you in it. I would rather you be alive and safe and healthy, even if it means not being with me.”

I scoff. “Well, despite what just happened between us, it appears you got over me pretty quickly.”

He furrows his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I look down. “You came here tonight with a woman on your arm, Vinnie. A very beautiful woman. A very young woman. Seems I was pretty easily replaced after all.” I sigh. “I used to have hair like that, you know. Hair like my sister. Like my brothers.”

He moves my dress back around my waist and over my legs. Then he reaches out to my hair, touches the short locks that don’t yet cover my ears. “Your hair is beautiful, Raven. Even without hair, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Words he’s said before. Words that made me tremble all over the first time he said them.

But now? Even though they still make me shiver? I hear them for what they truly are.

Simply words.

I cross my arms. “So you’re not going to explain to me why you’re here with that woman?”

“Do you truly want to know, Raven?”

“Yes. I do.”

“Then understand this. What I’m about to tell you is going to sound shocking, but I need you to promise me that you’ll allow me to explain. I have a reason for everything I’ve done.”

“Fine. Go on.”

“Her name is Daniela. Daniela Agudelo. And she’s my wife.”

22

VINNIE

Raven’s beautiful face goes still, like she’s frozen mid-breath. For a second, she doesn’t say anything, just blinks, and I can see her processing the words. The light in her eyes dims.

I see shock, hurt, betrayal.

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