Page 10 of As Angels Sin

“After putting me in danger.” I swallow hard, but I feel suffocated by the action because my throat is so damned dry.

Father scoffs and shakes his head. “Yes, it’s true. But you wereborninto this world, my daughter. It’s a cross I wish you didn’t have to carry, yet here we are.”

“But you don’t have to do this.” I make a grand gesture of pointing both hands at the ring. “Especially not to him. He’s a fucking monster.”

“Fiametta.” Father’s voice booms through the office. “You will show Tomas respect. This arrangement isn’t some snap judgment. It was arranged months in advance of Tomas’s moving in to protect you.”

Oh God, it all makes sense now. Tomas is walking away scot-free, even after his acts of cruelty. He showed a lack of respect for his don, because they were soon to be family.

I think I’m gonna puke.

“I won’t do it.” And I’ll keep resisting until the end of time.

“I’m not giving you a choice. You’re a woman, Fiametta. You’re weak. You don’t understand the evil we must unleash on this world to survive. I need to know you’ll be safe when I’m gone. It may still be years away, but I’m not going to risk anything,” Father isn’t shouting as I would expect, after his outburst. But he is speaking through gritted teeth, the same way he used to speak to me when I was a child being scolded for messing up in school or not finishing my chores.

“He tried to rape me.” It’s blunt and to the point. He tried more than once and failed both times.

“A miscommunication.” Father sighs and shuts his eyes.

“You’re fuckingdefendinghim?” I spit.

“Watch your tone, young lady.” His eyes open once more to reveal narrow slits. “I understand this news is shocking, but I will not have you disrespecting me.”

Enough. I can’t take it anymore. Instead of fighting and trying to bring reason to the insanity, I turn around and start running. It’s too much for me to handle. Marry that piece of shit? I’d rather have had Crue finish the job all those weeks ago.

Speak of the devil and he will appear.

As I burst through the door and try to run away from one nightmare, I smash headfirst into someone else. Crue is in the hallway, and he catches me as our bodies collide. He does his best to save me from dropping onto my ass. Given the gut-wrenching terror his emerald eyes bring me, I’d rather have fallen. If I were lucky, I’d have smacked my skull against the wall, fallen into a coma, and escaped this nightmare I call a life.

Yeah, that would bemuchbetter than this whole thing, now.

“Fiametta?” He stares into my eyes. His deep green orbs swirl with what I would’ve called concern, if I hadn’t known any better. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I tear myself out of his grip and start running again. No good can come from his being here, and I’ve had enough bad for one night.

But I have missed his ever-watching emerald eyes. That is, at least when they weren’t looking at me with murderous intent.

Chapter Five

CRUE

“I’m sorry you had to see that. Family troubles,” Lorenzo says as Mark and I step through his door. “I’m sure you understand how it goes.”

Are you fucking kidding me? He’s screwing with you. Teasing you about your mom. Tear his eyes out and feed them to the balding fuck opposite him.

“Don’t have family,” I say, but I don’t ignore my shadow this time. It’s the first thing it has said since Devin Williams, when I’ve wanted to act on my own free will.

Family is a contentious point, especially when Lorenzo brings it up. He killed my mother. She was the last remaining member of the family I had. His offer to leave my world of freedom behind, in order to joinhisfamily, is a slap in the face. I can’tseem to get over it. Yet, here I am, wanting to accept Mark’s suggestion that I join the Napoli’s.

Fiametta’s at fault. She is the root cause of all my fuck-ups, since the night I first saw her. Seeing her now, however brief it was, rekindled the flame I thought I’d finally extinguished, after nearly two and a half months.

She must be something special if she’s still on my mind. Not even my mom’s death left this big of a hole in my chest.

“That must be nice.” Lorenzo doesn’t even realize that he is mocking me with his idle chatter. “They can be hell.”

An opportunity he didn’t allow you to experience. Kill him. NOW!

Not yet. Not in his home, anyway. Lorenzo is still very much on my list of victims, but I have to play it smart. Like I did with Devin. Watch, wait and strike at an ideal time. When no one can point a finger at me.

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