Page 81 of Until You Break

“The problem,” I snap, turning to face him, “is that she doesn’t know what happens if someone decides to come for me. She doesn’t know that being mine puts a target on her back.”

Matteo smirks, leaning back again. “And you think she’d give a damn if she did? Dom, she walked into this place with blood on her hands and a knife to your throat. You think she’s scared of a couple of pissed-off rivals?”

“You love her, don’t you?” Luca’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

I freeze and glance at him, but he doesn’t look away. “Yeah,” I admit after a long pause. “I do.”

Matteo whistles again, his grin wide. “Well, shit. Hell just froze over.”

“Fuck off,” I mutter, but there’s no heat in it. They know me too well to be fooled.

Matteo stretches, his grin returning. “Let her find out. Hell, let her see everything. If she’s still here after all the shit you’ve put her through, I doubt a little criminal syndicate drama is gonna scare her off.”

I glare at him, but he just laughs, kicking his feet up on the coffee table again. Luca takes a slow sip of his beer, watching me with that calm, calculating gaze that makes me want to punch something.

“She’s not going anywhere. Hell, she’d probably kill you before she ever left you. And if she did leave, you’d drag her back kicking and screaming because that’s who you are,” Matteo says as he lights a cigarette. “You’re both toxic as fuck like that.”

“Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same if it were you,” I shoot back.

“Oh, I would,” Matteo says with a wicked grin. “But this isn’t about me, is it?”

“Enough,” Luca cuts in. “She’s not leaving, Dominic. Not unless you push her away. So don’t.”

I glance at Luca, his expression steady, and Matteo, his grin lingering but less mocking now. It’s rare for them to agree on anything, let alone give me advice I don’t want to punch them for.

“You’ve got it good, Dom,” Matteo says, but there’s something serious in his tone now. “Don’t fuck it up.”

Luca tilts his head, watching me carefully. “She’s dangerous, yeah. But she’s loyal. To you. And loyalty like that is worth every drop of blood you have to spill to keep it.”

I let out a long breath, my shoulders relaxing just a fraction as I finally sit down next to Matteo, dragging a hand through my hair. “You two act like this is easy.”

“It’s not supposed to be,” Luca says simply. “Nothing worth keeping ever is.”

“Fuck, I don’t know how to tell her.” I admit.

“You don’t have to,” Matteo says, smirking. “She’ll figure it out on her own, and when she does, she’ll probably thank you for it.”

“Or stab me again,” I mutter under my breath.

He laughs. “Yeah, maybe. But you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I flip him off, but the corner of my mouth twitches into a smirk despite myself. For better or worse, they’re right. Aria is already in this, whether I want her to be or not. The only thing left to do is make sure she knows exactly who she belongs to—and what that means.

Matteo raises his cigarette in a mock toast. “To dangerous women who don’t put up with our shit.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just remember this conversation when one of you two idiots ends up in the same boat.”

Matteo grins. “I’ll pass, thanks. I like my women less stabby.”

Luca just smirks, sipping his beer. “We’ll see.”

Chapter fifty-one

His Sinner

I wake up tothe warm press of Dominic’s body molded against mine, his arm heavy around my waist, anchoring me in place. His hand rests just under my ribs, his fingers twitching like even in sleep he refuses to let go.

His breath is hot against the back of my neck, and for a moment, I stay perfectly still, letting the reality of where I am sink in.

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