Page 75 of Revenge

I glanced at the closed door in front of me, which led to Ava’s room. “EspeciallynotAva, not until he’s in better shape.”

“Consider it done.”

Taking a deep breath, I dashed my hands down my face and opened the door. Honestly, I had never felt so uncertain as I entered her room. Ava’s scent hit my nostrils. The woman had only been at the house for a short time. Yet her sweet essence waseverywhere.

As the door closed with a soft click, my eyes scanned the room. She was laid in the centre of the bed, fully clothed and curled into a ball. I felt like the biggest piece of shit. Those walls that had come down when she’d kissed me would now be back in place. And probably higher than ever.

It was dark outside and the curtains were open but what appeared to be a million stars were sitting in the sky. Under any other circumstances, it would have seemed romantic.

The bedside lamp was on and it highlighted Ava’s small frame as she lay against the covers. My eyes focused on the way the duvet was scrunched into her fisted fingers. Ava had slid her shoes off and her legs were tucked up towards her body, even her feet were soft and pretty.

As I walked closer, I realised she wasn’t asleep and having realised she was no longer alone, she turned over.

As I approached, she said nothing. Ava just watched me with a blank expression.

From the bottom of the bed, I stared down at her, “You can give me the silent treatment, I deserve it,” I said, pushing my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants.

Ava’s chest expanded as she inhaled deeply, her face etched with pain, “Are you OK?” I added.

A ghost of a smile touched her lips, “What do you think?”

I felt like I was on an endless loop offuckingthings up with her. I was supposed to get Ava on my side, but her misplaced confidence about being more involved in the organisation had made me snap. She wasn’t ready andneverwould be. Ava didn’t have the right amount of corruptible DNA; it wasn’t in her nature to hurt people. And that was a difference between usrightthere, if they deserved it, Igot offon hurting people.

For Ava, I had been her safe place when our parents had gotten together. I was there for her and gave her a sense of normality in a strange and chaotic new life. I kept her grounded when everything seemed unfamiliar, and then I walked away.

I hadshatteredher dreams and wasn’t there when she needed me most. Gerard’s face swam into my thoughts, fuelling my anger.

I moved over to the bed and lowered my body onto the mattress, it dipped with my weight and she shifted to face me fully, pushing her elbow onto the covers and bracketing her head.

The stains on Ava’s cheeks reminded me of her tears.

My pulse spiked. Seeing her looking so upset forced my disgust at myself to jump up another notch. I wasneverone to apologise for anything. Everything I did was strategic, I rarely made mistakes and when I did, I didn’t usually accept the fault was mine. Scapegoats were ten a penny in the mafia.

At that moment, I despised myself, my choices, fuck me;everythingI had become.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ava whispered, her face still red and puffy. The vibe pulsing from her tightly wound frame was one of self-pity and that pissed me off even more. Where was my fighter?

“Like what?”

“Like you hate me. Surely, I should be the angry party,” Ava mumbled, looking like a lost soul. She had misinterpreted my expression as being about her.

I needed to say my piece. I was like a dog with a bone. Irrespective of what had happened over the last hour, this woman would be my queen one day and I needed to be sure sheneverhumbled herself before me or my men ever again.

“You will never get on your knees in front of me again, Ava. At least, not to beg for another man’s life,” I said gruffly. When her cheeks bloomed a darker pink, I could see again, that she misunderstood me.

“It’s hardly time for comments like that,” Ava muttered.

My lip twisted, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Can I see him?” she asked, looking up at me like a fucking puppy would her master. Once upon a time, I would have welcomed this submissive side but right then, I hated it.

A wave of jealousy crashed through my chest as I realised how much she cared for Quinn, “He’s resting,” I explained. “Maybe in a few days. You’ve had a shock tonight. You should get some sleep.”

Feigned amusement entered her eyes, “A shock? Really. You don’t say. So, a forced marriage proposal and seeing my friend with his face smashed inisn’ta usual day for a future mafia queen?”

“No, that’s probably fairly tame believe it or not. Even so, I am sorry.”

“That’s twice in one night,” she pointed out. Her voice was so quiet I could hardly hear her. “Maybe if you do the right thing for a change you won’t need to say sorry so much.”

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