Page 105 of Phantom Mine

“Why not?”

“You’ve nearly gotten yourself killed twice, and that’s only since I’ve known you. Who knows how many more times you’ve come inches from death.” His eyes simmer with slow burning fury. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that scar on your stomach, that it doesn’t keep me up at night, wondering what happened to you. I’d wager that’s another near death experience you got in this pursuit of yours.”

It pisses me off that he’s right, that I can’t deny it. Clenching my jaw angrily, I tip my chin up at him.

“Need I remind you that I just saved your life?” I point out. “Seems to me that you’re as much of a liability as I am.”

“That’s because I’d just seen my brother with his hands around your throat, seconds from squeezing the life out of you!” Matteo erupts, his temper exploding out of him. The force of his reply stuns me into silence. I take a step back but he matches it, refusing to put any distance between us. “You try experiencing that for yourself, Leni. Let me know if you give a shit about your own safety after you witness that.”

The angry words I had poised in response die on my lips at the emotion in his declaration. The anguish is as clear in his voice as it is on his face.

He’s not angry at me.

He’sscared.

Selfishly, I didn’t think about what witnessing that must have been like for him—even if we’re just casual, no one wants to see their lover killed before their eyes. Especially not him, given his history.

My shoulders drop as the fight drains out of me. When I step into his body and close my arms around his middle, he makes a soft, happy noise. I press my cheek into his chest and hold him. He blows out a frustrated breath, raking a hand through his disheveled hair, and then his palm finds the back of my neck. His thumb rubs comforting circles into my throat.

“You can’t keep putting yourself in harm’s way,” he murmurs. “What’s the point of finding out what happened to Adriana if you get yourself killed in the process?”

A painful knot forms in my throat, constricting the passageway. I release him and step away. He lets me go.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“I know I’m being reckless but that’s what having a weakness does to a person. Youcan’tunderstand, Matteo, because you don’t have one. Adriana is mine,” I confess, my gaze roaming over the hard edges of his face. His eyes are black and bottomless on mine, his expression unyielding. “I don’t want to die, but I’m ready to make that sacrifice if that’s what it’s going to take to bring her body home.”

Matteo moves so suddenly that I miss it. One moment he’s a couple steps away, the next his chest is bumping against mine, his hand wrapping around my throat.

“Over my dead fucking body, Valentina,” he snarls, his use of my full name like the punishing crack of a whip on my ass. “You didn’t listen to me when I told you to stay away from Rocco, but listen to me now. Let mehelpyou. Let me be your partner in this instead of having to chase after you to catch up. I can’t bear to think about what would have happened tonight if I’d arrived a couple minutes later.”

I realize I have no idea how he knew where to find me, or that I needed finding at all. I’ve left in the middle of the night every time I’ve gone to his apartment.

“How did you even know where I was?”

Something hot and heavy unfurls in his eyes. My heart convulses painfully in response.

“I followed you. You think I’ve been letting you sneak out of my bed in the middle of the night without making sure you were getting home safe?” The hint of a smile slides off his face. “I didn’t see Rocco atFirenze. He must have been there before us. When you didn’t come out, I had a bad feeling and went looking for you. That’s how I found you.” A faraway look takes over his gaze before his eyes darken and narrow, and I know he’s reliving the moment he found Rocco on top of me.

His large hand grips the side of my neck in a possessive embrace. “I won’t stop you, I won’t get in your way, I won’t interfere, that’s the promise I’ll make back to you. But let me help, let me keep you safe so that I never have to see that again.” His thumb again rubs soothing circles on the pulse at my throat, sending a needy shiver raking through my body. “You have to know I’ve become unquestionably reliant on your survival for my own,cara mia,” he murmurs softly.

Warmth blooms in my stomach and my heart clenches violently, the traitor.

“I can’t ask that of you, Matteo.”

He frowns. “To protect you?”

“To investigate your own family. You realize that’s what it means to help me, right?” I look over at Rocco’s dead body still laying ten meters from us. “He deserved to die, but he was still your blood and you should never have had to be involved. I can’t ask you to keep betraying your family for me, not when this thing between us is… what it is.”

Matteo holds my gaze steadily for long, silent moments. I’ve never met anyone who stares as intensely as he does, like he can detect the true measure of a person with his gaze alone.Suddenly, I’m desperate for him to find whatever he’s searching for in my face.

“You might not trust me, Leni, but I’ll trust you. I’ll trust you with the power to destroy me.”

He says I don’t trust him, but he must not realize how long it’s been since I last saidPavona.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

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