Page 111 of Innocent Intentions

I try to turn my head, unable to look at him for another second. But he doesn’t let me off that easily. He grabs my chin and forces me to face him. I squeeze my eyes shut.

He tsks. “You know better. Eyes on me.”

I glare at him.

“I’d do it every day for you,” he says, low and lethally. “And I’ve done it for years. For my family. For the Syndicate.”

I blink. “The Syndicate?”

“My family runs The Syndicate,” he explains. “It’s like the Bratva but with no nationality affiliation. We don’t answer to anyone. We run many operations in our territory. But for the most part, we keep the streets clean. We make sure those around us follow the rules. And when they don’t, we make an example out of them.”

I swallow hard.

“All the men I’ve hurt or killed, they deserved it. Rapists. Murderers. Criminals who would’ve never faced justice otherwise.”

He leans in, his voice a little softer. “You’ve never had a reason to think about that kind of world. You’re not supposed to. That’s the point. In your eyes, murder is wrong, and I get that. But take yesterday. If I had let him live after what he almostdid to you, do you think he’d stop? I guarantee he’s done it before. He would’ve done it again.”

He pauses, letting his words sink in.

“There are rules in what we do. And if we were to break them, we face consequences too. That’s what keeps this city safe. People like you don’t even know what’s lurking in the shadows because men like me are out there keeping it in check.”

I shiver.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. If the Russians hadn’t exposed you, you might’ve never known. But being mine means you were always going to be involved. It was inevitable.”

His hand slides to my jaw, gentler now.

“I’ll protect you from the Bratva. I know how they operate. And with the Syndicate behind us, they won’t touch you. My brothers and I will keep you safe.”

I search his face, desperate to find something good in all of this.

“But to stay safe,” he continues, “you have to listen. You have to look past your own moral compass and understand the rules we live by. This world is different. And asmywoman, you’ll live by our rules.”

I flinch at the word ‘my’,but I don’t disagree.

“I usually stay out of the darker side of business. I keep my image clean to run Syndicate Enterprises, the legal front. But now, you’re involved. That changes everything.”

A sigh leaves him, but there’s no regret in it. Only conviction.

“I’ll shield you from as much as I can. But you’ll see some of it. You need to understand, we are the good guys. We just play by different rules. And if that means hurting bad men to keep innocent people safe? Then we do it. Without hesitation. Without regret.”

His words land like a stone on my chest.

Murder is wrong. It always has been. But… if he’s doing it to protect people, does that make it acceptable? In a vigilante sort of way?

Even if it is justifiable, can I be with a man who commits such atrocities with a smile on his face?

Yes, babe. You know Matty. He’s a good man. And if he has to do bad things for the right reasons, you’ll learn to live with it.

He burned a man alive and enjoyed it.

He did it in honor of you. That man was going to rape you. He deserved it. So what if Matty took joy in avenging you?

“So… you’re the good guys,” I repeat slowly. “You just have to do questionable things to keep people safe?”

“Yes, sweetheart.” I hear the sincerity in his voice. “We protect the people. We’re feared by our enemies and respected by our allies. We don’t hurt people for the sake of hurting. We have a code. It’s just not one you’re used to. Can you live with that? Can you live knowing that I’ll do anything,anything,to protect my family? To protectyou?”

His eyes plead with me to understand.

---