“You’re carrying too much.” He stepped around me and looked into my eyes. “Lay it down.”
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“Sable.” He wiped the tears from underneath my eyeswith a gentleness I didn’t expect. “I can’t be your savior, but perhaps there is a compromise.”
“What kind of compromise?”
“What if I let your brother live?” He held the side of my face. “What if I let him walk out of here with no more than the bruises he has already sustained?”
“You would do that?” I stopped sobbing, taking advantage of the sliver of hope he offered. “Really?”
“That depends.”
He lowered his lips to mine and captured them with his, kissing me long and deep. When my knees buckled, I grabbed his arm so I wouldn’t lose my footing. He released me but still held me close to his solid body.
The spark he created between us was stronger than I would have liked. I lost control of the situation the moment he gazed into my eyes at the bar.
“What does releasing Chance depend on?” I asked.
“It depends on what you’re going to give me if I grant you that request.”
“I don’t have anything to offer you.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
THREE
Milo
I didn’t needthis distraction. Marchello had allowed himself to get involved with Lissia and her drama, and now they were on the run. This family couldn’t afford for another heir to go MIA.
Fuck!But when Sable looked at me with those desperate eyes, all I wanted to do was rescue her.Why the hell do I care?
“You know what?” I asked as I retrieved my gun from the desk and put it back inside my waistband. “You’re an issue I don’t need.”
As much as I wanted to fuck her, there were plenty of other ways to get off. I knew better than to involve myself in such a complicated situation. My father wouldn’t be pleased if I tangled this family in another unwanted situation.
“Your brother will cause you nothing but aggravation.He’s not going to get his shit together, because he’s a fucking screw up.” None of this was my problem.
“What are you saying?” Sable hurried toward me. “You’re not going to let Chance go?”
“Chance is your fucking problem.” I took her hand and guided her out of the office, practically pulling her down the hall. “I don’t know why I thought I could make this work.”
“Where are we going?” She tugged on my arm. “You said you would reconsider.”
“You better get him under control, and I better not ever see either of you in this club again.”
I was pretty certain she wouldn’t show herself here, but her brother was a different story. He had a taste for this lifestyle. A stupid ambition to think he would succeed. He wouldn’t.
I pushed open the back door that led to the alley behind the club as my guys pulled Chance to his feet. They had worked him over pretty good.
“That’s enough.” I looked at Chance who appeared just as I had expected. Not too bad, but enough for him to understand that I never wanted to see him in my club again.
His bloody nose still dripped from where I had hit him, and his eyes were swollen. He would need plenty of ice and aspirin tonight, but at least he would still be breathing. He had his sister to thank for my generosity.
That was my nice deed for the year that was about to wrap up in thirty minutes. Sable had no idea how lucky she was not to have to plan a funeral tomorrow. Instead, she would nurse Chance back to good health.
“Oh God!” Sable shoved me out of the way. “Look what they did to him.”