Page 56 of Villainous
I grab her hand, and she tries to snatch it away, but I hold on tighter, bringing her palm to my mouth. I brush it with my nose, and then I kiss it. She sighs and bites her bottom lip, trying to hide her expression.
I already told Henson where to take us, and once we’re at Brooklyn Bridge Park, he drops us off on the sidewalk. Two other soldiers stroll in front of us, and the other two are behind us.
Maya doesn’t say anything as we stroll down the walkway. The city glitters in the night, overlooking the ocean, and the Brooklyn Bridge lights up as cars drive over it. She loves this place. This was the very first date we had after I told her I was going to be with her. I figured maybe if we came back here, she would remember why we fell in love in the first place. She told me love can survive anything; if we continue to love each other, then nothing could stand in the way. Does she still believe in that? She’s not into romantic stuff like most women. She’d rather eat at a hole-in-the-wall than sit in a fancy restaurant, and she’d rather go to a rock concert than somewhere elegant. The only thing that’s come close to being elegant was she liked going to ballerina shows, but there wasn’t one showing, so I had to work with what I had. I don’t have a romantic bone in my body, and it’s hard for me to show people how I felt. I never really hug people, and if I do, it takes a lot out of me.
She stops strolling and glares at me. I clear my throat and tell one of the soldiers to lay the blanket down on the grass and the picnic basket on top of it. They do what I say, and I sit on my knees and extend my hand to her. She slaps it away and sits across from me, putting distance between us.
“I know what you’re up to, Villainous, and it’s not going to work,” she snaps. “You think you can win me over with my favorite restaurant and my favorite park. You and I know you hate the romance. And you don’t like this shit. So why bother doing it for a woman you were clearly going to kill?”
“I’m sorry for how I treated you for the last six months. I was blinded by anger and bitterness.”
“No shit. You’re so selfish and self-centered. I can’t believe I was going to marry you, and I can’t believe I fell in love with you.” She shakes her head.
I’m still hurt she kept him away from me. It wasn’t her fault, but I can’t help but think about how our lives would be if she had told me. I feel robbed as a parent. And I’ll never forgive her mother for taking our son from her, but I had no chance of being there for him. Knowing that rips my insides to pieces.
“You don’t think it was a little selfish for you to not tell me about AJ, little dove?” I snap back.
“First of all, don’t call me little dove anymore—I’m not yours. Secondly, yes, I admit it was very selfish for me to not tell you about him for the time being. I was waiting for this bullshit to blow ov—”
I thrust my fingers through my hair and yank hard, trying so hard not to rip it from my scalp. “You could have come to me. You knew I wouldn’t turn you away. You don’t realize how much you hurt me, and you keep throwing salt on my wounds.”
“Well, that makes two of us.”
This date is a fucking disaster, and it’s not going how I planned.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how you would take it. Devious was at war with my famiglia. I didn’t know the extent of it. When Liam was alive, he didn’t know either. I wasn’t going to risk you going to my mother, stirring up more shit than I’m already in.”
“They were at war because Shelby was cheating on Devious with Cashel. If Devious found out he had a nephew, do you really think he was not going to accept him? We always accept our famiglia.”
She looks around to see if anyone is looking. “I don’t believe you. She loved Devious. She would never hurt him.”
“She fell in love with Cashel. Devious caught them in bed together.”
She cocks her right eyebrow. “He killed her, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lie straight through my teeth and rub the back of my neck.
“You’re fucking lying. You rub your neck either when you’re lying or stressed-out. And I know Devious. Hewoulddo something like that. He’s just like you. He’s just as bad at holding grudges as you. He killed her.”
I’m not confirming shit to her, because Devious doesn’t want anyone to know, so my eyes venture out to the sea, then back to the picnic basket. “You need to eat before the food gets cold.”
“I’m not hungry.”
She’s lying. She never turns away food, but I’m not going to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.
“Tell me this. Is AJ the only reason why you were going to spare me and the reason why you want to be with me?”
I sigh. “No. If you had told me another reason, then I would have tried to win you back. He’s part of the reason but not the main reason.”
“You were going to kill me like you did Kate, your last pet.”
Kate was the previous pet I had, but how does she know about her?
“You tend to choose women that look like me. You hated me so much that every woman who reminded you of me, you killed them.”
“I didn’t kill all my pets. I sent them back into slavery. I killed Kate because she went behind my back and slept with my soldier.”
“You’re a real fucking hero. You should get a gold star.”
