Page 70 of Murder & Mayhem

“You better come back to us,” he orders in a husky voice.

“I will.”

I turn, reaching for the door handle, but before I can open the door, he pulls me back for another heated kiss. “I love you, Sawyer. Remember that when you’re withthem.”

My lips part in surprise, and the asshole just smirks. “Luc might have spilled your little secret.”

“I’m going to kill him the next time I see him.”

He barks out a laugh and knowing if I put it off any longer, I’ll never leave, I push open the door. I force myself not to look back as I walk down the road toward my apartment. Reaching the building, I head inside. For the first time, when I step into my apartment, it doesn't feel like home to me. Mine and Luc’s things are still scattered around the place, but it doesn’t have the same homey feel it used to have.

Not wanting to linger, I cross to my bedroom and quickly pack a duffel with clothes. I may have enjoyed dressing up the other day, but I have no intention of letting Dante dictate my wardrobe for the next month.

As I’m walking back through the living room, I notice the photo I stuck to the wall when we first moved in—of Luc and me before our lives went down the shitter—is missing. Coming to a stop, I stare at the wall for a long moment before dropping my gaze to scan the floor, wondering if it just fell. Not seeing it, I figure Luc maybe took it. He mentioned today that he’s been staying at the clubhouse since Dante kidnapped me—or whatever you call it. Perhaps he took the picture with him. It’s the only one I have of us, so it would make sense.

Shrugging it off, I leave the apartment and head out onto the street to wait for Enzo. By the time he pulls up, I’m emotionally drained from the day’s events.

“Get everything squared away?” he asks as I slip into the front seat, tossing my bag in the back.

“Yup.” I don’t give him anything more than that. It took a lot of careful maneuvering to ensure he couldn’t track or follow me earlier. When he dropped me off at the apartment, I changed my clothes and snuck down the fire escape over to Raven and took various detours all over the city on my way to the Rejects. You can’t be too careful, and I definitely don’t want him or Dante to discover my connection to Cain and Oliver.

“Your brother is okay?”

“He’s good.” I notice him glance my way out of the corner of my eye, but I continue to ignore him and stare out the window as he drives us further north through the city.

As city blocks fly by in a blur, I think over how I’m going to get through the next month. I’m going to have to be careful. It will seem suspicious if I just fall in line and accept this wedding, but equally, I can’t afford to do anything that might cause Dante to call the whole thing off.

We’re deep in Antonelli territory when I let out a long sigh and turn my face away from the window to look at Enzo. He’s so handsome, with his dirty blond hair and expensive suit. Like some sort of wealthy playboy. The perfect blend of aristocratic and devious.

“What’s the deal with Dante and his father?” We never actually talked about what went down in the penthouse. Certainly, the impression I got is that their relationship is somewhat strained.

“Giovanni is a sick son of a bitch.” The vitriol in Enzo’s voice is startling. “He doesn’t care for anyone—even his own son—except for how they can be of benefit to him. He’s completely messed with Dante’s head. Made him believe he’s not worthy of anything good.” His hands tighten around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Giovanni’s treatment of his son really irks him. Interesting.

“Is he?” I question. “Worthy of anything good?”

Enzo takes his eyes off the road for a second to look at me. “Don’t get me wrong,” he begins, returning his attention to the road. “Dante is a cold-blooded killer. He’ll destroy anyone without a second thought and sleep peacefully in his bed at night, but he’s a product of his environment. Killing is what he’s been raised to do. It’s all he knows. Just because he’s capable of terrible things doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve someone who will actually give a shit about him.”

I return my gaze out the window as I turn his words over. “No,” I eventually agree. “We’re all capable of committing heinous acts. It’s human nature. It’s whether what you’re doing is for the greater good or your own selfish needs that matters.”

I can feel his eyes on me, and I turn to meet his unwavering gaze. “Exactly. Dante’s never been given a chance to prove he’s not his father.”

“And you think he isn’t?”

“Iknowhe’s not.” I quirk a brow when he glances my way. “You wouldn’t still be alive if he was.”

“Yet he’s going to force me to marry him.” My tone is scathing, but Enzo just laughs.

“I said he’s capable of making the right choice, I didn’t say he’dalwaysdo the right thing. He might not be his father, but the primary lesson his father passed on is if you want something, you take it, regardless of what stands in your way.” He looks my way. “And Dante wants you.”

I roll my eyes. “So you’re just going to let him force me down the aisle, even though you know it’s not what I want?”

He waits until we’re stopped at a red light, then he turns to face me. When I don’t remove my gaze from the front window, he reaches across the center console and turns my head, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I’m not the good guy in this scenario. I’m not going to save you. I might not agree with Dante’s plan, but I’m going along with it for purely selfish reasons.”

My brows furrow. “What’s that?”

His thumb strokes over the angle of my jaw, and the raw hunger in his bright verdant eyes knocks the air out of my lungs. “I’ve obsessed over you for as long as Dante has. I’ve bided my time and sat on the sidelines while you pushed me away and shut me out, but I’m done with that now. Where Dante’s going to force you into a marriage, I’m going to push you into finally seeing what’s been right in front of you all these years. Whether it was luck, fate, or happenstance, you’re ensnared in our world now. You may as well accept it. I sure as fuck am not letting you go, and neither will Dante.”

I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat as the light turns green, and he lets go of me, putting his hand back on the wheel. My skin tingles from where he touched it, and I can’t decide if their combined obsessions are a turn-on or a serious fucking problem. I think they might be both, and if that’s the case, I’m doubly screwed.

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