Page 26 of Vengeful Union

The pain in her voice when she talks about her ma hits me in the gut. "I'm sorry about your ma. She died in a carjacking, right?"

I see the way her jaw clenches and her eyes go hard. "Yeah, that's what they told me."

Her words make no sense. Her ma was found on the side of the road in the Bronx, a bullet in her head and her car burned out. The police ruled it a carjacking, yet the tone of her voice tells me otherwise.

"What do you think happened?" I ask as we get closer to the pool. I move so that I'm closer to the water than she is.

She doesn't miss the action and smiles at me. She doesn't answer my question. Instead, she changes the subject. "I'm sorry about your dad. I heard what happened. My mom said he was a good man."

I nod as I lead her to a seat. "He was. Both you and I know he wasn't an angel—we've seen the worst in people—but my da was a gentleman to everyone around him. Though if you crossed him, he'd kill you in a heartbeat."

"What about you?" she questions, as I take a seat opposite her. "We both know you're no gentleman. But what is your strength? I mean, I heard the stories about your father. He could charm anyone he encountered, whether they were cops, enemies, or an ally."

"He could do that. All of us learned something from him. He taught us all things that would lead us through life. My compassion left me a while ago."

"We all lose pieces of ourselves. It's just how we deal with those losses that define us. Take you, for example. You lost your compassion, and now you're a psychopathic killer."

I laugh. "You're really hung up on that whole psycho shit, aren't you?"

She shrugs. "It's the only thing I know about you. You're closed off, tight-lipped, and full of anger. Who pissed you off today?"

She's very astute. "Just business things."

Instead of being pissed off like I expect her to be, she smiles. "Hmm, someone fucked up."

"Big time," I respond. "Why hasn't your father come looking for you?"

She waves her hand dismissively. "My father is no doubt spinning his web of lies, trying to gain as many people onside as possible."

"He won’t win," I tell her. "I'll take his arse out before he can even get close."

She nods, seemingly satisfied. "Will you give me back to him?"

There's no anger, no trepidation, no emotion whatsoever in her tone.

"I haven't decided yet." That's the truth. Just because I want her, it doesn't mean I'm keeping her.

"Just give me the heads up. I won't go back to him."

I stare at her. "You're so certain I won't kill you."

The grin she has hits me in the groin. "You won't. If you were going to do it, you'd have done it by now. Why prolong the torture?"

"The torture is the best part. Don't you know that by now?” I grin as her face falls. "I'm not a nice man. I don't play by normal rules. I do as I please." At my words, she sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes wide, a little fear sneaking through. I love it. Thrive off it.

"You can't be serious?" Her lips tremble, and she crosses her legs.

Ah, she's affected.

Good. She's about to be even more so.

I get to my feet and move toward her, then lean over her chair, effectively blocking her in. "You, princess, are alive because I haven't even begun with you yet."

Her chest heaves as her pupils dilate, those emerald-green eyes of hers filled with lust. "Me and you, it's never going to happen."

My lips brush against hers ever so lightly. Her breath hitches, and she presses closer to me. She wants me. Her eyes are pleading with me for more.

"Trust me, princess, we'll happen. When it does, you'll be begging for it."

---