Page 19 of Ruthless Consequences

Even though I wanted to stop Minnie from seeing him, she loved him. He cared about her and was good to her. And since Sundays were for church and for going to eat at the Valentinos’ for dinner, there was no use in me punishing her for something that had nothing to do with her. He let me fall, not her.

Before she got to his car, though, those intense, dark eyes met mine through a cloud of languid smoke. When it cleared, I could see them so clearly. They were hooded, like he was high, but I knew he wasn’t. He didn’t dabble in anything that could make him lose control. No, he was high off something else.

Memories. He’d been reminiscing.

About which part? The moment he lured me into his world with his charm? Or the moment he almost killed me with his decisions?

My arms wrapped around me like a hug. It was instinctual, the need to protect myself from him and the memories. Poisoned-winged butterflies flitted in my stomach, coming too close to my heart.

Maybe if I squeezed harder, they would disappear into the darkness with him.

They never did, though. They were driven and ruled by him. And we were twisted together, our blood forever linked.

He stepped out of the car, coming to meet her on the other side. She ran right into his arms, and my heart seized before it started beating overtime. I could never tell which fought harder to stop the physical reaction to him, my heart or my head, but both failed. Miserably.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and his muscles testified to what he did every day. Worked out. He owned his own gym and lived next door to it. The light highlighted his tan skin and dark, slicked-back hair. The black stubble on his face outlined his chiseled bone structure. His skin was so taut that it hugged every curve. His nose was straight but a bit narrow. His lips looked soft but were firm when he kissed. His eyes, though, always held defiance. It wasn’t apparent from the first look, though. I had to get past the darkness before I realized what I was up against.

The scent of his cologne and the lingering sweet smoke from the cigar floated in the breeze. I held myself even tighter. The blood-thirsty butterflies were trying to get past my barrier with razor-sharp feelers.

“What’s up, Minnie Mouse?” He kissed the top of her head.

“The sky, Lilo.”

“Good one, kiddo,” he said, fixing her hair.

“You have somethin’ for Min?” She smiled big up at him.

“Minnie!” I said.

He held up a hand to stop me from correcting her. “Don’t I always?”

Yeah, he brought her something every Sunday. Sometimes chocolate. It meant more than just something sweet for her to enjoy. The gift was meant for me too. It was symbolic.

She twisted her upper body, doing an odd little dance. He grinned as he turned away from her to reach into the back seat. His hand came out holding a black and white bunny. Its little ears twitched.

Minnie narrowed her eyes at it before her mind seemed to register what it was. A second later, she screeched and went to grab for the little thing. Lilo pulled it back subtly, then bent down to get eye level with her.

“Easy,” he said, running a finger over its head. “It’s only a baby.”

“Baby,” she breathed out. She watched him for a second before she started copying him.

“Good job, Minnie Mouse,” he said. “Remember to be gentle.”

“Min’s?”

“Yours,” he said.

“We can’t—”take it because of HoffaI went to say, but he cut me off.

“It’s hers. She can visit it anytime she wants. At the gym.”

My eyes narrowed and I stood taller, anger rushing out the biting butterflies. Even if he felt it, he didn’t acknowledge it. He was too busy paying attention to Minnie and her—his—bunny.

His eyes rose to meet mine when laughter barreled out of my mouth. He didn’t comment on that, either, because he knew what the source of it was. Absurdity. Like he lured Minnie over here with the prospect that this baby animal would be hers, he was luring me in with my sister. I wasn’t thinking highly of myself—that had nothing to do with it. But I knew him. He wanted an excuse to get me close to his hunting ground.

An excuse to trap me again.

We’d just have to make it work with the bunny and Hoffa.

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