Page 74 of When Sinners Dare

The pain in my hand is nothing like the pain I feel in my heart. Dante’s words are like the poison I’ve always managed to keep at bay, but now it’s rushing through every fibre of my body like a dirty oil slick. The darkness in the hall doesn’t hide the look Dante’s giving me. This is the man that everyone else fears. This is the Dragon.

“Dante, I can’t fucking keep you and Kai in check. Leave it!” Knox shouts, as Dante grabs my arm and shoves me into the wall.

“Mariana!” Kai yells, but I ignore him and the noise of thrashing and grunts from behind me.

I stare at him, and for the first time in my life, I don’t see the man I’ve always looked up to. I don’t see the man who’s risked so much to protect me, either. Well, fuck him. Fuck them. I’m tired of the hoops, jumps, and all the rest of the shit that comes with trying to be in this family. Abel’s put Lexi on a throne, and nobody would ever challenge her. We raced to her rescue when needed. Nobody is stopping her from living on her own, making her own choices. And as for Dante, he’s got his Wren, even though she’s not even part of the family, yet he threatened war to save her. It’s only me that has to fight for scraps and is dictated to at every turn.

Wren.

“Give me your fucking keys,” I shout in Dante’s face.

“Fuck you.”

“I don’t have a goddamned car. And I’m not listening to you anymore. I want a fucking shower and to wash this place from my skin,” I lie.

“Oh, just take mine.” Knox throws his keys towards me, but they land at my feet. Dante’s still got a grip on my shoulders.

“I’ll take you home,” Kai offers, and it kills me to not take him up on that offer. Half of my heart just wants to grab him and go, find his bike, and let him take me out of all of this.

But I am a Cortez. I scoff to myself in my head, still fighting for the name despite everything.

“No.” I stare at Dante, but I can feel my body starting to vibrate. “Get the hell off me. I’m going. On my own.” He releases me with a shove of riled aggression, and I snatch the keys and run back up the way Chance brought me in through. I ignore the shouts and calls from Kai and Knox.

Bursting out into the night, I stop and take a deep breath of the cool air, gasping as if I’ve been suffocating since entering the building with Chance. I clench my jaw and jump into Knox’s car to head out in the direction of Dante’s apartment. What have I got to lose? He’s made it clear I’ll never live up to the expectation of what they want from me. Or, I’ll never have anything on my own terms. Well, fuck them all.

The drive doesn’t calm me down. All I can see is Dragon’s face. The evil behind his eyes and the hurt I felt as if each of his words were a blow to my body. It's worse than the pain of the cuts the men inflicted on me when I was a child.

My eyes sting as my tears run unchecked down my face, and the sobs I’ve been forcing away finally reach the surface. Heavy chokes shake my body as I let it all out.

Dante’s spent all my life protecting me, yet now he’s ready to feed me to Chance? To prove a point?

I park in his underground garage and use my access to go up to Dante’s apartment and start pounding on the door. My right hand begins to burn, but I keep it up.

“What the? Mariana? What? Is everything okay?” Her voice is soft and full of sleep and concern.

I push past her and barge inside.

“Oh my god, are you okay? Your dress? Your face? What happened? Is Dante okay?” She starts firing off the questions.

“You know, no. Not everything is okay, and it rarely is being in this family.” I head to the wet bar in the living room, wiping the snot and tears from my face with my arm, and grab a bottle of vodka and pour a shot.

“Mariana, you’re scaring me. Come on. Tell me what’s going on.” She wraps the robe around her like she’s cold.

I turn around and face Wren. Fear is written all over her face.

Why would he run to save her – kill for her – and leave me in the hands of a psycho?

“Do you love him?”

“Of course. What kind of question is that?”

“Would you love him no matter what? No matter what he’s done or what he does.”

“Yes. Mariana, did something happen? Just tell me.” She shouts as she wrings her hands together.

“We are nothing like you think. We are so much worse.” I start and turn around for another drink.

“I don’t understand. Who? Please, Mariana, the fun’s over. Is Dante okay?”

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