Page 90 of Of Desire And Deception

“I’m sorry I let you down.” My tears fell into the snow as I let out everything I’d kept bottled up inside. “I tried too hard to make you proud, but I failed, and I don’t know what I’m going to do now. He’ll find me wherever I go, and I don’t think I can push him away again. I’m not strong like you, Dad. I’m not as good.”

The wind picked up, and I twisted the bottle off the whiskey with numb fingers. “You loved this shit. Better it goes here than down Mom’s throat.”

I took a swig of the alcohol, and it burned all the way down. Coughing, I dumped the rest of the bottle over the grave, silently toasting my father’s life. Then I trudged back to my car, wiping my eyes and finding some tissue to blow my nose before reluctantly heading out of town.

There was nothing left for me in New York. My Dad was gone, and my mother might as well have been dead.

Cup after cup of coffee got me back to Chicago. I hadn’t slept for three days and stumbled as I walked the last few feet to my apartment. Exhaustion had set in, and I told myself I could sleep when I made it to my bed. It took me three tries to unlock the door, but finally, I was in, kicking off my shoes and dropping my purse and coat on the floor because I couldn’t be bothered to take care of them.

Even through my fatigue, I sensed him. The scent of leather and industrial cleaner. The fresh bouquet of peonies sitting in the center of my table. I was too tired to run or fight, too empty to resist. So I stood there, immobile, waiting.

My wary eyes met Cosimo’s dark, fathomless gaze as he emerged from my room, leaning his bulk against the door frame, dominating the space like he owned it. Owned me.

Because he did.

My shoulders slumped, and I surrendered.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Remi left. To see her mother, if the tracking device on her car was working properly. Which it was. She didn’t even think to look for one. I’d have to talk to her about being more careful in the future. My family—now her family—had enemies that would take advantage of any oversight.

“Cosimo.” My twin’s voice cut through my thoughts. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I murmured, checking the map again. “Just checking something.”

“Is it her?”

“Yeah.” He’d find out soon enough. Dante brought him in on the call because he feared I wasn’t telling him everything. “She left town.”

“Will that be a problem?” he asked cautiously.

“No, I’ll go get her if I need to.”

“I don’t suppose telling you to let her go will make a difference,” he intoned.

I laughed humorlessly. “Would anybody have been able to stop you from claiming your wife?”

“Not a chance in hell,” he answered immediately. “I’d kill any fucker who tried to keep her away from me.”

“Then you get how I feel.” I glance at the screen to see him stroking the stubble on his jaw. “I’ll give Remi this trip, since her mother is in New York. When she returns, I won’t let her go again. She has a lot to answer for.”

“No more dungeons,” Dante warned. He leaned back in his chair, tapping his finger on the rim of his glass.

I rolled my eyes at him. “That was one time.”

“For nearly a month,” he retorted. “You’re not talking yourself out of this one. That was fucked up, even for you.”

“Fair enough.” I didn’t regret it, though. I’d do it all over again if it meant keeping Remi.

“You need to add a little finesse to your game,” Dante suggested. “Try something other than whips and chains.”

“I didn’t use whips.”

“You get the idea.” He looked to Niccolò. “You tell him. He’ll listen to you.”

Niccolò held his hands in the air. “I refuse to be responsible for anything that happens. Sometimes love is unconventional.”

Dante scoffed and choked on his drink. “That’s the understatement of the year when it comes to this situation.”

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