Page 58 of Venomous Vows

Damn.

He really is in his mafia game. Not that I didn’t think he was before, but therewasa message and Adrian knew exactly what to expect.

“I’d…honestly have to think about it.”

He frowns. “Why?”

I lightly press my lips together and feel a bruise forming along my right cheek from the backhand I took from one of the guys. “I may…have said some things.”

The glower that just wrapped around my throat only alludes to the fact that Adrian’s presence alone isn’t all that’s dangerous. “Like?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Remember,” Adrian orders. “Because I’m gonna need to make sure all those fuckin’ threats are?—”

“I’m okay,” I convey as softly as I can. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“How many?” He rises to his feet and towers over me, ignoring my natural way of trying to calm him down. “What did they look like? How many of them fuckin’touchedyou?”

“I have security cameras in the house, Adrian,” I mutter, dropping my gaze to my lap. Exhaustion has been waving over my head and I do hurt. Not only did a few guys punch me at the same time, and I was scared, I can only think to sleep this off before anxiety grips me. “You can have the footage.”

Adrian doesn’t reply, and I wish he’d leave. There’s nothing more complex and nerve-racking than Adrian Bernardi. Just the sheer distance from him makes me crazy. I’ve always felt insignificant around him. Below par. Someone who could never reach his level because he was the eldest son of a powerful man and I was the neighbor who wouldn’t fuck off because I wanted to hang out with his brother.

And now I’m back to being a pain in his ass.

“How bad does it hurt?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t.”

It does, but I’mnotgoing to the hospital. I have a splitting headache, my ribs hurt, and I think I busted my knuckles on someone’s head.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

He sounds almost disappointed that I hadn’t, but I’m not his soon-to-be wife anymore.

And he thought I was the slow one, a blockhead.

“Marcella called because she was freaking out. Not me. I would’ve waited untilafteryour dinner plans.”

The crook of Adrian’s finger dips underneath my chin and he coaxes my head up to look at him. The more he forces me to acknowledge his presence, the more I want to kick him in the balls. “What makes you think someone else has already taken your spot,piccola diavola? You’re still runnin’ me ramped around here.”

“I wasn’t trying?—”

“I know,” he replies, lightly brushing the pad of his thumb along my jaw. “You can’t stay here, you know.”

I cock my head to the side because we’re not about to do all that right now. “But I am. You’re getting a wife, Adrian. I’m not getting myself involved in all that.”

“You’re already involved. They just attacked my woman.”

A scoff leaves my lips before I have the opportunity to stop it. “I’m not your woman,” I retort, scrunching up my nose. “And you don’t have to do all this. I need to call my dad and?—”

“I’ll handle your father,” Adrian interjects, holding my face more firmly in his grip. “You need ice for that lip and a doctor to check for the shit you’re not gonna tell me about freely.”

“I don’t need?—”

“I don’t have to look at the security tapes to know that they didn’t hit you just once, Elena. They’re a bunch of fuckin’ punksand now I got their number. I will tear them apart for stomping on my ground and touching what is mine.”

I’d argue the latter, but what’s the point? The sooner he gets out what he needs to get out, the sooner he shuts up.

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