Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
I’m too numb to respond, and it’s at this point that Damian seems to realize he might be next.
“I had nothing to do with that.” He takes a step back and holds up his hands. “All that shit happened way before I came along.”
“True,” Ares agrees. “But you did beat my cousin and try to kill her, which really doesn’t seem like a fair match.”
Damian opens his mouth to speak, but Cristian cuts him off.
“He doesn’t get a quick death, and I’ll be the one who gives it to him.”
“Fair enough.” Ares’s mouth twitches.
Tension ripples through the Vitales, and I can tell they thought that was too easy. Ares negotiates everything. So for him to hand Damian over without a discussion, he must have a bigger plan.
Cristian nods at his brothers, and Romeo and Rafe stalk toward Damian.
Damian reaches for his weapon, but before he can draw it, Ares pistol-whips him in the back of the head and knocks him to the ground.
Rafe and Michele secure his hands behind his back and pull him to his feet a minute later. But I stop them as they’re hauling him away.
“Wait a second.”
Cristian tracks me with his gaze as I step forward and peer into Damian’s soulless eyes.
“Ask me to save you.”
His jaw tics as he glances at the men around me, probably wondering if this might actually work. When they give him nothing, self-preservation seems to outweigh his pride.
“Tell them to let me go, Katarina. I know you don’t want this on your conscience.”
I almost laugh at the irony of him talking about a conscience when he doesn’t even know what that is.
“Do you remember when I asked you to save me?”
Indignation sparks in his eyes, and I know if he could, he’d hurt me right now.
“I begged you to stop it,” I remind him. “But you ignored every plea I made to you. So why the fuck do you think I would ever waste my breath to save a coward like you?”
“I’m the coward?” His nostrils flare. “You couldn’t even handle a few hours of discomfort without crying about it like a goddamned baby.”
I feel Cristian’s presence behind me, ready to put an end to this, but I shake my head. I knew I wouldn’t get an apology from Damian. I also know he’ll pay for what he’s done. But I want to give him one last parting gift before he goes.
I take another step closer and drive my knee up into his groin as hard as I can. All the men collectively groan as he doubles over and heaves like a dying animal.
When he finally looks up at me, his eyes are watering, and I offer him a sweet smile.
“Aww…it’s okay, Damian. You don’t have to cry about it. It will only hurt for a few hours.”
Cristian wraps his arms around me from behind and presses his lips to my ear as his brothers drag Damian off.
“There’s my good girl.”
I glance up at him, and for a moment, it’s easy to forget everyone else around us. Then Ares has to go and ruin it with his big mouth.
“Who would have thought we’d ever see this day?” he muses. “A Vitale willing to go to war for a Greek woman.”
Cristian meets his gaze, and while he’s controlled as always, there’s an undercurrent of tension in his body.
“In fact,” Ares continues, “I recall you famously saying that you’d sign your own death certificate before—”
“I know what I said,” Cristian answers tersely. “And yes, I regret it. Happy?”
“Getting there.” Ares smirks. “You must care an awful lot about her to sacrifice your deal with Bastien.”
“Just spit it out,” Cristian says. “What will it take for you to sign off on this?”
“I have some thoughts.” Ares’s eyes glitter with satisfaction.
“Surely, you can’t be talking about a marriage contract.” I glance between them.
“Yes, my dear cousin, I’m afraid that is how this works.”
“But you aren’t my father,” I argue.
“No, I’m not. But seeing as I’ve taken on responsibility for you, it’s up to me to give my stamp of approval. Otherwise, it turns into rather messy business, and I know none of us want to go to war if we can help it.”
His threat hangs heavy in the air, and I can’t help but feel conflicted. Because I know if it weren’t for Ares, I wouldn’t be here right now. I owe him my life. I just didn’t expect that he would use me as a pawn, though I guess I should have.
In this light, it’s hard to argue that all the things the Vitales have said about him aren’t painfully accurate. He’s a notorious schemer, and now I understand why he told me I’d turned out to be a good long-term investment. He saw this coming, and he just sat back and waited for the perfect moment to make his opportunistic strike.