Chapter 16
One day. One fucking whole day that all I’m thinking about is her. Her awkward eyes, her innocent yet sinful moans as she pleasured herself after my command.
My eyes shut, her taste still clinging to my tongue—innocent, terrified, and utterly fucking mine. I see her again, spreading her knees in front of the mirror, fingers shaking as she touched herself.
I thought I just wanted to play the fucking hero and protect her—and kill her father—but it’s more than that.
It’s so fucked up. I can’t stop thinking about her.
Needing her. I want to bury myself so deep inside her she’ll never get me out, not even if she tried.
I want her swollen, sore, dripping with me. I want her fucking marked.
And it’s not enough.
I want her afraid to look at another man. I want her crawling back to me when she tries to leave. I want to leave my mark on every layer of her, so there’s nothing left of her that isn’t bound to me. Not just her body, but her mind. Her fucking soul.
I didn’t plan on this, but fuck, I’m already too far gone.
“I didn’t know we brought your pretty-boy ass here to rearrange the cutlery.” Wes’s voice snaps me back to reality.
I didn’t realize I had been pressing on the fork for so long until I bent it. Have I been daydreaming?
I’m screwed.
I toss the fork on the table and instantly sober up.
“I was picturing it was your spine,” I say, unwilling to continue his morning delirium once again.
He chuckles dryly, sipping his coffee. “Easy there, sweetheart. If imagining me gets you this worked up, people might start talking.”
Boris and Levi laugh at his stupid, mocking comment.
I click my tongue and lean further in my chair.
“Relax. Nobody’s wasting breath talking about you.”
“Do me a favor and go and fuck yourself,” he replies.
“After you, my dear.”
“Men. The way you two get under each other’s skin is practically foreplay,” Lorena says, savoring the words on her tongue.
Levi clicks his fork on his plate louder to silence her.
This woman is revolting. She cheats on her limp husband with that Levi freak, of all people, and actually thinks no one’s noticed. That’s not just pathetic; it’s suicidal. Honestly, I’m impressed they’ve managed to stay alive this long.
“What’s wrong with you?” she huffs, pulling the sleep mask off her head.
“What’s wrong with me?” Levi snarls, widening his eyes. “Why don’t you flirt with him a little more?”
As I said … Pathetic.
“I didn’t know you were my warden,” she snaps back, making a bigger fool of herself.
“Oh, you—”
“Enough!” Wes shouts, slamming his hand on the table. It’s strange. I never thought he cared. I always figured he was too much of an asshole for that.
That’s when dickhead Fabio waltzes in, stomping his cane like some bargain-bin Dracula, never wasting a chance to make a goddamn entrance.
He doesn’t talk to us; he goes straight for his chair at the head of the table.
Nothing about it is unusual. Maria pours his coffee like some obedient mutt, Boris straightens up like he’s terrified, Levi glares at him with pure loathing, and Lorena doesn’t give a damn. Just your typical mafia-ass family.
Now, everyone’s here. Almost …
Where the fuck is she?
My spine buzzes with panic at the thought that something might’ve happened to her. Her parents wouldn’t notice. They wouldn’t give a single shit. But I do. She’s mine to worry about, mine to protect. And if anyone touched her, I’ll …
And just like that, she walks into the kitchen, heavy and moody without glancing around.
Her long and thick hair is tucked into a low ponytail, revealing her pretty face.
She sits across from me, right beside Wes, and it’s enough to drive me insane. The obsession claws at my skull, boiling in my veins, just because someone else dares to breathe the same air as her. She shouldn’t be next to him. She shouldn’t be near anyone. She should only ever be mine.
“Hey,” she breathes softly, nodding at me.
Still awkward, baby, aren’t we?
“You came early,” Lorena mocks, rolling her eyes. “We’re about to finish.”
My anger’s been simmering since this morning. Without even noticing, I’m fidgeting with the knife on the table, imagining her face without eyes. Then she wouldn’t be able to see Isabella at all, or to envy her own fucking daughter.
“I wasn’t in the mood,” Isabella mumbles, taking a red apple and biting it.
“You’re never in the mood. No wonder everyone gets bored of you in five minutes.”
My jaw clenches hard, fingers twitching, begging for violence. Isabella just rolls her eyes, already tired of her mother’s poison spilling into every breath she takes. “Seriously, chew louder, Isi. Maybe that way, someone will finally notice you.”
The next thing I know, my knife is in the air, pinning Lorena’s apple a breath before her teeth touch it. Everyone gasps. Lorena’s eyes are wide, fixed on me, finally smart enough to look afraid.
“Itchy hands. It goes with disrespect towards my boss,” I say, grinning and leaning back.
“Have you lost your mind?” she squeals.
“Relax,” I say, eyes never leaving hers. “If I wanted you gone, you’d already be choking on your own blood. But Isabella doesn’t like mess on the table.”
Fabio slams his hand down hard enough to rattle the glasses. Boris and Levi don’t even look at each other, they just stand, chairs scraping back, and both level their guns at me.
“See, mistakes like today?” he says, tapping the table with one finger. “They have a way of spilling over into the people standing too close.”
His tone is light, almost bored. But every person in the room knows exactly who he’s talking about, because she’s right there ahead of me, and her breath catches.
A sharp chuckle slips out as I shake my head.
“I get it. Everyone here’s got their own game to run.” I shrug apathetically. “But here’s the thing about me, Fabio …” I click my tongue. “I’m a selfish bastard. And I don’t do ‘obedient employee’ the way you want.”
I lean in, elbows on the table, eyes locked on his.
“I don’t like people stepping on what’s mine. You touch my business again, and I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life wishing you’d stayed out of my way.” I smile sharply. “Trust me, you won’t enjoy the version of me that comes after that.”
Everyone in the room stays frozen—like they’re waiting to see who snaps first.
Fabio’s the one who moves. He takes his sweet time, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a cigar, acting like he’s some king instead of the parasite he is.
“Sit,” he says, lazy as hell.
But Boris and Levi don’t move an inch. They keep their eyes on me, guns raised, waiting for his next order.
Fabio exhales through his nose, annoyed, and flicks his fingers at them.
“Stand down, fucking idiots,” he shouts sternly.
They finally obey and sit down, their eyes dripping fury at both of us.
“Good boys,” I chuckle.
“What are you doing?” Isabella mouths, eyes wide.
“Fabio?” Lorena says dryly. As if I’m scared of him.
He doesn’t bother replying; he just lights a filthy cigar and taps the ash onto the floor. A moment later, Maria wipes it up like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“I heard you pulled a gun on some idiot who laid a hand on her.” He nods towards Isabella.
I sip my coffee, unbothered. “Yeah, and?”
“The cops were sniffing around for you because of that little stunt.”
“And?”
He blows the smoke. “I kicked them out. Told them you were just doing your job—doing it perfectly, in fact.” I can’t help the faint grin that slips out as I keep my eyes on her.
“You pulled off my objective, whereas useless shits can’t even handle the simplest task.
” His eyes dart lazily to Wes. “That’s the difference between being useful and being disposable. ”
Wes is furious, but, of course, he’s trying to keep it under control. Hell, I enjoy seeing him on the edge more than I thought. Probably it’s because he’s a dick, and he knows it. But what Calvano-fucker said makes me wonder, and I can’t help but simply ask.
“What was your objective?”
He sucks his cigar and blows the smoke before ashing it on the floor again. “No sane man will go near her.”
Isabella shrugs herself back and victimizes herself once more. It’s normal, I guess.
He’s not just protective or possessive; he’s a deranged piece of shit who wants to murder his own daughter and cut her off from everyone, so when he finally does it, no one’s left to stop him.
That’s where I draw the fucking line. I won’t let him touch her. If he thinks he’s going to take her from me, he’s dead wrong. I’ll kill him before I let him lay a hand on her. I’ll rip him out of her life completely, and then she’ll finally have no one left but me.
“Still with these obsessions,” Wes mumbles, diverting his eyes away from Fabio.
Calvano is calm; he doesn’t react right away. Then he takes out his gun and places it on the table. Wes looks at it as if he knows.
“Repeat what you just said, Wes,” Fabio says, exhaling his smoke.
“What?”
“Dad, no! Enough!” Isabella shouts, her eyes welling up.
Wes exhales and looks bravely into Fabio’s eyes. “I said that you sound obsessed,” he repeats, passing his arm over Isabella’s chair.
I snap up. I whistle and nod to him. “Pull this back, unless you want to take it back in pieces.”
“Relax, dude. I’m stretching.”
“Stretch away from her.”
“A masterpiece,” Fabio praises.
I guess being called obsessed didn’t bother him much.
“Can you calm the hell down?” Isabella cries as tears finally escape her dark blue eyes. She stands, pushing her chair back, and glares at me. “You’re just like him,” she says, nodding towards her father. “You’re an asshole who wants to boss people around.”
And then, she runs.