Chapter 16 #2
He climbs to his feet with a wince and low groan. “You really thought that I wasn’t going to come and check on you? Make sure you were alright? You really think so little of me, Rori?”
If looks could kill, he’d be dead twice over. How fucking dare he?
Rage bubbles, my hands trembling with the need to slam into any available part of him. “You arrogant asshole! You think I want you anywhere near me after what you’ve said? What you’ve done?”
He flinches. “I also owe you an apology,” he agrees stiffly.
“What I said, what I did, I should never have done it. Said it. Thought it. I was wrong. This whole thing with you, it…it messed me up. I’ve never had a reaction to a woman like you, and I fucked up, okay?
I really am sorry, and if I wasn’t, do you think I’d be risking my ass to be here?
To help you get the hell away from all of this? ”
“Is that what you think? That you’re going to waltz in, play hero, and whisk me away like some kind of gallant Italian knight to your castle? That I’ll just say, no harm, no foul, and we move the hell on as if nothing happened?”
He has the gall to shrug. “I mean, maybe not exactly, but that sounds better than us being angry with each other. And you can’t tell me that you want to be here. That you want to be a part of all this bullshit they have planned.”
He really wants me to hit him. Or shoot him. Maybe both.
“Then you are wasting your time,” I hiss, balling my fists at my side.
“Fuck you, Alonzo and whatever self-serving shit you’re trying to pull.
Do you understand the danger you have put me, put yourself in?
That you put Hades in? After I fucking told you to keep him with you. To keep him away from this shit.”
“I couldn’t leave him behind. Besides, Pietro told me to bring him.”
“Oh, your Don told you to bring him?” I want to smack Pietro too. I like him, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders, but in this instance, he’s no better than Alonzo. “Get out, Alonzo. I’m done with you. I have shit to prepare for, and you are going to get in my way.”
His expression twists into an angry scowl. “You mean we have shit to prepare for. You’re not the only one involved in this.”
I give a bitter laugh. “You fucking idiot. You were sent into the lion’s den and you don’t even realize it.
Do you really think that the Chameleon wants you to help with this?
No, they have their own agenda, and you’re allowing yourself to be manipulated and used, and eventually, you’re going to be dead.
Either by their hands or Ilya’s. He’s not just going to let another criminal syndicate be part of this and live. ”
“You think I don’t realize that? This is my fucking job. I do this shit all the time. A little trust would be nice.”
“Trust? You want me to trust you?”
He sighs. “Okay, fine, trust might not be the best word, but—”
“But nothing. You might deal with shit back home, Alonzo, but this isn’t something you’ve been trained in.
Do you know how to spot an assassin? To be ready for whatever they might send your way?
They are taught to blend into the shadows, to become someone else.
Even without any of that, you’re used to having your brothers, your friends, at your back.
There is nothing like that here. You have enemies all around you. ”
“Including you?”
The moment the words leave his mouth, I can tell he wants to snatch them back. They’re another slap, but this time, I expect it. This time, I absorb it, and I wrap it around me like a shield.
“Exactly like me.” I cock my head slightly.
“You thought that sex with me would purge me from your system. That’s what you said, right?
That you regretted it as soon as we were done?
Then, after I accepted that, I moved rooms so you wouldn’t have to be tempted by me again.
You just had to drive the knife in deeper, didn’t you?
Then it was that you didn’t trust me because you thought I was only using you to get in and find out the secrets your family and Nico were hiding, so I could sell those secrets back to the Russians?
That I was nothing more than their puppet and not worth your time? ”
“Rori, I—”
“Be quiet, Alonzo. You and I have nothing more to say to each other. I told you more than I should have, and I regret that.” His expression morphs into hurt, with another healthy dose of guilt, and even though I should be happy with it, it only hurts more.
“You don’t get to make me fall for you, trust you, and then gut me all in a short span.
You certainly don’t get to come running to the rescue when we both know that you’re only doing it to relieve your guilty conscience.
So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll take your men and get the hell out of here.
Go back to New York or Italy, I don’t care.
You and me, we’re done, Alonzo. You killed it before it even started, and depending on how things go, you may never have to worry about me again. ”