Matteo #2
On the way there, I can’t help it when my eyes flit over to her occasionally as I drive.
I usually like silence. It gives me space to think. Especially considering I’m taking the woman at my side to my home, when I’ve never brought anyone over before.
There’s also the matter of my son, whom she has no clue even exists.
It’s messy, and usually I don’t touch messes. I especially don’t create them. So why do I keep finding it hard to stay away from her?
The mansion has always been just for me and my son. We’ve rarely had anyone else over apart from family. And I can’t help but wonder if Leo would be opposed to having a house guest. I have no idea how he would react to Lindsay.
There’s always the Vitale estate, where Valentina and Salvatore live. I’m sure they wouldn’t be opposed to taking her in. But I can’t imagine letting her out of my sight.
I need her to be close to me. She’s mine to protect.
She shouldn’t be. Every inch of me wants to disagree but my heart and fuck it, my head wants nothing more than to keep her hidden. To ensure she’s far away from anything that would dare to hurt her.
As asinine as it is, I’ve begun to think of Lindsay Beaumont as mine.
I’m smart enough to know that’s a mistake. But I feel it all the same.
The city lights blur past the windshield, reflections shifting across the glass as we move farther from the center, into quieter streets, into territory that belongs to me. Lindsay shifts slightly in the passenger seat.
“What’s on your mind, Kitten?” I ask because her silence really grates on my nerves.
I prefer her feisty and mouthy. That way, I don’t have to guess what’s wrong with her.
There’s a challenge in her beautiful eyes and a comeback on those soft, pink lips.
“The person who shot my father.”
Right… Of course she’s wondering who was responsible. I would be, too.
She turns to look at me and I can feel the intensity of her blue eyes. The rage crackling beneath her spine. I think about her tears at the hospital. The way her body had shaken as I held her, and I feel her rage acutely as well.
“Do you know who it was?” she questions.
I shake my head, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Not yet. But I’ll find out.”
“And when you do?”
“I’ll take care of it,” I answer easily.
“No, you won’t,” she retorts.
“What?”
“I said you won’t do anything. I’ll take care of it. It’s my father he almost killed. My problem. I won’t let you kill anyone else for me, Matteo. I won’t be your excuse to act on your depravities.”
Her words settle between us sharply. My teeth clenched. Needing full concentration for this conversation, I turn the steering wheel to the side and stop the car roughly by the side of the road. I don’t miss Lindsay’s sharp exhale as I do.
When I turn to look at her, I notice the stubborn set of her jaw and the anger simmering in the depths of her blue eyes.
“Tell me, princess. Exactly how do you plan to take care of it?” I question.
“Legally,” she grits out. “I’m a prosecutor. I’ll send the bastard to jail till kingdom come.”
I tilt my head to the side, slide my hands into my pockets, and curl them into fists.
“You’re not na?ve, Lindsay. And you’re definitely not stupid so I know that can’t be it,” I start. “He took a shot at your father. The mayor. Not to mention he somehow managed to get onto the property and escape without being caught. This isn’t some small fry that you can simply throw in jail.”
“Which brings me to my next question,” she says. “Did you do it?”
My blood heats beneath my skin. “You did not just fucking ask me that.”
“If it wasn’t you, then one of your brothers?
You said it yourself. It had to have been someone with enough power to pull it off.
Be honest, Matteo. Maybe you’re doing it to punish me.
Or maybe it’s not about me at all. He didn’t follow up on a deal or he refused to do something for you, so you decided to take him out. ”
On some level I can recognize that she’s simply lashing out. She knows it wasn’t us, she just needs someone to be angry at right now. I could take it all laying down. Be the object of all her frustration and anger.
I’m just not built that way.
“Trust me, Lindsay, if I wanted your father dead, he’d be fucking dead right now.”
She tenses, her glare sharpening even more.
“Why did you comfort me at the hospital?” she asks, and there’s no avoiding the slight quiver in her voice. I realize she’s especially angry about that because she let me see a crack in her facade. She let me see her weak and she hates that.
“Why did you tell my father you’d keep me safe?”
“Because I’m going to keep you safe,” I grit out.
“Don’t. Just stop, alright? I don’t need you, Matteo, and I don’t want you in my life,” she says. “I do not want you to keep me safe. I want an end to all of it. The texts, the sex, you always somehow turning up when I need you the most. I frankly want nothing to do with you!”
“This argument is getting tired, don’t you think?” I state, my patience wearing thin.
The woman is insufferable, and for a second I start to wonder if she’s worth all of this. If I wouldn’t be better off without her and her presence.
I feel a strong dangerous current rippling underneath the surface of my skin. There’s only so many times a person can tell you they want nothing to do with you before it starts to sink in. I clench my fists even tighter.
“That’s exactly my point as well. I’m tired, Matteo. Every time I’m with you, it feels like I’m fighting an internal battle. Wrestling with myself. I want so badly to not think about who you are. But then you go ahead and blatantly tell me that you would murder someone for me.”
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of flaying the skin off whoever’s responsible before strangling them to death,” I drawl.
A muscle ticks in her jaw. “I hate you, Matteo. And I’m not going to your home. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
“If I disgust you so much, maybe you should!” I snap.
She rolls her eyes and, after shooting me one last glare, she wrenches the door open and steps out of the car.
For a moment, I don’t move. I simply watch as she starts walking away.
We’re in the middle of nowhere and the only house for miles is mine at the end of the narrow road. I could leave her alone to figure it out. Let her walk until she grows tired.
But it’s already dark and there’s no telling who’s ready to die tonight.
And it’s that. The thought that she could be in danger. That’s what has me climbing out of my car. I let out a soft growl as I follow her. When she’s within reach, I grasp her wrist, whirling her around so she’s facing me.
“Get in the car, Lindsay,” I say tiredly.
She rips her arm out of my grasp. “Screw you, Matteo. Screw all of this.”
“I’ll stop,” I state, which causes her to pause in confusion. “Since you want me to stay away from you so badly, I’ll stop all of it. You won’t have to worry about being confused or being disgusted by me. Just let me take you to my home where you’ll be safe, alright? I promise to back off.”
She considers my words, her ire deflating.
“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” I ask. “For me to leave you alone. You want to ignore whatever it is you feel for me. Avoid any possibilities of us.”
Her expression hardens. “That’ll be a little hard to do if we live in the same house.”
“You’ll barely see me, I can assure you. And you won’t have to talk to me either. Just get in the car.”
She pauses for a breath before nodding once. I let her walk in front of me. A part of me wants to throw her over my shoulder, force her to acknowledge the attraction she’s trying so hard to fight.
But to what end?
I don’t fucking know what I want from her.
I just know she can’t be out of my sight.
And now that I’ve effectively promised to stay away from her, maybe the distance will bring some clarity.