Page 61 of Pretty Poison

Something within me begs to know more about her. I know very little about her—she has a spitfire attitude, she needs to feel included, and I know how easily she can distance herself after someone’s mistake or betrayal. I don’t want to become another person she pushes herself away from because of the actions I took long before I even met her.

It’s my job to see this through to the end and if her brother is innocent, he’ll be released with as much of an apology as I can give. But if he’s proven guilty, she won’t like or agree with the action I decide will be his punishment—his death.

Is it wrong of me to want to do right by her? To change my ways, only doing what’s right? I’ve done things I’m not proud of, sure, but to keep her, I’ll try absolutely anything. I may have told her it’s too late to change, but to keep her, I’m willing to let her love and carefree attitude help guide me.

“What time is it?” she asks in a soft, croaky voice.

“Shh,” I whisper, placing a kiss on her head. “Go back to sleep.”

She hums, nuzzling further into my neck. She’s as close as she can get, and yet she’s still trying to get even closer, almost as if she’s trying to crawl into my skin to be a part of me.

The scent of her vanilla and spiced amber perfume floods my senses. That’s something I hadn’t noticed smelled so good, but the moment I smell it, I picture her in my mind. She’s here in my arms, but the scent is so strong that I see two of her—the one in my arms and another in my mind, dressed in a long sleek black dress that kisses each of her curves. It’s not something I’ve seen her in, but now that I’ve imagined it, I want to see her in nothing but that for the rest of my godforsaken life.

Twenty Seven

LIANA

It’s been a week… A full week of being Mrs Vitale and already, I feel more at home here than I ever did with Gabriel. Dario’s done everything in his power to make me feel comfortable, even throwing me a bone or two when they’re amidst their regular sibling banter. I feel like I’m no longer an outsider to their secrets, their love or their silly little fights. And even though I have everything I could ever want, I still feel like something’s missing from my life.

Every spare moment I have, I spend with Apollo and Ace in their new cell. It’s like they were never apart. They continue to bicker and bite each other’s heads off, even in their hellish conditions, almost as if they feel no change in their friendship. And lucky for me, I get to watch it all, and then head back to my doting husband.

It’s a strange feeling to be wanted,needed… He never makes me doubt his love for me. It’s like as soon as we exchanged wedding rings and vows, a new and improved version of Dario appeared, making it almost impossible to hate him. While I still hold a grudge against him for what he’s done to my brother and Savio, he shows such deep regret in his leniency to them, that I can’t stand to hate him. He may be a bad man, but since I’ve been around, it seems that man is fading away, being replaced by one influenced by love.

Kissing Dario’s cheek, I say goodbye and briskly walk to the Soldier’s House. Dario’s stuck in a meeting where I’m not needed, so, as usual, I’m spending my free time with the guys.

All I want is for them to remember something—anything that will help set them free—but even with the aliases Ciro presented to them, their memories are still foggy. Out of the dozens of names he found, they vaguely remembered two. They were the two with the least amount of activity in their backgrounds. It’s possible they were only used once, which doesn’t give us much to go on.

Approaching their cell, I hear their muffled laughter from behind their door and a smile widens on my face as I open it. I watch as they both retreat from each other as far as their chained legs will let them, blood smeared across their fresh white shirts.

“What the fuck are you two doing?!” The words come out as a high-pitched whine as I take long strides towards them. My legs feel weak and my adrenaline skyrockets as their heads whip in my direction.

“He started it,” Ace says defensively, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

“He’s a fucking liar,” Apollo says, mischief in his voice and wicked smile spreading across his lips.

“I don’t care who started it; I care who threw the first punch. So who was it?”

Quickly, they both point fingers at each other, a soft laugh passing through their lips.

“Like children,” I mutter under my breath. “Like two fully grown fucking children.”

“Why don’t you join us, Lia?” Ace says. “Like old times.”

“I’m not a child anymore and this visit isn’t to catch up on lost time,” I say, forcing back the urge to knock them on their asses like I used to. “I need you two level-headed for a minute. I need you to think back and remember.”

“Remember what exactly?” Apollo asks.

“Anything,” I say, exasperated. “Those two names you pointed out had shorter files than most, meaning there’s nothing that ties them to what we need to find the man we’re looking for. We need you to remember more.”

“So it’s ‘we’ now?” Apollo scoffs. “You’ve been married a week, Liana, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

I tilt my head back at his words. “Where’d that come from?”

“I’m your family, not him, but all of a sudden you two are a ‘we’? Tell me, what have I missed in my time away?”

“You left me to chase a fantasy with Ares,” I spit, my right eye twitching through the anger. “You chose to leave your ‘family’ to be with someone you’d known for a few months. You were supposed to protect me and instead, you only cared about yourself and your future with him. Well, I guess if you lost one and threw away the other, you weren’t much of a man, were you?”

His jaw clenches, but he says nothing, determined to keep his harsh words to himself.

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