Page 81 of Brutal Vows

“No,” Loretta growls.

“Da. I told you I take you,” Viktor says.

I push past the two guards waiting just out of sight of the door camera and wand the keycard.

The door beeps.

Livia’s shout cuts off abruptly as I slam the door open with my entire body, flinging her into the wall. Before she crumples to the ground, I lunge forward, intending to grabmia gattina, but she headbutts Viktor’s Adam’s apple and drops to the ground.

Remembering how painful our meeting was—her first punch was to my throat—I applaud her ingenuity and aim my muzzle at his face.

He snarls and lifts Loretta by her braid. She digs her nails into his opposite wrist, preventing him from reaching for the weapon on his belt.

I shoot him in the shoulder twice before yanking Loretta’s braid out of his fist and wrapping my arm around her stomach. She white-knuckles his wrist and snarls.

I lift her off her feet and pull her away from him before I bury two more bullets into his opposite shoulder.

He reaches for his holster.

I empty my magazine into his stomach.

The floor shakes as he thuds to the ground.

Blood and entrails splatter all over the walls, hardwood floor, and rug. When he coughs, chunks or dark crimson spew from his mouth.

Loretta jerks away from me. I let her go, stalk to the gurgling man, and strip him of his weapons.

A feminine groan pulls my attention to the foyer. Livia clutches her head and props herself up on the wall. Loretta looms over her with her fists clenched at her sides.

“I gave you my kidney and part of my liver. You’re alive because of me,” Loretta says.

Livia scoffs and looks up at her identical twin.

“I’m in hell because of you. All you’ve ever done was get in my way,” she sneers.

“How could I have been in your way when I gave you so much space? You knew how much I needed physical contact and you used it like a weapon.” Loretta steps closer when Livia shifts, preventing her from standing. “I went years without a hug. Months with no human touch. Not even a handshake. Do you know how much that hurts?”

The pain in her voice etches itself into my soul, and worry worms its way into my heart.

Were her intense reactions with me only because she was touch deprived?

Did she pull me into her bed and drape my body over hers only because she was desperate? Would she have let anyone with a dick take her virginity on her kitchen counter?

I know the answer before it even finishes forming in my mind.

No. She wouldn’t.

Mia gattinais too strong-willed and fierce to accept less than what she deserves. Her sister wouldn’t have had a chance at controlling her without the trauma of her childhood holding her down.

Livia gives Loretta a disgusted once-over.

“Of course I don’t know how that feels. I’m not stupid enough to need someone else’s approval to live my life,” she says.

“But you’d follow Julieta? You’d choose her over me?”

“Yes. Again and again.”

“You always have, haven’t you?” Loretta asks in a tone so cold it rivals my interrogation voice.

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