Page 270 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I don’t have long to get this out.

“I came here to apologize for missing our date,” I say.

Her eyebrows shoot upward. “Seriously? It wasn’t that big a deal.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Really.”

She twists her ponytail around her finger and takes a step backward, a smirk on her face. “It’s not like I don’t have guys hitting on me all the time.”

“Ouch. I came here to apologize. Now you’re just kicking me while I’m down.”

“You didn’t have to make the trip. You could have found me at the restaurant.”

“You’re right, but then I’d have had to wait to see you again. And you aren’t working tonight.”

Her eyes pop open even wider. “Wait, who told you that?”

“The girl who answered the phone when I called the bar.”

“You called, asking for me? So, what are you, some kind of stalker? You figured you gave me that tip and now you’re entitled to…” she stumbles over a branch as she takes another step away from me. “Hey, wait a minute. Did they tell you where I live? How would you even know?—?”

“I make it a point to find out what I need to know when I’m interested in a woman, Marchella,” I murmur. I don’t move toward her because right now, she’s like a petrified little animal. One false move, and she’ll dart.

And I don’t feel like running any longer.

I need her to stay right here.

With me.

I’ve never felt this conflicting tug of emotions before, and I don’t know if I ever will again. What I do know is that Marchella is my bargaining piece. And as much as I want her to be anything but, I can’t change the circumstances.

Hersormine.

I have to save face.

I have to prove my worth to the organization.

And I cannot fucking crack!

I stare at her, watching her expression soften the tiniest bit. “I have a can of pepper spray in my pocket. I will use it if you come too close.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I say.

This is one-hundred percent true.

If this was another life and we didn’t have a history, I’d have wanted to hunt her down and violate her in as many ways as I could imagine, all while her asshole brother watched, tied up and gagged. I would have wanted to punish her, all because she’s an extension of Frankie, the man who completely fucking emasculated me in the eyes of the underworld.

And my own family.

I would have wanted to make an example of her, of both of them.

But it isn’t a different life, and all of the feelings that percolated last night…all of the X-rated fantasies…came bubbling to the surface once again.

I have to hurt her. There’s no way around it.

Once I move forward with my plan, she’ll hate me forever.

And for us, forever was never an option for anything more.

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