Page 62 of Beautiful Revenge

I get the bottle open and pop back two pills. “Aiden thought I was trying to kill his pregnant wife so he shot me. Can’t say I blame him for that.”

“But…”

“But I blame him for it.” I set the bottle on the counter with a sigh. “He fell in love with Elena two years ago now. I was fucking pissed with him for it. It meant he was ruining everything. Everything we had built together. He stopped being a hitman so he could be someone Elena could be proud of. So he left me in the fucking dirt and never looked back.”

“He fell in love.” Aria’s voice is soft. “You can’t be mad at him for that.”

“I am. I’m still mad. I lost my brother the moment he decided to marry Elena. And now he fucking shot me because of her.”

“What if it had been you to fall in love?”

I stare at Aria sharply. “What?”

“If you had been the one to fall in love and your brother was trying to kill the woman you loved, you would shoot him too, wouldn’t you?”

“But I’m not the one who fell in love. I’ve never been in love. I’m not in love.”

“I know.” Her face flushes. “I was just saying. He’s just trying to protect Elena. Maybe you need to learn to let it go.”

I stand up and tower over her. It’s a dick move to do but in this moment, I don’t care. “Don’t tell me how to feel when it comes to my brother. You don’t have siblings. You don’t know.”

“You’re right. I’m a spoiled princess who’s been catered to my entire life. But I can tell that your brother is a sore spot for you and that he’s eating away at you.”

“Shouldn’t that make you happy? You want me dead, don’t you?”

“Of course.” There’s not as much conviction in her tone as there usually is. “I’m just saying.”

“Right.” I eye her over. “You’re wearing my shirt again.”

“I didn’t want to be naked.”

“Shame. I like seeing you naked.”

She narrows her eyes and backs up a step. “You say those things to me when you’re trying to deflect from what we’re really talking about. You know that, don’t you?”

“I’m allowed to compliment my wife.”

“The wife that you don’t love because you’ve never been in love before.”

I flash her a smile. “Exactly.”

She sighs and slumps against the counter. “Finn, what are we doing here? You can’t honestly think you can keep me locked up forever. You got shot today. You’re not invincible. You’ll die. And what if you die when I’m locked up? No one knows where I am. I could die of starvation in that room if you don’t come back.”

“Then it’s a good thing I always come back. I’m a hard man to kill. And I’m not letting you go for anything. You’re mine now.” I grab her face and she doesn’t pull back. She doesn’t even fight it.

“I never agreed to be yours.”

“When you married me, you did.”

“You forced me into it.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Staring down into her beautiful face, I know I have to kiss her. I’ve been avoiding it. Kissing is too intimate. Too personal. But fuck, I want to kiss Aria more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. I want it even more than I want to take Dante down.

“If it were me,” she says, “that your brother was threatening to kill, would you kill him to save me?”

“Don’t ask me that.”

“Why not? Because you’d kill your brother for me? Or because you would let me die?”

---