Page 153 of With Us

“Your Highness,” he greeted with a small smile, his dimples deep. His lips may have been curved in a smile, but there was no humor or amusement in his eyes. The fire in them burned brighter than before, as if we’d been separated for years and not hours.

Removing the crown and boa I’d forgotten about, I stood.

He might be king of the mafia, but it’s my time to be a badass queen.

Chapter Twenty-One

Monster

Theo

Gone was the unmasked joy and open affection Dahlia had always greeted me with. In its place, I’d found wary apprehension when I’d picked her up from Julie’s.

Hesitation and sadness had slowed her every movement.

She’d remained silent in the car ride home, her head resting against the window.

As I opened the front door and disabled the alarm, Dahlia stood silently to the side. She tucked her hair behind her ear and fidgeted with her hoodie. It put me on edge, and I had no one to blame but myself.

“Would you leave?” she asked suddenly.

My brows lowered. “Now?”

“From your… business, I mean. Would you actually leave?”

I didn’t pause. “Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Her lips pursed to the side before she whispered, “Why?”

“Because I love you. I’m not going to say it’d be easy. All that, it’s in my blood. I was born and raised into it. From the time I learned about what my dad did, I knew I’d take over one day. Stepping aside and letting all the responsibility fall on someone else wouldn’t be easy.” I cupped her cheek, tilting her face up. “But it’d be worth it.”

Her eyes closed before she opened them again. This time, however, her spark was back. Flaring to life, she yanked herself away from me and put her hands on her hips. “So why lie? At first? Okay, I get that. But after we’d been together a while and were in love. Why not tell me then? At the very,veryleast, why didn’t you tell me before you turned yourself in?”

“Because I didn’t—”

“Want to lose me,” she finished. “So you’ve said. I just don’t get how prolonging the lies helped.”

Pushing my fingers through my hair, I shook my head. “Because I wanted to have time to talk to you about everything. Explain.”

“What? That you hurt people?Killthem?” She shook her head, reaching for the door.

And just like last time she threatened to leave, I lost it. Moving fast, I pressed her against the door with my body. Her lips parted, her eyes dilated, and she rubbed herself against me without even seeming to realize it.

“Fuck, Dahlia,” I cursed, my voice tight and pained, “you make it sound like I’m a fucking monster.”

“Maybe you are!” she snapped, her face twisting in anguish. “I don’t know you! You lie, and you hurt, and you manipulate. That’s notmyTheo.”

“It fucking is!” I shot back. My palms landed on the door, and I leaned down closer to her. “I may not have flat out told you, but can you honestly say you never noticed anything?”

She opened her mouth before closing it.

“That’s what I thought,” I muttered, earning a glare.

“Noticing you could be a little intense and intimidating is a hell of a lot different than knowing you hurt people.”

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