Page 114 of Broken Mafia Prince
My heart gives one hard, painful thump in my chest. “Not any more bloodstained than the father you would do anything for.”
Her eyes harden. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“That maybe you should take your father’s bullshit with a smaller pinch of salt,” I tell her. “If you really don’t want to run away from this world and want to stay here and face whatever shit it throws at you, then you should be asking more questions. I’m not the bad guy here, or at least, I’m not the only bad guy here.”
“Somehow, you think that that redeems you.”
“Fuck redemption. I’ve never wanted it, and you know it,” I tell her hotly. “I’m trying to protect you, for god’s sake. I am the only one whose every action has been for the sole purpose of making sure that you don’t get caught up in the crossfire, but maybe I’m wasting my time. You do seem to enjoy being a pawn in your father’s games.”
“I am not a fucking pawn, I know exactly what I’m doing,” she retorts.
“Really?” I raise one eyebrow. “That might just be worse.”
“Excuse me?” Hazel eyes light up, searing me with fire. I feel the heat of them like a physical thing against my skin, and for the first time since Giulia left me, the bone-deep coldness that’s become a part of me starts to dissipate. I feel myself thaw out, my body reveling in this new feeling, soaking up the warmth and gaining more life.
I confidently step toward her, and she scrambles backward, eyes wide with terror.
I halt at the look. “Christ, baby, don’t look at me like that. You know I’d never hurt you.”
“On the contrary, Raffaele, you’re the only one truly capable of hurting me,” she says, so quietly I barely hear her.
Just then, another cool breeze flutters through the land. The sun has long since set, and now the sky is a dull gray. The only illumination in the park is a single street light at a distance away. It’s enough to see the way her arms wrap around herself, trying to fight off the cold.
“Are you allergic to coats?”
Her only reply is an eye roll. Without another word, I head toward her.
“Don’t come any closer,” she whispers.
I ignore her, moving until I’m standing right in front of her. I begin to shrug my jacket off.
“Stop!” she barks, eyes as big as saucers.
“Believe it or not, this isn’t a marriage proposal. You’re cold, you need this,” I point out.
“I never said it was a marriage proposal.”
“Then stop being so goddamn stubborn and accept the jacket.”
“When have you known me not to be stubborn?” she snaps back. “I don’t want your jacket. I’m fine, and in fact, if this discussion is over, I think I’ll be on my way.” She turns to walk away and then trips over a loose rock. Unbalanced by her four-inch stilettos, she starts to fall.
In the blink of an eye, I leap forward and wrap my arms around her body, pulling her into me. “How did I forget that you’re such a danger magnet?”
She stares up at me through wide eyes, silent. Eventually, she speaks up, but what she says next makes me wince. “Let me go, Raffaele.”
I know that the words mean more than just letting her go of her in this moment.
“I don’t know if I can,” I confess. “Especially now that I know that you’re making a mistake tying yourself to Alessandro.”
“It’s not a mistake.”
“You’re selling yourself, and what’s worse, you’re selling yourself short.”
“I know what I’m doing,” she repeats, but the words lack certainty.
“Do you?”
She opens her mouth to respond, but the words never come out. There’s an unreadable emotion behind her eyes, beneath the confusion and fear. I want to take all those things out and replace the look in her eyes with extreme joy, but I can’t do that if she won’t let me.
