“He IS!” Siena whirls on me, her eyes blazing. “Matti told me Vin said something on the phone the other day, something about thanking you with his cock. I thought Matti wasjoking, Sophie! There’s no way you’d be that stupid!”
Stupid?Am I stupid for wanting him? For craving the way he uses me, hurts me, makes me feel like I’m the only thing in his world even when he’s calling me his whore?
“You don’t understand,” I say quietly.
“Wait. Are you still fucking him? How?” She exchanges a baffled glance with Giovanna. “How is that even possible? That’s not even a thing with Vin, like not even a possibility.”
“It’s hard to explain,” I sigh.
“Try!” Siena drops back into her chair, breathing hard. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re letting a man who willneverlove anyone but himself use you for food, a place to hide, and a place to come because he’s got nothing better to do.”
Every word cuts like a knife, precise and painful. And every word is true.
“Siena,” Giovanna murmurs. “Maybe—”
“No. It’s not just that he’s an asshole.” Siena’s voice goes cold. She reaches across the table and grabs my hand, her grip tight. “Sophie, listen to me. Aurelio is looking for Vin, actively hunting him. Do you know what Aurelio did to me when he wanted to hurt Matti?”
I know the story. Everyone knows the story. But I shake my head, because Siena needs to tell it.
“He kidnapped me.” Her voice is flat, emotionless. “He drugged me, tied me to a board, and tried to rape me in front of Matti.”
My stomach turns to ice, and Giovanna closes her eyes softly for a moment. I know she’s had her own struggles with Aurelio. He had her kidnapped and held her for months.
“He would have done it, too. If I hadn’t broken his nose and stabbed him in the dick with a fire poker.” She laughs, a hard dry sound.
I sit very still, thinking of the scar I left on Aurelio’s face. I bet he hates how many scars the Bellamorte women have given him.
“That’s what he does to his sons, Sophie.” Siena’s grip on my hand tightens. “He finds what they love and he destroys it to hurt them. And if he finds out Vin is staying with you? If he even suspects Vin gives half a fuck about you? You won’t just be a target. You’ll be a weapon, and Aureliowilluse you to hurt him.”
“Vin doesn’t care about me.” The words come out before I can stop them. “He’s made that abundantly clear.”
Siena studies my face for a long moment. Then she leans back, releasing my hand. “But you care about him.”
It’s not a question.
“Fuck, Sophie.” Siena rubs her temples. “This is not good.”
“Why?” I ask, hearing the edge in my voice. “Because I’m sleeping with him? Or because Vin choosing to stay with me instead of actively fighting this war means something you don’t want to say out loud?”
Giovanna and Siena exchange a look.
“Both,” Siena says finally. She leans forward again, her voice dropping so low I have to strain to hear it. “Sophie, if Aurelio doesn’t hurt you, then Vin will. That’s what he does. Honestly, I’m shocked that he’s stayed this long. But when he is eventuallydone with you, he’ll walk away without looking back. And I know you, Soph. Your heart is so big and kind, you’ll be crushed.”
She’s more right than she knows, but I say nothing, holding her gaze.
“You need to end it,” Siena says. “Now. Before it’s too late.”
I think about the wooden spoon against my ass. The way he grabbed my hair and fucked my face when I fell asleep with his cock in my mouth. My legs on his shoulders while he fucked my ass. The butter and his fingers and the way I begged him.
Then I think about the cannoli cream. The line he crossed. The knife I held to his throat.
“I appreciate your concern,” I say. “But I can handle myself.”
“Can you?” Siena’s eyes bore into mine. “Because I got lucky. And the only other time a Bellamorte woman got involved with the Demonios, she ended up dead.”
The weight of Emily’s ghost settles over the table.
“That’s not fair,” Giovanna says softly.
