“I can’t,” I whisper. “Not you. I can’t loseyou.”
“You don’t have to,” Carmine reminds me.
Right as I’m about to say something else, the door bursts open.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Alessio asks, voice so loud compared to our low tones that it actually makes me flinch.
The gun is still pressed to Carmine’s chest.
“I knew it! I knew we couldn’t trust you! Get the hell away from him!”
Suddenly I’m grabbed by the back of my shirt and my gun is knocked out of my hand, grabbed and tossed across the room. I instinctively reach for my dagger but before I can, a gun is pressed to my head.
“Alessio!” Carmine shouts. “No, don’t!”
“What is your problem? You’re really going to save a guy who could’ve killed you in a split second?” Alessio spits out with distain and disbelief.
“Just let him go, now.Itrust him. Don’t you fucking touch him,” Carmine hisses and I feel his hands on me now.
He pulls me back away from Alessio.
“You’re going to go against your own family for him?” Alessio accuses. “He’s trying to kill you! Are you that fucking messed up, Carmine!”
My head is spinning.
“I gotta get out of here,” I mumble.
“No, don’t. We need to—” Carmine starts, but I shove myself away from him.
“Just let me go! I can’t be here.” I don’t bother to get my gun from across the room. I don’t care anymore. I don’t need it.
I can’t bring myself to use it away.
“I don’t deserve to be here,” I mumble.
I hear Carmine’s voice full of emotion. “Soren, no. Ineedyou here?—"
“Let him leave,” Alessio orders. “He isn’t welcome here anymore. He never should have been!”
“You don’t understand! Just let me explain for one second. His family is trying to make him hurt me. Let me—” I hear the office door slam closed. I have a feeling it was his brother that did it. I can hear the shouting, muffled now.
I’m already near the front door, though I don’t remember walking down the hallway.
All I can do is storm outside into the bitter cold and back to my car. My hands are shaking but it doesn’t matter. I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t care where I’m going.
I just need to get out of here.
I don’t know what Eivor is going to do when he finds out.
All I know is, I can’t kill Soren.
I can’t kill the man I’m falling in love with.
17
Carmine
“Why are you defending that bastard?” my brother shouts at me. It’s unusual for Alessio to get quite as worked up as he is, and it only made me more infuriated.
