Gabriella let out a rough laugh. “Not since I’ve been married, no.”
The space between us crackled with a surge of black energy.
There was no power on earth that would save Matteo Deluca.
“And you’re just telling menow?” I didn’t mean to hiss.
Gabriella winced, leaning toward the metal U door handle. “It didn’t matter, and—”
“It mattered.” I sucked in a breath that did nothing to calm the killing rage. “It matters, Gabriella.”
Pursing her lips, she pulled away from the door. Three quick steps, and she dropped the tumbler on the table beside me.
“No, the past is done. Out of our control. What matters is right now.” She leaned forward, determination etched in every inch of that gorgeous face. “You have to stop him. You have to help them!”
My brows pulled together. “Help them? Who?”
“My sisters!” Gabriella lifted her hands. “My mother.”
I saw it then. This goddess, full of an unearthly fire, was ready for war.
Which was exactly what she was asking me to consider.
Can I?
Who was I to refuse her? While my mind raced for a solution, my heart was already made up. It had been, all along. Whatever she asked, it was hers.
I would kill her father.
But to keep her safe, to prevent a war, I would do it secretly. She could never know it was me who did it. I would tell her my hands were tied by underworld politics, which technically wasn’t a lie. Although it was going to damn near kill me, I had to pretend disinterest and verbally refuse her.
Before I could answer, Gabriella fell to her knees. Just dropped. The motion didn’t jar her. There was no flicker of pain.
“Punish me if you want, but please, save my sisters.”
The sight of her on her knees, hands clasped in supplication was a knife straight to the chest. “You think I can do that?”
“You are the most powerful man I know,” she prayed.
The devil inside whispered. He saw the fucking opportunity that knelt in front of me.
Motherfucker….
It was right there.
This was a chance to play a complicated game of deception. Let her assume that I would kill her father, get exactly what Iwanted, and not do what she thought I would do while secretly doing it anyhow. It was a complicated web. And in the end, she would be pissed. I would deal with the fallout later. I wanted something, and this was the prime moment to get it.
Forgive me, little bird.I chose my next words carefully. “If I saveyou,I want something from you.”
Gabriella tensed, but her voice was full of relief as she blurted out, “Anything!”
I hummed, the sound almost loud enough to cover the self-hatred. “Are you sure you want to make that bargain, cailín?”
“Yes!” Tears sprang to her eyes. They made the amber flecks shimmer.
“Anything I want?” I leaned forward. I swore the shadow on the carpet had horns.
But Gabriella was blind to the danger. She nodded. “Anything you want, Liam.”
