Her selflessness infuriates me almost as much as it makes me love her. Always putting others first.
"So, that's it? You just accept this fate because you don't want to inconvenience anyone?"
"Don't you dare," she snaps, fire flashing in her eyes. "You think this is easy for me? I'm terrified every single day. But I won't destroy my brother's family or start a war that kills hundreds just because I'm scared."
I pull the car over, tires crunching on gravel. Turning to face her, I take both her hands in mine.
"I understand sacrifice, Valentina. It's what I've built my life around. But there is a line. And watching you walk into Maksim's house, knowing what he'll do to you…" Anger tears at me. "That's a line I can't cross. I'll find another way."
"I wanted a way out before I fully understood what was at stake," Valentina says. "But I see it clearly now. If I back out, good men will die. Loyal men. You could die, Cristian. Alessandro or Adriano could die. I can't live with that."
"So you'll live with being Maksim's prisoner instead?" I demand, my voice rough with emotion I don’t bother to hide.
She reaches up, her hand pressing against my cheek. "Better than living with your blood on my hands."
I catch her wrist, pressing my lips to her palm. "My blood isn't your responsibility."
"It is if you die trying to save me. Every choice leads to someone getting hurt. At least this way, it's only me."
I want to shake her.
I want to make her see that she matters more than some political alliance, more than peace between criminals.
But the selflessness in her eyes stops me cold.
I have to respect her wishes.
I pull back out onto the road, heading back to the Dante estate.
I glance over at her, admiring her strength even as I hate her determination.
She's changed so much these past weeks.
The flirtatious girl who jumped into the pool half-naked to tease me has hardened into a woman making impossible choices with courage I’ve never seen in any of the men I work with.
And I fucking hate it.
She shouldn't have had to grow up like this.
Forced to sacrifice herself for men who will sleep soundly in their beds while she endures Maksim's mental and physical brutality.
Hell, they’ll pat themselves on the back at how they kept the peace and improved profits.
Meanwhile, Valentina slowly dies.
I'm supposed to protect her.
That's my job.
But every scenario I play out ends the same way.
Valentina broken or me dead. Sometimes both.
I've gone through each possibility, testing it for weaknesses, for some path that leads us both to safety.
But in this world we live in, there are no happy endings for people like us.
"You're grinding your teeth again," Valentina says softly.
