When I turn to look at her, I notice the stubborn set of her jaw and the anger simmering in the depths of her blue eyes.
“Tell me, princess. Exactly how do you plan to take care of it?” I question.
“Legally,” she grits out. “I’m a prosecutor. I’ll send the bastard to jail till kingdom come.”
I tilt my head to the side, slide my hands into my pockets, and curl them into fists.
“You’re not naïve, Lindsay. And you’re definitely not stupid so I know that can’t be it,” I start. “He took a shot at your father. The mayor. Not to mention he somehow managed to get onto the property and escape without being caught. This isn’t some small fry that you can simply throw in jail.”
“Which brings me to my next question,” she says. “Did you do it?”
My blood heats beneath my skin. “You did not just fucking ask me that.”
“If it wasn’t you, then one of your brothers? You said it yourself. It had to have been someone with enough power to pull it off. Be honest, Matteo. Maybe you’re doing it to punish me. Ormaybe it’s not about me at all. He didn’t follow up on a deal or he refused to do something for you, so you decided to take him out.”
On some level I can recognize that she’s simply lashing out. She knows it wasn’t us, she just needs someone to be angry at right now. I could take it all laying down. Be the object of all her frustration and anger.
I’m just not built that way.
“Trust me, Lindsay, if I wanted your father dead, he’d be fucking dead right now.”
She tenses, her glare sharpening even more.
“Why did you comfort me at the hospital?” she asks, and there’s no avoiding the slight quiver in her voice. I realize she’s especially angry about that because she let me see a crack in her façade. She let me see her weak and she hates that.
“Why did you tell my father you’d keep me safe?”
“Because I’m going to keep you safe,” I grit out.
“Don’t. Just stop, alright? I don’t need you, Matteo, and I don’t want you in my life,” she says. “I do not want you to keep me safe. I want an end to all of it. The texts, the sex, you always somehow turning up when I need you the most. I frankly want nothing to do with you!”
“This argument is getting tired, don’t you think?” I state, my patience wearing thin.
The woman is insufferable, and for a second I start to wonder if she’s worth all of this. If I wouldn’t be better off without her and her presence.
I feel a strong dangerous current rippling underneath the surface of my skin. There’s only so many times a person can tell you they want nothing to do with you before it starts to sink in. I clench my fists even tighter.
“That’s exactly my point as well. I’m tired, Matteo. Every time I’m with you, it feels like I’m fighting an internal battle. Wrestling with myself. I want so badly to not think about whoyou are. But then you go ahead and blatantly tell me that you would murder someone for me.”
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of flaying the skin off whoever’s responsible before strangling them to death,” I drawl.
A muscle ticks in her jaw. “I hate you, Matteo. And I’m not going to your home. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
“If I disgust you so much, maybe you should!” I snap.
She rolls her eyes and, after shooting me one last glare, she wrenches the door open and steps out of the car.
For a moment, I don’t move. I simply watch as she starts walking away.
We’re in the middle of nowhere and the only house for miles is mine at the end of the narrow road. I could leave her alone to figure it out. Let her walk until she grows tired.
But it’s already dark and there’s no telling who’s ready to die tonight.
And it’s that. The thought that she could be in danger. That’s what has me climbing out of my car. I let out a soft growl as I follow her. When she’s within reach, I grasp her wrist, whirling her around so she’s facing me.
“Get in the car, Lindsay,” I say tiredly.
She rips her arm out of my grasp. “Screw you, Matteo. Screw all of this.”
