“No, you don’t. If you can’t forgive me for what happened before, there’s no way in hell you’d forgive me for what I’ve done this time.”
“I just did. If the alternative is losing you… yes, I can.”
“I’m already lost, Vince,” I tell him quietly.
Vince shakes his head, backing me up against the wall. He traps me with an arm on each side like Mateo did just a few nights ago, and memories flood my brain. Memories of Mateo. Memories of the first time Vince kissed me at our high school, in the dark classroom.
And then he kisses me again, but he doesn’t ask this time. I shove against his chest, but he pulls my hands away, pinning my wrists to the wall. “You’re not leaving me, Mia,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead against mine. “I won’t let you.”
I was prepared for him to fight me on this, but I wasn’t prepared for how torn I’d feel when he did. I’ve been so happy these past few days with Mateo, and Vince and I have been so unhappy for so long now. I know Vince and I can’t be happy together anymore. I know we’ve done too much damage, and we don’t have the right tools to make this relationship a healthy one. I’m not sure what kind of tools that would take at this point—a demolition ball, I think—but we definitely don’t possess them. Breaking up is incredibly difficult, it hurts like hell, but it is the right move for us. The only move for us, now that I know what it can be like with Mateo.
I don’t fight his physical hold, but I fight his words. “It isn’t up to you, Vince. I know how unfair this is and I’m so, so sorry, but it’s done. I am leaving.”
“No, you’re not.”
“How are you going to stop me?”
“However I have to,” he replies. “You won’t tell him to kill me, and that’s the only way you’re getting rid of me. You let him kill me, or I kill him. If you leave me for that son of a bitch, it’ll be over my dead body. Ball’s in your court.”
“Vince, please… Please don’t do this. I’m happy. I know that’s unfair, I know I don’t deserve to be happy when I’m hurting you, but please… just let me go.”
His jaw ticks, irritation gracing his features before he clears his expression. “It’s a fucking trick, Mia. Don’t you get it? How is it you’ve known him this long and you still don’t fucking get it? He cannot make you happy. He only cares about himself. He’ll make you miserable. I’m not gonna let that happen. Maybe I’m not making you happy either, but we can work on it. We can do better. I’m not giving you up, Mia. I almost made that mistake once, but I won’t make it now. Mateo will chew you up and spit you out. I will kill that motherfucker before I ever let him have you.”
My gaze darts fearfully to the cracked door as a chill moves down my back. “You can’t make threats like that, Vince. You know what happened—”
“It’s not a threat, Mia.” He’s still close, still in kissing distance, still pinning me to the wall. His brown eyes meet mine, sparkling with volatility. “If you leave me tonight, if you go back to his fucking house, I promise you I will burn it down.”
I swallow, feeling a little afraid of him. Normally if someone said something like that, I would think they were exaggerating. But since I literally met him because he burned down my neighbor’s house, it seems like a far greater possibility in this instance.
Pain twists my stomach and I think I’m going to be sick.
“Vince, please don’t do this. I cause you nothing but pain. Please just let me go.”
One hand moves in toward my face, caressing it as he says, “Never.”
Chapter Thirteen
Mia
“I can’t go with you.”
Colin raises a dark eyebrow, eyeing me up. “Excuse me?”
“I changed my mind.” I’m making Vince stay behind me because I’m afraid he’s going to get shot. I’m pretty sure Colin’s orders were to bring me here to dump Vince, then bring me back to the mansion. In the brief time I’ve known the guy, he doesn’t seem like someone who leaves a job unfinished.
The Irishman’s patience with me seems to be wearing thin. “Listen here, girlie. I’m not leavin’ ye here. Now, I think it’s high time ye get yer little ass back out to the car so I can take ye home.”
Everything about this hurts. It’s scary dealing with Colin because I don’t really know him. He’s not Adrian, he’s not familiar with our situation, and I’m terrified he’s going to hurt Vince.
I’m also terrified I’m going to hurt Mateo. He’s far from the most emotional person I’ve ever met, but we’ve just spent three wonderful days expressing actual feelings for one another, and now Vince is trapping me. I can’t tell Mateo Vince is trapping me, because I think he’s out of patience with him. Mateo also has a tendency to get the truth out of me, and if I tell him what Vince said, he’ll kill him.