The tension was thick, more so than necessary. I should have seen the signs myself, the man spiraling as pressure had been placed on him by the Feds.
“For what it’s worth, it’s entirely possible he staged the argument in order to provide you with protection, so you’d stay away. He was no fool, Sierra. He knew the fucking risks.”
“It’s not worth much, Alessandro, but thank you. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to go to bed now.”
I eased away from the table, leaning against the counter, thinking about the various options. At this point, her usefulness would be a tool used to draw Tristen out in the open. However, what I knew about Witness Protection, it would take an act of God for him to risk becoming one of the living dead even for a short period of time. He knew how I operated. He’d know I would be poised and ready to slice him into pieces. As I took a swallow of my drink, my cock started to stir as it had before.
Letting her go wasn’t an option, not just because she would do the right thing by contacting the police. I couldn’t allow that to happen. However, it was much more. As I stared into her eyes, the moment captured was exactly like the one I’d had in prison. I’d been captivated, my cock aching as much as it was at this moment. I’d been attracted to women before, but nothing like the jolt of electricity that had torn through every muscle and vein, shutting down my usual ability to see when danger was coming.
“The day I saw your picture, I became distracted. That allowed two fucking bastards who’d been hired by a lowly cartel to assassinate me the opportunity to drag me from the open cell door. They were lifers and had nothing to lose by carrying out an order to end the life of the most notorious crime boss in New York. They would have been exalted, treated like kings even inside Rikers. There were bets being taken, including by the guards. It was just a normal day behind the thick cinder block walls.”
She lifted her head, her mouth pursed, but I could tell she was troubled by what she heard.
“I lost a pint of blood and spent two weeks in a sweltering hellhole because of a woman I’d never met, a beautiful creature highlighted in a photograph. Something snapped inside of me on that very day just like it did the moment I met you, a need unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, a desire that burned so brightly I could no longer breathe.”
“I don’t want to hear this.”
“We aren’t finished yet,” I growled.
“What do you freaking want from me?” she asked, glaring at me with another round of hatred in her eyes. “Yes, I need to understand why Tristen lied to me, but I’m not your savior, Alessandro. I can’t force him to appear in the open.”
“Yes,mi dulce gatita. You do deserve to know the truth in all things and nothing I’ve told you is a lie. Youwillhelp me bring Tristen out in the open. You have no choice in the matter.”
As she stood, her body was swaying. “No matter this connection we have, you were right in that I lived a lie for far too long. What makes you think there is anything I could do to help you drag him into the open? Contrary to what you think, he doesn’t give a shit. I’m certain he has a nice life at both your and my expense. At this point, I couldn’t care less.”
I put my drink on the counter, walking closer. “But I do. No one steals or betrays the Montenegro family. What I want from you is simple, mygatita. You’re going to become my wife.”
CHAPTER12
Sierra
Wife.
The man had to be joking, but I knew he wasn’t. However, if he thought for a minute I would ever considering marrying him, then he was delusional.
And I had no intentions of catering to his twisted needs.
“You’re out of your mind,” I whispered, curious as to his reaction. As he rounded the table, closing the distance between us, I shivered just like I’d done before.
His expression remained stern, but his eyes told an entirely different story. He was challenging me, providing an opportunity to learn the truth while getting exactly what he wanted. I’d have to be a bigger fool than I’d already been to even consider such a ridiculous option. Even if what he’d just said was true, I wouldn’t allow myself to give a damn about another man, especially one as violent and brutal as he was.
“Some would say exactly that, my sweet kitten. While my methods are almost never conventional, they do provide answers as well as complete satisfaction.” His voice shimmered across my body, tingling all the wrong places. I should remain disgusted with him, but it was growing increasingly difficult to shy away from the images and hunger that continued to surface.
The man was fully aware of the power he held over me, and he intended on exploiting it to accomplish his goals.
I looked away, staring down at my drink, my throat tightening. A part of me wanted to learn more about Alessandro, to know what made him tick and why he was determined to act on his bloodlust. “What else happened to you in prison or is revenge the only thing that provides that satisfaction in your life?”
When I slowly lifted my head, I noticed the change in his eyes, an icy glaze replacing the explosive heat.
“Do you really want to learn the dangerous side of law enforcement, a place where heinous criminals are tossed, left to fend for themselves under the guise of rehabilitation?”
“Yes.”
He moved closer, crowding my space, leaving the pulse in my neck throbbing. His gaze slowly lowered to the exact pressure point to the left of my throat, and I could tell his mouth was watering to bite into the area, drawing blood. The thought was… sensual.
“On the day I was provided with your picture, a request of my attorney, my single objective was to memorize every detail of your face. I had months before my release, if not over a year, but I was determined to allow your features to burn inside my mind, so I never forgot my goal after I walked out from behind those prison walls.”
I trembled, my breath ragged. Did I really want to learn the ugly truth?