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I knew the men were nervous, concerned, but a few of them smirked. I made a mental note which ones and got into the first SUV. “Let’s go, Bella.”
“You’re taking her?” Tank asked.
“You’re questioning me?” I laughed. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I take her? I already stole her virginity and claimed my throne, shouldn’t I at least get to keep my prize?”
Tank clenched his fists.
I saluted him with my middle finger. “Relax, she’s just an Abandonato, I think I can handle her. Besides, if you ever want to see this pathetic Family rise to their former glory, you’re going to need one of the most powerful bosses on your side and they would do absolutely…” I gripped Bella’s chin between my thumb and forefinger. “And I do mean absolutely anything, for his cousin, including marry her to the very monster who killed his best friend. After all, isn’t that kind of how it happened so many years ago? Phoenix nearly stole her mom from Nixon. or wait, did he just take what wasn’t his to take? I get confused, and then Phoenix rose from the ashes, pathetic really, even if he is related, and then the De Langes were weakened, you know why? Fear. You fear what you don’t understand and what you can’t control. So get this right.” I turned and faced the men. “Fear me. Because I have no loyalty and no shits to give. I took this position in cold blood, and I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way. Soon, our name won’t be whispered like a curse, no, the De Lange name will drop from every mouth with respect, admiration, and fear.”
Bella started sobbing silently by my side. She was cracking bit by bit and I knew it was all my doing.
I pulled her against me, then pressed an angry kiss to her mouth, bruising both our lips, making a vow in front of everyone. “As of today, Bella Abandonato and I are engaged as per the rights established by Frank Alfero and Luca Nicolasi, forefathers of the Families, if someone takes innocence, they must join their hands in blood and unite their souls forever to prove their worth and loyalty.”
“But—” Bella started talking.
So I kissed her again. The last thing I needed was for her to ask where I found the old rules or who told me about them.
Our teeth clanged while I shoved her against the car and slid my mouth down her ear. “Trust me.”
“C-can’t.”
“Must.” I gripped her by the hair and pulled her head back. “Now smile.”
“Never.” She spat in my face.
I wiped it with a piece of her hair and winked. “I like a little fight.”
“I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
“What makes you think you and I will be sleeping when we’re together?”
Some of the men started laughing, I again, took note, and shoved her into the car. Tank immediately got into the driver’s seat and buckled up.
We pulled out toward campus.
The party was tonight.
And Ash was right.
We couldn’t fail.
Because everything banked on it.
Our very lives.
Now it was all on my shoulders, the fear of slipping up, and most of all, the truth.
Shit, the fan wasn’t going to get hit—it was going to burn the world, and I’d bet he’d be the one holding the matches. Had my entire life been foreshadowing this big moment?
We drove in silence. Her hands were shaking in her lap. I reached over and grabbed one of them. She tried to pull away, but I held firm. Bella started relaxing a bit like she knew this was her fate for now, but I knew better, she was plotting, planning.
Tank cleared his throat. “Want to explain, young one, because boss or not, I’m around five seconds away from emptying my entire gun into your pathetic twenty-one-year-old body.”
“Glad you asked.” I sighed and looked out the window. “It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“Talk faster?”
“People always talk about phoenix’s rising out of the ashes, but they never talk about the eagle who bathes in them.”
