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“Do you really think whoever this is, is going to actually meet you? Just like that?”
“Of course, because I promised to bring them all a little sacrifice.”
“Who?”
Ivan smiled. “The entire Abandonato bloodline, excluding you, since now, you’re legally—De Lange, should you thank me for saving your life?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Trust is a fickle word with many meanings, you can trust a wolf because you see a sheep, and you can trust a sheep because you know the wolf.” —King Campisi
Ivan
I wasn’t sure who was more traumatized, Bella or me, but it was the only way to protect her if things actually went horribly wrong with our meeting. It would keep her safe and it would keep her far, far away.
In the end, I guess being a De Lange wouldn’t get a person killed, it would get a person saved, and keep a bloodline alive, even if I died in the process.
There was no chance in hell this person would step down, they’d take the crown from me once they got what they wanted and while I’d like to think I’m strong, the last thing I needed was to put my men in danger.
I could still survive today, tomorrow, but what about the next day, or the day after that? Eventually, they would come for me.
It was just a matter of when, unless my trick card worked out.
No matter how I looked at it, I would always be a target until eliminated.
Bella looked up at me, her green eyes held unspilled tears in them. “You did this to protect me, but not from my dad, even though it does both. You did this so that, so that if things go badly—”
“You’re safe,” I whispered. “That’s all that matters.”
I shook my head. “You’re not.”
“I don’t think I’ve been safe since the minute I was born, Bella, and that’s the truth. Just being a De Lange means bad things, let alone taking over the Family and pissing everyone off oh and betraying the other Families in order to draw out a rat, there’s that too.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the small cabin. It had a queen bed in the corner that doubled as a couch, a fireplace that was void of any firewood. A small kitchen with a brand-new stainless-steel sink, and a fully stocked fridge. “King wanted to make sure we had food.”
“For what?” Bella followed me through the house.
Damn, she was so pretty. “For our honeymoon. It’s only going to last a few hours, but when I was thinking about what I really wanted before my impending possible death, it was you.”
“Me,” she repeated. “And you aren’t dying.”
“The odds of me dying are extremely high, but I knew that coming into this. There’s a bathroom and a change of clothes if you want, I’ll get started on some food and wine, I figured we really could have that picnic.”
“With dead bodies out front?” Bella pointed at the door. “Seriously?”
I checked my watch. “They’re probably already gone.”
“What?”
“See for yourself, I told King it wouldn’t take long, and I was right, he offered some clean up.”
“You guys are diabolical.” Bella stomped toward the door and opened it, sure enough, both bodies were gone, and bleach had been poured all over the cement leading up to the house.
I peeked my head over her shoulder. “Yup, they’re good at what they do.”
“So, they know what’s going on.” She kept staring at the empty spaces. “And they’re okay with you just possibly dying?”
“Sacrifices must always be made.” I repeated what Junior had told me. “You asked why I wanted this, why I wanted to be boss, I lied that time.” I turned around and walked back into the house. “I said it was for money, for power, for revenge…” I stared out the window facing the back of the property, more trees, and a small porch with a black swing seemed to stare right back. “Do you want to know why I took the role of boss?”
