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His jaw clenches, and his eyes narrow when three black SUVs park in the driveway. Men in dark suits spill out of the cars, and at the center of them is a man with silver hair and eyes as sharp as ice.
“Stay here,” he orders. Giving me an,I’m not playing, look before he heads toward the door. We still have so much to learn about each other. Otherwise, he’d know I’m not about to sit still and let the world close collapse around me again.
I follow him.
Gio’s men join him on the porch. “Silvio,” Gio growls at the manapproaching us with a sly look that’s colder than the frigid air.
Al Silvio, he’s the man determined to make me pay for my father’s crimes. Why is he here?
“Well, Gataki,” he says, pulling off his gloves as if he’s just finished a winter stroll. “Aren’t you going to invite me inside?”
“No. What are you doing here?” Gio asks, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
Silvio’s voice lowers several degrees in temperature. “The question is, what are you doing here? Were you running away?”
“I’m curious because that would negate our agreement. An agreement you haven’t honored unless you plan to marry in the next two days.”
He joins us on the porch, gesturing for his men to stand down. They do. But they keep their eyes trained on Gio’s men, and their hands hover inside their jackets. “Stay close,” Gio mutters, his hand gripping mine as we move toward the foyer.
When Silvio steps inside, a single mountain-sized man accompanies him, and Gio’s grip tightens. Silvio’s eyes sweep the room before settling on us, a slow, wintry smile curling at the edges of his lips. “Gio,” he says, his voice smooth but dripping with malice. “Did you really think you could take her out of town and I wouldn’t find you?”
“Where we go and what we do isn’t your concern.” Gio spits, his body vibrating with barely restrained fury. “Leave.”
Silvio’s gaze whips to me, and I fight the instinct to shrink back. “Oh, but it does concern me. You see, we had an agreement. Tendays, Gataki. I gave you ten days to seal the deal. And here we are—no wedding in sight.”
The words sucker punch the air from my lungs. “Ten days?” I repeat, my voice thin. “What is he talking about, Gio?”
Gio’s guilty eyes meet mine. “Everyone wanted me to force you into marriage, Jeniah. I wanted to give you a choice. And you have one, no matter what he says, thinks, or does. The choice will always be yours.”
“A choice?” Silvio sneers, stepping forward. “There was never a choice. Her father’s debt—”
“My father is in prison,” I snap, the anger bubbling up inside me, burning away the fear. “He’s paid for what he did. What more do you want?”
Silvio glares at me. “Your father may be in prison, but his suffering isn’t complete. I was going to auction off, but the Gatakis wanted to play the hero and marry you to young Gio instead.”
My world shifts on its axis, the pieces falling into place with a sickening clarity. I turn to Gio, the betrayal twisting in my gut. “You knew about this? Knew there was a deadline and didn’t say anything?”
Gio’s eyes darken, his hands reaching for me, but I step back before he can touch me. The space between us feels like a chasm, too wide to cross. “I was going to tell you,” he says. “Fuck his deadline. You can take all the time you need to decide whatyou want to do. Anyway, I knew you wouldn’t choose his damn auction block.”
“So, you didn’t give me a choice, Gio. You decided for me and then lied to keep this from me. Even if you knew how I would answer, you still should have asked.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I never wanted to lie to you. I also didn’t want to pressure you. And I definitely didn’t want you marrying me because you were out of other choices.”
Silvio clears his throat, reminding us of his presence, though his expression shows more amusement than irritation. “As touching as this little scene is,” he says, his voice oozing condescension, “we still have business to discuss. Gio, you’ve had your fun, but it’s time to honor our agreement. If you won’t marry her, the girl comes with me.”
“I never agreed to send her with you. Because that’s never going to happen,” Gio growls, stepping in front of me again, his body a shield, his voice a low, deadly rumble. The room feels like it’s about to explode with the tension, both sides ready to draw weapons at the slightest spark. Our guards stand at attention, eyes darting between Silvio’s men and Gio, waiting for the command.
The pressure builds like a storm about to break. I can’t let that happen. Not when I can do something. “Stop,” I say, raising my voice above the testosterone. All eyes turn to me, and I take a breath, steadying myself. I face Gio as if we’re alone in our bedroom. Blocking everyone out of my periphery. “Do you want to marry me? You need to have a choice as well. Is this what youwant? Not out of guilt. Not to save me. But because you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”
“I do,” he responds so simply that it sounds like vows. “This lifetime and every other… Jeniah, I love you. You’re it for me.”
The raw honesty in his words hits me like a wave, and despite everything—despite the lies and the secrets—I feel my heart soften. But before I can speak, Silvio steps forward, his voice cutting through the moment like a knife.
“Enough,” he says, his tone hardening. “You’ve failed to hold up your end of the bargain, Gio. The girl comes with me now, or there will be consequences.”
Gio’s entire body tenses, his muscles coiling like a spring about to snap. “She’s not going anywhere with you,” he growls, his voice low and dangerous. “I don’t care about you or your threats. I’ll go to war before I let you take her.”
The room falls into a heavy silence, the kind that comes before something terrible happens. Silvio’s men reach for their weapons, and our guards do the same. My heart pounds in my chest, the air too thick, too sharp.
