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7
Lavinia
Vini paced the living room floor. Anger, frustration, and something akin to relief coursed through her veins.
Was he really back for good?
Didn’t matter. What they had together would no longer work. Too much had been lost. Their bond had been broken. No matter how much he tried to pretend differently.
She walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water as she waited. For what, she wasn’t sure. Then the shower came on. Her shoulders relaxed. Her breathing normalized. Something about having Nico here gave her peace.
The feeling of calm wasn’t surprising. His presence always calmed her. Gave her soul a moment to quiet. For years, she’d been lived between two worlds. With Nico and Max as her foundation. Max, the brother who allowed her to do what she pleased, but always there to clean up if she made a mess. Nico, the man who sexed her so good, she never wanted to leave his bed. When she did, he was her protector, the one who tried to shield her from the darkness surrounding them, even as she soaked herself in the blood and tears of her enemy.
Finishing her water, she sighed. Looking out into the backyard, her lips tilted in a slight smile. The expertly landscaped backyard was the perfect complement to the people they were trying to emulate. Clean. Pristine. The total opposite of who they truly were and their daily lives.
Nico would give her anything she asked for. All she had to do was say the words. Without a doubt, she knew this to be true. Vini wanted him to have the same thing. She had it so bad for that man upstairs. There was nothing she wouldn’t give him. He wouldn’t even have to ask. If it were within her power to do so, she’d give him anything his heart desired. Wealth. Power. His enemies’ heads on a platter.
Her heart stuttered as she thought about their time apart. Ugly thoughts filled her head about what he was doing. Who he was doing it with. Had he forgotten about her. It had taken everything in her not to jump in her car every night and go looking for him. Over the years, she’d learned to control her anger, her need for the fight, and the craving for violence. When Nico left, that control slipped.
Voices in her head had whispered to her; goading her to find him. It wasn’t stalking if he were her husband, right? She’d wanted to know who was lying beneath her man. Or on top of him. And when she slit their throat, she knew there wouldn’t be one ounce of remorse.
Whispers filled with madness and mayhem followed her daily. Rang out in the silence as she sat waiting for Nico to call or come home. At night, her dreams were filled with crazed desires. Visions of her face covered in the blood of those who tried to come between her and Nico repeatedly played in her mind.
Yet, now that he was home, none of that mattered.
She didn’t care if he’d slept with another woman. Well, she did, and if she ever found out who it was, nothing would prevent her from causing some serious damage. But at this moment in time, she wasn’t worried about it. She was just happy he was back.
Biting down on her lower lip, Vini made her way upstairs to the master bedroom. Last time he was here, he’d been shot. As usual, she’d put him back together, as he knew she would. It had taken him two weeks before he could move around on his own. Put on his clothes without breaking out into a sweat.
It was she who’d kicked him out that time. He hadn’t walked away from her, and had no intention of doing so. Not until she gave him no other choice.
“You’re finally getting better. I guess you’ll be leaving soon.”
Nico turned his head to look at her. They were in the tv room watching a movie. Nico had been on his phone all day. Max stopped by earlier to check on him, and more than likely to see how she was holding up. Vini tried not to show how much it pained her to say the words. They hadn’t talked about next steps with the two of them. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to beg.
“No. I hadn’t planned on it.” He didn’t even look up when he spoke. “I’ve been gone too long. It’s time for me to come home.”
Heat immediately filled her body, and not the good kind. “Presumptuous, aren’t you? You’re the one who fucked up, Nico. Not me. Don’t act as if I should be grateful you’ve decided to come back to the hoodrat who embarrasses you. The one you can’t take out anywhere unless she’ll make a scene.”
“What the fuck? Hoodrat? You need to relax.” His tone was clipped, warning her to stop. Too bad her mouth had gotten ahead of her brain.
“I always knew you’d turn your back on me. That’s what men like you do. You want a black woman who can put on the mask and be the perfect sex goddess in bed. As soon as something happens to shatter that illusion, we’re back to meaning nothing.”
Nico’s feet were planted firmly on the floor. Face red with anger, he watched her with stormy blue eyes as she laid into him.
“When I was by your side with my blade and 9mm at the ready, it was all good. When I fucked you every night until we both passed out, your world was perfect. The one time I’m hurt, when my body turned against me and our…our…ba—.” The words wouldn’t come. Her mouth was open, but she couldn’t get any sound to come out.
“How fucking dare you?” His roar filled the silence. His large form filled her vision as he stood in front of her. She wasn’t afraid. He’d never physically hurt her. “When have I ever given you a reason to mistrust me?” At her raised eyebrow, he motioned with his left hand, “You know what happened that night. I needed her to help me get to Diego. You knew this, Vini.” The tortured sound of his voice began to break through the fog of her anger.
“I just never thought it would happen like that. You’d never pushed me away. I was always by your side. That you cut me out, left me out there flailing…well, you’d just never done that before. I can’t move past it. The hurt is still there and it’s not going away.” She stood as well, going to the opposite side of the room.
His being so close to her was messing with her mind. He was wearing low-hanging workout pants, black with three white stripes on the side. His broad chest was covered only by a white tank undershirt. Since they’d been inside all day, he wore no shoes. He looked like he always did. He looked like the man she loved and desired above anyone else.
Angry blue eyes stared at her. Rubbing one hand roughly over his blond hair, he turned away briefly before again looking in her direction.
“I don’t want you in this life anymore. That’s why I didn’t want you involved.” The admission seemed to pain him.
“What? Nico, that makes no sense. I’m not some fragile chick who needs to be protected. I came up in this with you. By your side the whole time. Why shouldn’t I be involved? This is the life we built.” Vini was legitimately confused by his words. She’d never been the shy and retiring type. If business needed to be handled, she was always there by his side.
