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“Let me speak with her,” Mira says calmly, her gentle fingers easing around my arm. “Please…Li.”
My eyes close, and her voice, the name she called me, it’s like morphine running through my veins, taming the chaos. I choke on a ragged breath as I let go of Briana’s throat, stepping back. Mira cups my cheek, lifts herself on her toes, and kisses me, her lips like feathers brushing along mine. “I love you,” she whispers, then turns to face the woman now hunched over, trying to get air into her lungs.
My heart is still pounding wildly, but I stare at my wife with new fascination. I’m in awe of her, so confident and in command. The air around her shimmers with authority, and I know Mira is finally becoming the woman she’s meant to be. A queen.
ChapterThirteen
MIRA
“Mira, get out of here,” Maximo demands, stomping toward me, but Nicoli forces himself in front of my brother, blocking his path.
“Don’t,” Nicoli warns him.
“What the fuck, man?”
“This is how it needs to be.”
“She shouldn’t be here,” Maximo sneers before turning his angered glare toward me. “You need to leave.”
“Let it go, Maximo,” Nicoli says, once again blocking Maximo’s view in my direction. “Back the fuck up, and let your sister be. I won’t say this again.”
Nicoli’s authority is unquestionable, and I can see the moment Maximo submits and reluctantly takes a step back. When Nicoli turns to face me, there’s a silent bond that charges between us. His eyes are intense, and I have never seen his gaze so fierce yet so tender at the same time. We’re no longer two different elements but rather one force, and I know together we’ll end this…one way or the other.
“Who the hell are you?” Briana asks, and I face her, cold arrogance dancing in her eyes.
“Her,” I say simply, my voice cold as ice. “I’m the woman who survived that fucker.”
“Ah.” Briana’s expression hardens once more, but there’s a flicker of uncertainty in her expression that wasn’t there before. “You’re the knocked-up one, then.”
I’m not the least bit surprised. If Nunzio’s been hiding with this woman until now, I’m sure she knows everything he does.
“Let me tell you something,” I say, my voice steady. “You think you know what kind of man Nunzio is? What kind of man you’re protecting? You don’t have a clue.”
“Oh, believe me, sweetheart. I know exactly what kind of man he is.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, my heels clicking against the stone floor of the mausoleum. “A good man?”
“I’ve seen worse.”
“I haven’t. He’s the worst kind, Briana.”
“That kid you’re carrying might be his, so my guess is you didn’t always think of him as the worst kind.”
My heart thumps faster. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“The truth of what he did to me.”
“I don’t give a shit what he’s done to you. He takes care of me. He loves me.”
“Loves you?” I almost gag as I say the words. “You think that psychopath is capable of loving anyone?”
Briana places her hand around her throat where Nicoli choked her, rolling her shoulders while keeping her eyes pinned on mine.
I cross my arms as I settle in front of her. “How about I tell you what he’s capable of?”
“No, thank you.”
