AllFreeNovel
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“Yes,” he growls. “Your dad knew what would happen, Princess, selling us out like that. Turning rat to save his own skin. He betrayed us, and that meant you all had to pay the price.”
“No!” I cry again, but he doesn’t stop. “That was the game!” Nero yells. “Don’t you get it? You cross the Barrettis and you know what’s coming. An eye for eye.”
A life for a debt.
I can’t take it. I flee up the stairs, sobbing, trying to escape the truth—about my mom, and the black depths of Nero’s soul.
How could he do this to me?
I race to our room, and slam the door behind me, but a moment later, Nero throws it open and strides in. “You don’t get to walk away from me,” he growls, stalking closer.
“Yes, I do!” I spit. “It’s over. I’ll never forgive you for this!”
“So this is it?” he demands, looking furious. “This is your excuse to run?”
“My excuse?” I echo in disbelief. “My mom is dead. You had her killed! How can I ever trust you again?”
“Eight years ago!” Nero roars. “After your father ratted us out and nearly brought this whole organization down. After you broke my heart and disappeared! After she turned around and left you without a backwards glance.”
I sob. “Stop it!”
I go to the wardrobe and pull out a case. Blindly throwing clothes in. I need to get away from him.
“See? You’re running. Don’t act like you haven’t been looking for an excuse to go,” Nero says, betrayal flashing in his eyes. “We said vows to one another! I swore to stick by you for the rest of my life, but you’ve had one foot out the door all along.”
“Bullshit,” I manage, but he gives a twisted laugh.
“Then why did you have divorce papers drawn up?”
I pause in shock. “How did you…?”
“Yeah, I knew all about that,” he says bitterly. “I thought you’d come around, that you could love me. But it turns out, you never gave a damn about making this marriage work.”
“Can you blame me?” I ask, my voice nearly hysterical. I’m not going to tell him I changed my mind, that I decided I wanted to be with him. That’s erased now. “All you’ve done is lie to me,” I yell. “All you’ve done is destroy my life! I could never love a man like you. Not when you have blood on your hands!”
Nero reels back like I struck him.
“You know what? If you want to go, then get out!” he yells, pointing to the door. “But you better be damn sure you know what you’re doing when you leave, because God knows what happens next.”
I inhale in a rush. “Are you threatening me?”
Hurt flashes on his face. “I don’t have to,” Nero bites out. “The minute you’re no longer under my protection, there’ll be a line around the block to get to you. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, going crazy just to keep you safe? Those guards on the door aren’t to keep you inside, they’re to keep everyone else out!”
He strides closer, pointing. “The Feds will be the least of your problems. What do you think the Kovaks would do to send a message to me? Or even Roman’s guys? Your mother wasn’t enough to settle his score,” he adds. “He won’t rest until your entire family is wiped out.”
I shiver. He’s right, but I don’t know what to do. I can’t spend another night under the same roof as him.
I grab my bag and push past him. “I’d rather take my chances on them than you,” I lie, hurrying back down the stairs.
Nero follows. “You aren’t thinking straight.” His voice twists with worry. “You can’t leave!”
“You just told me to get out,” I remind him.
“It’s not safe.” Nero scowls, blocking my path. I square up to him.
“And you’re going to stop me?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep you safe!” Nero roars. “Dammit, Lily. I will lock you in this goddamn house and throw away the key before I let anyone lay a hand on you. And you may hate me for the choices I’ve made, but I don’t care,” he adds, eyes glittering with fury. “If you hate me, it means you’re alive to do it, and that’s all that matters in the world right now!”
