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“And you think you don’t offer us anything?” Valentino’s gestures are cutting and too precise to be anything other than his attempt to rein in his emotions.
“I’ve racked my brain and I can’t think of one damn thing. You don’t need me to get women or help your career; Tácito isn’t looking for anyone and my surgeries won’t advance him at the hospital. Both of you have more options than a buffet when it comes to what other women offer. Tácito always patches me up and lends his shoulder when shit gets overwhelming. Valentino, your approval…” She takes a shaky breath. “You have no idea how knowing you’ve never judged me has gotten me through some of the worst times before and during my enlistment. You’ve literally saved my life without even being in the same room with me. Everything has been what you’ve given to me, and I’ve done nothing to balance the scales.”
“Is that what friendship is to you? An exchange for goods and services received?” My body aches from holding myself back.
“No, that’s not what—”
“I’ve heard enough.” Valentino draws himself up, his presence seeming to expand to all corners of the room. “You say you’ve given us nothing. Fine, I won’t argue.”
“Thank you. Will you untie me now?”
Valentino glares at her while I glare at him. What the hell does he think he’s doing? He’s going to ruin everything. I raise my hands, but he cuts me off.
“No. Not until we come to an understanding about this debt you owe us.”
“Wha—Debt?” Sloane turns her confused gaze on me.
I shrug, relieved now that Valentino seems to have a plan. One that might get us everything we’ve ever wanted.
“Yes, debt,” he says with cold precision. “You said you take more than you give. We have an opportunity for you that can balance things out and give me and Tácito what we want.”
“And what is it you want?”
I’m in motion before Valentino opens his mouth. “You.”
CHAPTER SIX
Sloane
“We’re already friends,” I remind the two men who refuse to untie me. Why don’t they understand that I have to leave? With me, they become targets. Without me, they’ll live without my shadow hovering over them.
“We want more,” Valentino says. Determination brackets his and Tácito’s mouths.
“What?” I sputter.
Giulio must have hit Tácito harder than I thought.
“You didn’t misunderstand me.” Valentino’s fierce expression momentarily silences me.
I understand Tácito’s uncharacteristic behavior comes from his earlier altercation, but what the hell is Valentino’s deal? “But…why?”
Valentino shakes his head. “After all these years and you still don’t have a clue.”
“You want me. You and Tácito?”
“Yes,” Tácito signs.
“But not as friends?”
“Correct. We want you in our bed.”
“You’ve gone mad.” I look from one man to the other, but they’re immovable statues, unlike the hope surging inside me. Hope with no possibility of coming to fruition. “We can’t change our dynamic. It’ll ruin everything.”
“We’re adults who’re fully capable of making decisions for ourselves.” Tácito’s firm jaw and pinched lips dare me to contradict him.
I take the dare. “But…you and Valentino are best friends! I could never choose between you. Then where would we be? Everything will go to shit. All our years of friendship, gone. If you want me to pay my debt, fine, but it can’t be this way. I—”
Tácito and Valentino’s shoulders shake uncontrollably, which causes anger to bubble inside me, replacing the hope I didn’t want to put too much stock into.
