by Penelope Sky
I kept my mouth shut, refusing to lie even to save my relationship with Vanessa. I had too much respect for my reputation, for being recognized as a man who always told the truth. That honesty got me here in the first place.
“How did it happen? Tell me.”
I looked down at my hands for a moment, silently saying goodbye to everything I’d built with Vanessa. I’d imagined living in Florence with her, making love to her every morning before she went to her gallery in the city. I pictured adding ink to my body in her honor, getting a black ring tattooed on my left hand. I pictured myself having dinner with her family, five years down the line, and her father looked at me with kindness rather than hatred. But that beautiful vision was nothing but a dream. “I couldn’t kill her because she deserved better. But I couldn’t let her go either, not until I figured out what to do with her. So I told her I would spare her entire family…if she gave herself to me.” I lifted my gaze again, looking him in the eye like a man. “And once she stopped, I would continue my vendetta.”
Crow didn’t react at first, his eyes unblinking and his gaze exactly the same. Slowly, the color started to come into his face, his olive skin reddening from the adrenaline that circulated through his heart. It seemed to take him a moment to process what I said, to absorb it to full capacity. It was the worst thing that a father could hear, that his daughter had to save her family by fucking me.
I wasn’t sure if I would walk out of there alive. “We’re in love now—”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” His hands balled into his fists, and the vein emerged on his forehead. Throbbing and sporadic, it moved in time to his unpredictable behavior. He had so much rage but wasn’t sure what to do with it. His breathing slowly increased, and the monster behind his eyes emerged.
He slowly rose to his feet, his hands by his sides. His arms were shaking, and his jaw was clenched so tightly he was about to break off a tooth.
I did the same, keeping myself at eye level at all times. I didn’t know if I should prepare for battle or prepare to run. Regardless of what he did to me, I couldn’t retaliate. I would never do that to Vanessa.
“This is over. Ends things with Vanessa and disappear.”
No. A thousand knives pierced my lungs, and I couldn’t breathe. My happiness was taken away so quickly, within the snap of a finger. “Sir.” I raised both hands, unsure why I was even doing it. “I’m begging you, and I’m not the kind of man who begs. I love your daughter—”
He pulled the gun out of his holster and pointed it at my face within a second. His age didn’t slow his speed. His draw was still good enough for the wild west. “I will shoot you, Bones. So get out before I do.”
I slowly lowered my hands. “Sir, please.”
He cocked the gun, his hand steady as he pointed the barrel at my face. “We made a deal. I tried, asshole. I really tried. But I will not let my daughter end up with a man who forced her—”
“I never forced her—”
He smashed the barrel of the gun into my face, making my nose and cheek bleed instantly. “You didn’t treat her with the respect she deserves, and I will treat you exactly the same.”
I slowly turned my face back to him, ignoring the bleeding and the swelling. “I would die for her—”
“I wish you were dead now.” He pointed the gun at me again. “My daughter will marry a good man. She’ll hate me for a while, but one day, she’ll thank me for this. And when she finds the right one, she’ll forget your name.”
“She’ll never love anyone the way she loves me.”
His hand shook as he placed his finger over the trigger. “Leave. I won’t shoot you now, but I’ll save this bullet for later. If I ever see you again or anywhere near my daughter, I won’t hesitate. I will put you in the ground, like the trash you are.”
The fight left my body because I knew the war was over. Crow had made up his mind, and I’d just lost everything. I lost my woman and my future. Instantly, everything I cared about was taken away from me. “She’ll be devastated.”
“She’ll get over it. She’s a Barsetti. Barsettis aren’t weak.” He pressed the barrel right against my forehead, in between my eyes. “Now, go.”
I stepped away, getting the cold metal off my forehead. I turned my back to him, not caring about exposing myself in the most vulnerable way possible. There was nothing that bullet could do to hurt me more than his decision had.
He might as well kill me.
I walked out of his office, feeling weaker by the second. He took away the only thing that mattered to me, and even though he was justified in his decision, I couldn’t swallow it. I walked in there thinking the worst was finally over.
But it’d only just begun.
Also by Penelope Sky
My family tried to accept the man I love.
But they couldn't.
Now I've lost the love of my life.
I try to move on, but it's hard to find something to live for.
I don't want any man but him.
But when Conway becomes the target of the Skull Kings, my life is turned upside down. They want my brother dead, and my family is doing everything they can to protect him.
Will Bones protect him too?
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