Vengeance.
It's something I've been taught as the son of a cruel mafia don; something I've comforted myself with for years.
When the one thing that kept me grounded is yanked away so ruthlessly, it's only in my nature to strike out in the only way...
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"We need to talk, Nicholas."
Nicholas paused mid-sentence, the frustration and rage on his face disappearing. He raised a brow at me when I closed the door behind me, his watchful eyes following my every move.
"We need to talk about tonight," I added when he stared at me expectantly.
"I'll call you back in a few minutes," Nicholas said to whomever he was talking to on the phone before he hung up. "Go on," he urged, placing his phone down on the desk.
There was something about him sitting behind his enormous desk that sent a chill down my spine. Right now, it very much felt like I was in the devil's lair, and it didn't help that Nicholas turned up the air conditioning to arctic.
Goosebumps peppered my arm, and fear pooled at the bottom of my stomach. The speech I practiced on my way here vanished from my brain, and I was suddenly tongue-tied.
"Do you have something to say, Giselle?" He looked impatient now.
"Actually, I can come back later. I interrupted your conversation."
"You knew that when you came in. You wanted to talk about tonight. Let's talk."
Since he insisted...
"You knew, didn't you? You knew my father was going to marry Cara off to Eduardo." When he said nothing, I continued. "That was what you were hiding from me the other day, wasn't it? Why would you do that?"
My anger from earlier returned, and I stormed over to where he sat, glaring down at him. "Cara would have been married off to Eduardo, all because you didn't tell me. Why the hell would you do that? I thought you had morals."
"Are you done?" Nicholas asked. He was unfazed even after my outburst.
"Unbelievable." I wasn't ready to talk to him now, or I feared I'd lose my temper and dig my ice pick heels into his eyes.
He caught my arm before I could walk away, rising to his feet. "Are you done?"
"With you? Always. Let me fucking go," I hissed, glaring up at him.
"You came here to talk, and that's what we're going to do." In a split second, I was on Nicholas's desk, and he stood between my parted thighs. "What did I say before we left for the party?" He asked, capturing my eyes with his.
All I could breathe in was his spicy cologne as his hypnotic eyes bored into mine. I was so lost in them I didn't even realize when my mouth moved to answer his question.
"Don't do anything stupid."
He shook his head. "No. The other thing."
"Not everyone will appreciate my temper and sharp mouth?"
"That's the one. You put Eduardo on your back."
"I don't regret what I did," I admitted, letting him see the honesty in my eyes. "I fought for my sister. Is that a crime?"
