Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“That’s too damn bad, isn’t it?” she snaps. “You’re part of the Larone family now. You got what you wanted. You can leave me out of it.”
Her smart mouth is like gasoline on the fire that’s burning me up from inside. I want to grab her again, to pin her beneath me and kiss her until she begs me to eat her cunt. But that’s not what my angel needs. From the tremor in her voice, I know she’s still afraid, but I also see more in her eyes. She’s turned on. Her body wants mine, and fuck it’s like torture to sit here without giving her what she wants. But she doesn’t know she wants it. Not yet. She’s too full of worry and fear.
“You’re right.” I sit back.
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“I said you’re right.”
She shakes her head as if I’m speaking a foreign language.
“I didn’t court you as I should have. My main goal was to become part of your family. You’re correct about that, too. I’m not the sort of man who sits around and waits for something to be handed to him. When I see what I want, I take it. Marrying into your family is the easiest way for me to rise in the ranks and eventually become head of the most powerful family in the city.”
“You’ll never be head of the Larone family. You aren’t blood.”
“I don’t want to be head of the Larone family, angel. I will be head of the Palermo family, my family. And we will rule this city in any way we please.”
“We?” She scrunches her nose.
“You’re my bride, are you not? An important piece of my family. The future mother of my children.”
Her face goes stoic, and she turns away. “I see.”
“I don’t think you do.” I take her hand.
“No.” She yanks her hand away. “I know I’m supposed to be your broodmare, having your babies while you whore around with mistresses. Trust me, my parents told me all my life that I’m only good for making heirs. You don’t have to say anything else.”
I can’t seem to say what I mean, which is new for me. I’ve never had a problem being understood. Then again, that understanding usually comes from someone who’s at the business end of my gun barrel.
“Angelica, this isn’t–” I turn my head as a car races up beside the limo.
“Isn’t what?” she huffs.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I grab her and throw her to the floorboard and cover her with my body.
“Stop!” she screams, but the sound is quickly cut off by gunfire as glass shatters all around us, and the limo veers off the road.
4
ANGELICA
All the air leaves my lungs when Antonio’s body covers mine on the floor of the limo. Pain shoots through me from my already bruised ribs. I try to push him off me, but it’s useless. For a brief second, I think I’ve gone too far and really pissed him off. Until I hear the gunfire and the sound of shattering glass. The limo jerks around, but I can’t see anything.
It dawns on me that he’s not trying to hurt me but instead shielding me from whatever is happening. I stop trying to push him off. I grab hold of him instead and brace myself as the limo slides into something. It jerks us hard again before finally coming to a stop. Antonio lifts his head, his eyes meeting mine.
“You’re okay.” It doesn’t come out as a question but more like an order, as though he’s letting me know that I’m all right so that I don’t panic. I know he’s waiting for a response to gauge how I’m doing.
“I’m okay,” I agree. I don’t think I’m hit. The only place that hurts is my side.
“Listen to me, angel. I won’t let anything happen to you, but know you’re a Palermo now. No one can take that from you. What’s mine is now yours.”
“What?” I wince when I hear more gunfire go off. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“In case I don’t make it.” My heart sinks. He presses a hard kiss to my mouth that is over as quickly as it began.
He lifts off me, turning just as one of the doors opens. I watch in stunned silence as Antonio pulls out a gun and fires two shots off before he reaches into the back of his pants to pull out another gun. I sit up, my stupid dress tangling all around me.
Antonio fires another few shots before he turns to me with the second gun. He grabs my hand, slapping the gun into it. “Your hand has to be pressed there.” He shoves the gun harder into my hand so the back of it hits between my thumb and index finger. I feel the handle of it push in. “Then you can pull the trigger.”