Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“You can’t ignore me forever, Rory.”
I stared. “I’m not ignoring you, or I wouldn’t be here talking to you, which is, in case you didn’t realize, the last thing I want to do. And if I remember correctly, you managed to ignore me for eighteen years.”
“I never ignored you. And by running to New York, you’re ignoring me or trying to. But it’s very difficult to ignore me.”
I scoffed. I nodded at his wrist, which was no longer bandaged, though my attack had only happened about three weeks ago. “How’s your wrist?” It was probably still tender. Maybe I could rebreak it to pay him back for showing up here. I didn’t like my new violent tendencies and would have been truly concerned if they didn’t only appear around Nevio.
Nevio’s smile became darker, and he moved closer. With the wall at my back, I had no way to escape. “I’m used to pain, Rory. In any shape and form. You can’t deter me with it.”
The way Nevio said “pain” raised goose bumps on my skin. “You shouldn’t be here. I doubt your dad knows about this. Luca would throw a fit. It’s his territory, and I’m only a guest.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Nevio growled, pressing the palm of his injured arm into the wall beside my head. His scent engulfed me as he did so, but my anger stopped me from falling in its trap. Still, Nevio’s dark eyes almost made me buckle from their intensity. There was something in them that had never been there before in all the years. As I had suddenly become his prey. “You belong in Las Vegas.”
“Maybe I don’t anymore. Maybe my future is here. Away from Las Vegas. Away from you.”
“It’s not.”
An indignant laugh burst out of me. “Says who?”
“I’m saying it, and that’s the end of the story.”
“You can’t tell me what to do. Now less than ever. Not after what happened.” My voice still wavered when I mentioned that night, and my heart felt too heavy in my rib cage.
Nevio braced his other arm beside me. I sagged against the wall. I was scared of his closeness because of what it still did to my body, to my mind, to every part of me. “I think after what happened, I can tell you that you belong in Vegas.”
“Why? Do you need another disappointing drunk one-night stand? I’m not up for the job, in case you’re wondering. Find someone else, like you did in the past.”
“You’re not a one-night stand,” he growled.
“I’m not? Please enlighten me how I’m not a one-night stand if you banged me once and then disposed of me like you do with every girl.”
“Aurora.” The edge in his voice raised the little hairs on my forearm. His dark eyes burned with anger and frustration. “You’re not like every girl. If you were, I wouldn’t blink twice to kill you, but I can tell you that you’re one of the very few people on my ‘I doubt I could kill’ list.”
This would have come as a joke at the wrong time with anyone else, but I knew Nevio wasn’t joking. “Is that supposed to give me warm feelings?”
“I don’t know what it gives you. It’s the truth.”
“I’m staying in New York. Right now, nothing in Vegas is drawing me back.”
“Don’t think you being outside of my territory will stop me from doing what’s necessary to protect you.”
“It’s your father’s territory, not yours, and I’m well protected in New York.”
Nevio smiled in a way that made a shiver race down my spine.
“Luca won’t let you kill in his territory,” I whispered. It had to get through Nevio’s thick skull. The problem was that Nevio wasn’t blind to the truth. He just didn’t care about the consequences.
“Then don’t get yourself into trouble that forces my hand, Rory.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
He shifted, bringing us closer but not touching me, maybe because I tensed or because he didn’t ache for a touch like I did. “I don’t trust other guys around you. Stay away from them.”
I blinked. Before I could say something in turn, though I wasn’t sure it would have conveyed the necessary spite, Nevio stepped back, turned around, and disappeared in the shadows as if that was where he belonged all along. I couldn’t believe it. Had he really just warned me away from other guys? What was this? Some strange possessive streak? Jealousy? I almost laughed. Whatever it was, I wouldn’t bow down to it. Nevio held no power over me, not anymore. I wouldn’t let him ruin this trip for me. If I had to, I’d call his mother, and then Remo would definitely move everything to remove Nevio from New York. If Nevio decided to play dirty, so would I.
I gripped the strap of my purse, took a deep breath, and left the alley. A search party was probably on the way by now. I slowly made my way back to the hospital.