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Her lips press into a thin line, like she’s waiting for me to make a bigger deal out of it, but I watch her, letting the words settle.

“What exactly was he looking for?” I ask.

She exhales, shaking her head. “That, I don’t know. But whatever it was, it was enough for my mom to run. Enough for my family to want me dead.” She’s still processing it herself.

I tilt my head. “You thought digging through my shit would lead you to answers?”

She shrugs. “It was a start.”

A slow smirk tugs at my lips. “And here I thought you just wanted to stare at my ass in a suit.”

Her eyes narrow, but there’s the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Don’t flatter yourself. I had a mission. I read everything I could. Then, when I saw you bought Tito’s casino, I went undercover at Elli’s.”

“Tito,” I sneer before I can stop myself. “The same uncle who put a hit on you.”

She freezes. “The same uncle who killed my mom.”

Fuck.

“He’s a sorry fucking excuse for a man.”

She blinks like she’s trying to process who Tito really is. “But he won’t even talk to me. Why have me killed?”

I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t know exactly why, but Seb tapped into his calls from prison. Tito got excited that Ezra had found you, and he told him you needed to be taken out.”

She exhales, closing her eyes for a second, and I have no fucking clue what she’s thinking. If she’s relieved or just more torn up. “This… this doesn’t make sense.”

“Ezra was just the latest fucking pawn in his game. And yet, he didn’t hesitate to come after you.” My voice comes out sharper than I intended, but I don’t take it back. “Tito’s been trying to take me out since I bought the casino.” I shake my head. “Made his own son kill his half-brother, Franco, your cousin.”

Liv’s face drains of color, her fingers twitching like she wants to reach for something, maybe me, maybe the pain pump to sedate the shit out of herself.

Tito put a hit on her and Ezra almost fucking pulled it off. She’s barely out of the woods, lying in a hospital bed, and still, these motherfuckers won’t stop coming for her. Seb is checking to see if Tito made any other calls to his other spawns, now that he knows where Liv’s at.

I sigh, dragging a hand down my face. “Look, I get it. You want to believe Tito isn’t the kind of man who would sell out his own blood. But he is. And the sooner you accept that, the better.”

She doesn’t argue or fight me, which means she already knows I’m right.

Her fingers twitch against mine. “So, what now?”

I squeeze her hand, holding her gaze. “Now, I deal with it my way. And we start with getting married, so you’re under my protection.”

Her fingers go still in mine. “I can’t marry you.”

I know she’s still hurt, still recovering, but those words hit harder than they should.

“You can,” I say, tucking a curl behind her ear. “And you will.”

“No.” She lets out something between a yawn and a giggle. Her eyelids look heavy.

I arch a brow. “You think this is funny?”

She sighs, shifting slightly, wincing as she moves. “I think I’m on some really good drugs.”

I shake my head, smirking despite myself. “Yeah? Well, remember thisconversation when they wear off.”

Her eyes flutter open just enough to meet mine. “I don’t need a ring to be safe.”

I lean in, brushing my lips against her knuckles. “No, but you need me.”