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“It doesn’t seem like you mind me sitting on you all that much, Connor.” She smirks.

“My dick doesn’t have a brain, Aurora. Just because he still likes you doesn’t mean I do.” Probably not wise to taunt her, but fuck it.

“That’s… I don’t believe you. Anyway, don’t you want to know why you’re here?”

“Why?”

“I’m saving us.” She smiles like she just solved world hunger.

“There is nous,” I remind her. “Now let me go.”

“There will always be anus, even if you refuse to let yourself acknowledge it.”

“Aurora, we were destined to break up. You know that. I know that. If my family found out about you, they wouldn’t just kill you. They would…”

“They would what?” she asks, craning her neck to one side to stare at me.

“Do you know what they did after Kenny died? WhatIdid?”

Aurora shakes her head.

“I had to give them someone, Aurora, and it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be you. So I lied. I told them the Albanians did it,” I admit.

“Okay, I… You could have given them my name,” she says.

“No, I couldn’t. They found the daughter of the Albanian boss. It was her wedding night, and I watched as my father and uncle had ten of their men beat and rape the girl, while her husband was forced to watch. It went on for hours before they finally killed them.”

“You… More innocent people died because of me?” Aurora climbs off the bed and starts pacing the room.

“No, they died because ofme. Because I gave my family the Albanians,” I tell her.

“Because you were protecting me,” she says. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“And what? Watched as they raped you? Watched as they beat you? As they broke you? No thanks.” I shake my head. Just the thought of that happening to her makes me feel fucking sick. “Aurora, take off the fucking cuffs!”

“I can’t. You’re going to leave and I need to make sure you stay.”

“Why?” I ask her.

“They’re going to kill you, Connor. I can’t let them kill you,” she says.

“Who?”

“My family.” She falls to the ground, sitting with her back against the door.

“Why would your family want to kill me?” I need more details. I don’t know what she’s talking about.

“They know your family stole a container. Killed some of our men. They’re going to attack, Connor,” she says.

“What?”They’re going to attack my family? I need to warn my father. I need to get my mother out of the house.“When?”

“I don’t know, but I had to make sure you weren’t there.”

“Aurora, you need to let me go.” I pull harder on my wrists, but nothing budges. “I need to warn my parents.”

“No.” She shakes her head.

“What do you meanno?”