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She shifted her weight, attempting to get out from under me. “Luca, please. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”
I stroked her arm to put her at ease. “I know you’re sorry, baby. You have the rest of our lives to make it up to me.”
“Why did you send me away? You could have told me this nine months ago.”
“Because you were out of control. You needed professional help. I barely survived the knife wound. After that, I wasn’t sure if I would kill or marry you.”
“You would kill me?”
Yes.
Maybe.
No.
Could I kill her?
I was a heartless bastard, but Alexandrea Wellington was a part of me. She was the only good thing I had in my life. In a world tainted by violence and corruption, I needed her.
What binds us will destroy us.
Carl Wellington did his best to fix Alex after he’d found out about her traumatic childhood. He hired the top doctors in the country to treat her, but her bitch mother had fucked with her head. It made her doubt anyone but Aiden could love her. It had taken years for Alex to trust her precious Pops. And me, I wasn’t sure where we stood, somewhere between love and hate.
After her brother’s disappearance, she craved blood, her hatred turning her into someone unrecognizable. Not like I was any better. I just handled my shit in different ways.
I painted the town with the blood of my enemies, and Alex painted canvases. We were both fucking lunatics, which made us perfect for each other. Who else would understand the shit running through my psychotic mind? Only a crazy person could love someone like me.
“Luca,” she whispered against my neck, her body still trembling.
“Yeah, baby?”
“I don’t remember all the details. Not exactly. But I know what I did.”
She slid her hand to my thigh, slowly reaching my stomach. Her hand hovered above the scar. I had so many scars they looked like spider webs etched into my skin, but the one from Alex was unique—the deepest of them all.
The scar ached whenever I looked or thought about it. But I deserved it. We were both guilty of different crimes. She’d had every reason to want to kill me that night. If I didn’t have money, I would have bled out on the patio before the concierge doctor arrived.
Alex didn’t hold back that night, slicing right into my guts. She stole the knife I carried in my back pocket and tried to gut me like a fish. And she didn’t even care. Because she wasn’t in her body that night, it wasn’t my girl driving the crazy train.
Aiden caused her to snap.
Her internal clock reset.
I unbuttoned my shirt, and Alex leaned against me, feeling the scar with her fingers. “Luca, I don’t… I can’t believe I did this.”
“It wasn’t you, baby. You had a breakdown.”
“Not real,” she whispered. “You’re not real.” Alex moved her hand away. “This is a dream. Not real.”
I held her hand over the scar, forcing her to feel the rough edges. “Real, baby.”
“No,” she gasped. “If I tried to kill you, then that means… Aiden.”
She needed to remember what happened to Aiden on her own. I offered no additional information. Let her form whatever opinion she wanted. This was her mystery to uncover.
I dipped my head down, my lips inches above hers. The heat from her breath warmed my skin, sending a wave of electricity throughout my body. Until Alex, I’d never felt a connection with anyone, not even my brothers. I never even kissed a woman because I couldn’t handle intimacy.
Alex was the exception to every rule.