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I see her retreating behind those walls she builds so well, where she buries her fears. But we’re both too far gone to harbor unspoken fears. So, I deliberately push her.

“I meant it when I said I don’t hurt women. Yet.” I lift a shoulder in a careless shrug, then pull out my rosary and let the cold metal beads rest over my shirt.

As expected. She snaps.

“You’re crazy! An angry psychopath on a destructive path, not willing or able to listen—”

I cut her off with a hard, desperate kiss. She shoves back and slaps me hard. My hand fists her nape as I kiss her again, and this time, she doesn’t pull away. This time, she kisses me back.

I walk her backward toward the bed, yanking the sheet from her body as we go. Her fingers fumble with my rosary, pulling at the heavy beads like she means to snap them. Instead, she only manages to tighten them around my throat as we fall onto the mattress.

I gather her wrists in one hand, stretching her arms high above her head.

Then I take off the rosary. “What are you trying to do? Strangle me?”

She bares her teeth, all righteous fury. “If that’ll save my father from the same fate. Yes!”

I hold her glare, watching her struggle to maintain that rage. Her breathing comes fast and shallow, and her jaw is so tight I can see the muscle jump. Suddenly, her left eye twitches. Actually fucking twitches.

“What the hell? Is that . . . are you doing that on purpose?” I point at her eye, fascinated as it happens again. It’s such an unexpected tell—this fierce, deadly woman with an involuntary tick when she’s pushed too far.

“I’m livid, you asshole!”

I collapse on top of her, laughing. I can’t help it.

She tries to maintain her glare, but her twitching eye ruins the effect. Finally, she slumps against the mattress with a frustrated sound. “I can’t just stand by and do nothing while you kill my father, Cade. I can’t. I swear if you touch him . . .”

“Baby, I couldn’t hurt your father if I tried.”

“Then why haven’t you struck him off your list?”

“Because he’s still alive.”

Twolines appear between her brows. “I see. So his name remains until his sins pile up, by which time I’m no longer in your life, and you can conveniently forget your promise? No. I say we torch the list. You can start another one.”

“Not a chance.”

“Then I’ll do it myself when you’re not there.”

I chuckle, nuzzling her neck. Only now do I register how perfectly she fits beneath me, her legs spread wide, my hips nestled between her thighs. Without thinking, I rock against her warmth, and it doesn’t take long before she’s writhing.

“If you try it, I’ll turn your ass fire engine red. Then I’ll do it again once it heals. And then? I’ll do it all over again.”

She stills, probably picturing it and deciding it wouldn’t be worth the pain. “I’m serious. You can’t hurt him. He’s all I’ve got.”

“You don’t listen, do you?”

“Cade, I mean it—”

“I love you.” The words come out rough. “I’ll kill whatever you need me to. But I’m incapable of hurting your father—or anyone you don’t want me to.”

“You . . . wait, what?” Her brow furrows. “You’d do whatever I tell you?”

I huff out a laugh. “That’s what you took away from what I just said?”

“No, I . . .” She shakes her head as if to clear it. “You love me?”

“Inconveniently, yes.” I study her face, watching the realization sink in.