Page 119 of Dirty Hearts

It was the first words I’d said in just over an hour.

His gaze locked onto mine, and he sat back down. His hair drifted over his eye and hung past his chin. He had wounds too. Bruises all over his face. A gash on his cheek and a big blue mark on his right temple.

I took the cloth from him and got up this time, making my way over to the bowl.

I dipped the cloth in and went back to him, placing it on the worst mark on his face. The bruise on his right temple, which I could feel a lump under.

He closed his eyes and pressed his face against the palm of my hand, lingering there like I offered him some comfort.

“I need to get you far away from here.” He spoke on the edge of a ragged breath, opened his eyes, and lifted his head. “Far, far away from me.”

“Luc told me I was the most important thing in your world.” I looked at him, really looked at him so he could see how serious I was.

“You are,” he said with complete conviction.

“Then you’ll know how I feel when I tell you I won’t be going anywhere without you, because you are the most important thing in my world too.”

He stood up just as I was about to reach for him.

“It’s not the same thing, Ava. It’s not. Look what happened today. You were lucky. We were lucky. Saul could be dead, and my family could have been killed. Raphael’s three years old, and because of me, mobsters broke in and shot up his house. They came for you. They came for you again because of me. My plan went to hell.” He shook his head. “I need you far from here.”

“Claudius. Do you seriously expect me to just sit around and do as I’m told?” I stood up too, balling my fists.

“It’s not about that.”

“Like fuck it isn’t. You think I should feel what you tell me to feel and do what you tell me to do. Then you shut me out and shut me down. What actually happened today? Tell me! I deserve to know. Tell me exactly how your plan went to hell. I’d love to know because it’s not like you’re some kind of amateur out for revenge. Did you even see him?Goliath? And yes, I know he’s here.”

His shoulders stiffened, and he tensed his jaw.

“I nearly had him. I had that bastard right where I wanted him, and someone sucker-punched me with a fucking bat.” He laughed off key with cold sarcasm. “The thing is, I swore the person who hit me was Alex or Jude. I don’t know. And Jude’s downstairs. He helped you all. So, it’s Alex?”

He let out a ragged sigh and grabbed the sides of his head in frustration.

I stepped forward and touched the edge of his chin. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that happens. You can’t, and definitely not when someone else is double-crossing you. Can’t you see that, Claudius?”

He shook his head, not answering. “I have to go speak to Luc. I have to… I’ll check back on you in a little while.”

All I could do was nod, but I got some respite when he pressed his lips to my forehead and planted a kiss there. I looked up and brushed my nose against his. It made him lower his head further and cover my mouth with his for a lingering kiss.

I was just about to get lost in it, in him, when he pulled away.

He pulled away and walked away from me, going through the door and closing it behind him.

My lips still burned from the heat of his kiss and all that I felt for him.

What was I going to do?

What the hell was I really going to do?

I couldn’t just run away from the situation. Run away from him.

I was inclined to blame myself too. This time for allowing my heart to guide my actions.

Coincidence had reunited us with my enquiry for the building on the east side for the new restaurant. But my heart did the rest. I decided that I wanted him. All of him, and everything that made him,him. Claudius. The mafia boss.

I decided that he was what I wanted. I’d never blamed him for the past. I’d simply wanted to understand what happened, and that led me here. Here. To this point, where loving him was making me crazy and the thought of being without him felt like it would kill me.

The door opened again, and I thought it was Claudius because there was no knock first, but it was Jude.