Page 70 of Thorns of Desire

She rolled her eyes. “You’re notthatold.”

“Old enough to make you see a doctor one way or the other,” I leaned in to say, pecking her cheek.

Her eyes flashed.

“It’s in your best interest not to mistake me for an obedient woman, Manuel.” I returned my eyes to the road, driving but she leaned over the center console, her teeth coming to my neck. “In fact, any man who thinks he can boss me around will be sorely disappointed.”

And then she bit me, marking me as hers.

Game. Set. Match. Fuck, I was gone for this woman.

But nonetheless, I would win this battle of wills.

Reaching out with my free hand, I gripped her nape. “I agree,amorina. I’d be an idiot not to acknowledge your strength, especially after what happened tonight, but this is your healthwe’re talking about. I won’t negotiate when it comes to your well-being.”

Two heartbeats passed and she sighed.

“Fine, doctor it is.”

I rewarded her with a quick peck on her mouth. “I knew you’d come around.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed the doctor. “Be ready for us in thirty minutes,” I told him, and then I hung up before he could respond.

While I drove to the doctor’s secret location, my thoughts drifted to Danil. Running into him in front of Athena’s apartment was unexpected. Did he know she was his half sister? Was he working with his father? I didn’t trust Atticus; he was in the habit of stabbing his allies in the back, but from everything I’d heard, Danil took his role as the head of the Balkan mafia seriously. He was a fair businessman.

However, I wasn’t willing to test that theory with Athena’s life.

Between the Triads and Danil, the risk was too great that someone didn’t have her best interest at heart. The former had dared to touch my woman, and the latter was too secretive about his intentions.

And then there was the issue of Alexandra.

My gut warned me she was at the center of it all, along with Atticus’s screw-up when he decided to fuck Lykos over, knowing he didn’t tolerate human trafficking. But why was Athena the one in the firing line and not her mother?

Cazzo, none of it made sense.

Glancing over at Athena, I found her fast asleep. She looked exhausted, but still somehow glowing. I wanted her so badly that my teeth ached with it.

Returning my eyes to the road, I dialed up Enrico.

He answered on the third ring. “Sì?”

“Did I wake you?”

“Little too late to be concerned about that, don’t you think?”

I let out a sardonic breath. “Payback for all the times you’ve woken me up.”

“Che è successo?” What happened?

I took a deep breath before responding in Italian. “The Triads attacked Athena again.”

“They’re really going after her,” he pointed out the obvious. “Where did it happen?”

“In her apartment again. Then, to make matters worse, when we were leaving, I ran into Danil Popov and his shadow, Soren.”

He let out a string of curses before responding. “Is she okay?”

“Sì, but I’m taking her to the doctor just to be sure.” I tapped my fingers on my knee. “I need a favor.”