Page 87 of Tortured Hearts

She slumps into the cushion and tucks her hands in her lap. “No more secrets and half-truths. Either I’m in this with you as an equal or not at all.”

Fuck.

I didn’t anticipate being backed into another corner so quickly. Then again, this is Becca. The woman has a knack for needling through my armor. The only thing left to do is come out swinging.

“Your appearance rattled a lot of chains, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. But it did, so I had to deal with the fallout … and quickly.”

Her chalky pallor tells me I’m scaring her. Good. She should be scared. This whole fucking thing should scare the ever-living shit out of her.

“What did you do?”

“You were an outsider with inside information, a threat the Authority wanted silenced. So, I did the only thing I could do… I made you untouchable.”

“How?”

“By convincing them to accept you as my wife.”

“Are you crazy?” When I don’t answer, she shakes her head and shuffles backward across the cushions. “No, Gianni, absolutely not.”

“That wasn’t aproposal.”

Her jaw drops. “Are youdemandingI marry you?”

“Yes.”

She blinks, speechless from my audacity or authority. Either way, I don’t give a shit. This is one argument that big words and fancy degrees won’t win her.

“So you can have even more control over me?” she sputters finally. “I don’t think so.”

“Fucking hell, this isn’t about control. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“By trapping me into marriage?”

“Yes, goddamn it!”

“Did you clear this with your other option?” she says, her lips flattening.

I grit my teeth. “I get that you’re upset, but I’ve already explained about Cathalina. I won’t do it again.”

All that righteous indignation deflates. “There has to be another way. No one should have to choose between vows and bullets.”

I rake my fingers through my hair, irritated I’m having to pull this card, but she’s leaving me no choice. If she wants a reason to bind herself to me, I’ll give her one. “Becca, come here.”

“Are you seriously ordering me around right now?”

Yes. Because that’s the only fucking thing you respond to.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Now, come to me, or I’ll come to you, and I promise you, it won’t be as pleasant.”

I see the moment the switch flips in her. Her muscles relax. Her jaw slacks. Her eyes glaze, that frenetic fire dialing back to a heated simmer. Then, she’s moving, inch by inch until she’s so close I could easily pull her into my lap.

Instead, I glide my hand up her neck and take her throat in a light hold. “There are other reasons, Doc. The Authority demanded I eliminate all of Marcello’s links to Providence.”

She doesn’t speak for a moment, then her eyes widen. “You mean…?”

“Yes, I’m talking about your father. They know about him.”

“Gianni,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “You can’t kill my father.”