His Hostage(31)

“Thought you wanted to see her again?” Tommy asks.

“I do, but that’d be stupid.”

“What’s stupid is not taking something you want.” Dom starts and I’m quick to cut him off.

“It’s done, Dom. I can’t have her, and I won’t. I’m ending it as soon as she gets here.” The absolution is firm in my voice, but I don’t want it.

“What’s wrong with her?” Dom asks, and it makes me angry. Not a damn thing is wrong with her.

“She’s a witness, that’s what’s wrong,” Pops says as he comes into the room, and Dom seems confused for a moment, but then pissed. Calling her a witness makes my blood run cold.

“A witness to what?” Dom asks.

“Doesn’t fucking matter, because she doesn’t remember shit,” I say, putting an end to the conversation. “She’s not a witness.” My words come out hard and everyone looks at me like they’d like to disagree, but they’re smart enough to keep their mouths shut. “Pops just wants to be sure. And I’m gonna show him she’s good, and then she walks. No one fucking touches her.”

Dom’s eyebrows raise and I stare at him until he concedes. “Whatever you say, Vince.” He throws up his hands in surrender. “I don’t have a problem with it if you say it’s all good.” Pops nods his head and slaps a hand on my shoulder.

Before he can speak the doorbell rings, and we all look at the door. My heart clenches, knowing I’m gonna be saying goodbye to my sweetheart. It’s going to break her heart, but she shouldn’t be with a man like me anyway.

She’s too good for me. I’m sure she knows that.

I walk quickly to the door, knowing the book is on the dining room table. I’ll walk her in so everyone can see her, and walk her ass right back out.

Nice and easy.

My chest tightens as I twist the doorknob. I’m not sure if it’s because I think something’s going to go wrong, or because I won’t be able to let go.





Chapter 16: Vince





She looks beautiful in her little dress. I like it more than those tiny-ass shorts she was wearing when we first met. She looks like the sweetheart she is. That, and no one can see how perky her ass is in this dress. She should wear dresses like this all the time. I give her a tight smile even though seeing her puts me a bit at ease. My nerves are fucking killing me. I swear to God everyone can hear how fast my heart’s beating.

I need to get my shit together. Everything’s gonna be fine. And then I’ll end this, and she’ll be safe. My heart drops in my chest knowing she won’t be mine. She’ll never be mine. But at least I know she’ll be safe.

“Come on in, sweetheart,” I greet her, and open the door good and wide for her to enter. My parents' house is a nice home, but it’s old. Family pictures line the wall of the foyer. All of the picture frames are different, and there are a couple dozen of them in total. Ma doesn’t like taking any photos down, just adding new ones over time. The newest are the pictures of my nephew, Ethan. Dom’s little boy looks just like him.

She smiles, but it seems just as forced as mine. My heart sputters in my chest. She didn’t remember, did she? Her eyes linger on the pictures, and her lips soften and pull into a genuine smile. Good. I want her to be happy. I want them to see how happy and at ease she is. My eyes focus past her and land on Tommy. If she remembered what she witnessed yesterday, there’s no way she’d be alright in front of him.

She turns, and the dress flutters out at the motion. Her ponytail sways back and forth in time with her hips. My eyes focus on those hips. I want to flip up her dress and fuck the shit out of her. The need to claim her is riding me hard, but I need to shake that shit off.

“Hi there, beautiful,” Tommy says to her as she walks into the dining room, making a beeline for the book that’s on the edge of the table. I don’t like his tone. I know he’s just testing her, but I don’t like him calling her beautiful.

“Hi there,” she answers in a peppy voice and grabs her book, hugging it to her chest. The pressure makes her breasts bulge slightly from the top of the sweetheart neckline of her dress and gives them a fuller look. She’s not doing it on purpose, but I wanna spank her ass for it all the same.

Fuck this broad has gotten under my skin. All I can think about is nailing her, but now is not the time or place.

“How are you doing? Elle, is it?” Pops asks. He's across the room still, pouring himself a scotch from the old bar in the corner of the room.

“I’ll take one of those, Pops,” I say over Elle as she starts to answer him, and feel like an ass for interrupting. My nerves are getting to me and this isn’t good. The familia’s here. Pops is here. I need to get my shit together and keep it cool. I can’t fuck this up. “Sorry, sweetheart.” I gentle my hand on the small of her back and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Elle, that’s my Pops, my cousin Tommy, and my brother Dom.” They nod at her in turn as I introduce them one by one. “Dom's wife Becca is out back.”