When I woke up that morning, I rolled on top of Vanessa, fucked her, and then got out of bed. I did my workout in the living room, hopped in the shower, and then sat at the kitchen table in my sweatpants while I read the newspaper. A mug of hot coffee sat on the table in front of me, and I sipped it as the sunlight slowly filled the apartment with the rising sun. Now that the painting was out of our lives, I finally felt comfortable in the space. The painting she replaced it with was one she’d made of me.

I hadn’t had a chance to ask her about it yet.

A few hours later, Vanessa woke up and joined me. She usually grabbed whatever t-shirt I left behind and threw it on, looking sexy as hell in my oversized clothes. Her footsteps sounded against the hardwood floor as she approached me from behind. When she stopped behind me, she wrapped her arms around my chest, leaned down, and then peppered my shoulder with kisses.

I dropped the paper on the table and hooked my arm across hers until I gripped her hand. I watched her kiss me, her long hair trailing down my chest and tickling my skin. Her smell wrapped around me, the hint of shampoo and perfume. The grin stretched across my face, treasuring the moment to keep forever. This was what I wanted for the rest of my life, just the two of us, living a simple life. “Morning.”

“Morning.” She pressed her mouth against mine and kissed me. She gave my chest and shoulders a squeeze before she stood straight and walked fully into the kitchen.

My eyes moved to her ass, wishing my long shirt didn’t cover it. Her pussy was full of the seed I put there a few hours ago, and I wanted to look at my handiwork. She didn’t like to wake up as early as I did, so she always went right back to sleep once I was finished. With warm come inside her, she dozed off for another few hours while I worked out and made breakfast.

“Did you already eat?” She pulled a bowl from the cabinet along with a box of cereal.

“Yes.”

“I was going to offer to make you some cereal.” She poured the milk into the bowl and grabbed a spoon.

I cocked an eyebrow, full of amusement. “Make me cereal? Baby, you can’t make cereal.”

She carried the bowl to the table and sat down. She crossed her legs then dug her spoon into the bowl. “I beg to differ. This is one of my favorite recipes.”

I preferred to have a woman who could cook, but I loved Vanessa just the way she was. She could fight like a man and paint like a master, but she couldn’t work a set of pans if her life depended on it. “Not a recipe.”

“It has two ingredients,” she argued. “That’s enough evidence.”

I turned back to my paper again, the grin still on my mouth.

“I like it when you smile.”

My eyes moved back up to look at her, and once I saw the affection in her eyes, I dropped my smile. “You haven’t seen me smile enough to know if you like it.”

“Just seeing it once is enough for me.” She smiled at me before she turned back to her cereal.

Now I didn’t care about the paper anymore. All I wanted to do was look at her, look at those pretty eyes and those full lips.

She kept eating like she didn’t notice my look. “We should go see my family sometime today. I told them I would come by for dinner, but that didn’t happen. I’ll give them a call after I shower.”

I never told her I’d screamed at her father. My temper got the best of me, and I torched the new relationship we’d finally established. But after everything that man put me through, I didn’t regret it. Vanessa could have ended up with another man because of his decision. She should be with me—end of story. I didn’t like her father, and I would never like him. I didn’t expect him to like me when we first met, but I expected him to keep an open mind considering he wasn’t always the honorable man he is now. But he never gave me a chance. He was determined to destroy me right from the beginning. I’d proven myself a million times over, so now I didn’t need his approval. All I wanted was Vanessa, and now that I had her, I didn’t give a damn about him.

When I didn’t say anything, she looked at me. “Is that okay?”

“Yes.” Her family was important to her, so I would go through the motions to make her happy. I wasn’t sure if I should tell her I yelled at her father, or if I should give Crow the honor of telling her. It seemed awkward no matter how we confessed. Since he hadn’t said a single word or given me any kind of response, I had no idea how he felt about my speech. He didn’t punch me, so I guess he wasn’t that mad about it. If he ratted on me, I would know the answer—and respect him even less.

Just when I turned back to my paper, there was a knock on the door.

My eyes flicked back up and looked at her. “Expecting someone?”

She finished chewing her food as she raised her eyebrows. “No.”

If it was the painter, I’d punch him so hard he’d fly down the stairs. I set my paper down and rose to my feet.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll get—”

“No.” My authority burned through my gaze as I stared at her, my look keeping her pinned into her seat. “I’m the one who answers the door—not you.” I walked across the apartment and approached the front door, unsure who I would be faced with. It was eleven in the morning, too early for a random visitor. I opened the door and came face-to-face with the worst possible person.

Crow.

In a black t-shirt with dark jeans, he looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him. With his tanned skin and masculine features, he was still a good-looking man despite his age. He carried himself like a soldier ready for battle, his muscle tone still impressive because he lifted weights every day of his life. He could never compare to me, not when I had thirty years of youth on my side. We both knew that bullet would have killed him. My strength and vigor were greater, so I survived.

I kept my hand on the knob as I stared at him, watching him stare back at me with the same cryptic expression. I was shirtless and in my sweatpants, my hair slightly messy from rolling around in bed with his daughter, but I wasn’t ashamed of it. I was fucking his daughter every night, but I was also loving her, protecting her, and being the man she deserved.

I thought of the last words I said to him.

Fuck. You.

He hadn’t said anything at the time, but maybe he was ready to say something now.

“Is this a bad time?” His words were anticlimactic. I expected more from him, a fist to the mouth or an insult to the ears.

“No. I’ll get Vanessa.” I turned my back on him, letting him look at all the ink I had all over my body. He hadn’t seen me shirtless before, so now he knew I was completely covered with the skulls, dragons, bullets, and gravestones.

“I’m not here for her.”

I turned back around, my muscles naturally flexing in preparation for a fight. His calmness only made me more suspicious. A part of me wanted him to finally snap and start a fight. I wanted an excuse to hit him, but he had to make the first move—otherwise, it would be a betrayal to Vanessa. “Then what do you want?” If he wanted to continue this conversation on my doorstep, it was tacky. I was handicapped with my woman in the next room.

He still didn’t seem angry, and there wasn’t a gun on his hip or tucked inside his waistband. “A drink—if you’re free.”

He wanted to get a drink with me? It wasn’t too early to hit a bar, not for someone like me. I started drinking as soon as I finished my coffee, and that was around nine in the morning. The only reason I hadn’t already had a glass of scotch was because of my woman. She’d asked me to cut back—and I listened. With her by my side, I didn’t need it anyway, not the way I used to. “A drink?” I asked blankly.

“Yes. It’s not too early, right?” He moved his hands into his pockets. “I know we both start before lunch.”

Most of the time when I was with Crow, he was drinking scotch. It didn’t matter what time of day it was. The only time he seemed to drink wine was when he was with his family. It made me wonder if he even liked it.

He must want to talk about the last conversation we had, but I didn’t think there was anything left to say. “I meant what I said. I won’t apologize for it. You stand by every decision you made until this point. Let’s just leave it alone.”

His expression didn’t change. He used to wear his rage on his face, silently threatening me with his dark eyes full of malice. But now he was a conundrum, impossible to read. He must have done that on purpose. “That’s fine. I still want that drink.”

Then what the hell did he want to talk about?

“I’ll wait for you on the sidewalk.” He took the steps back down then faced the road, his hands still in his pockets.

I finally shut the door and walked back inside.

“Who was that?” Vanessa asked from the table.

“Your father.”

She pushed away her bowl of soggy cereal. “Really? Why didn’t you invite him inside?”

“Because you’re practically naked.”

She looked down at herself, seeing my t-shirt barely hiding her pointed nipples and blue thong.

“And he wants to get a drink.”

She glanced at the time on the microwave. “It’s not even noon.”

“Yes, I know it’s late.”

She narrowed her eyes on my face, not appreciating the joke. “I’ll get dressed, then.”

“He says he’s here for me, not you.”

She was about to rise out of her chair but lowered herself instead. “Oh…that’s nice.”

She had no idea that it wasn’t nice at all. He obviously had an agenda. I was about to find out what it was. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. Where will you be?” I wanted to know where my woman was at every moment. She was officially mine, and I wanted her to be safe at all times. I had a beautiful woman to guard—and I took my job very seriously.

“I’ll shower then work at the gallery. I haven’t been open in so long…hopefully, I still have customers.”

With her kind of talent, she could close down for a year, and there would still be business. “You will, baby.”

The walk to the bar was the most awkward five minutes of my life.

We walked side by side, not making small talk. With our eyes glued to our destination, we kept as much space between us as possible. He didn’t want to be any closer to me than he had to be, and that feeling was mutual.

We walked inside the bar and got a booth in the corner. There were only a few customers there at that time of day since it was during a weekday, and lunchtime hadn’t even arrived.

We ordered our drinks, both scotch, and then faced each other.

Crow held my gaze without backing down, but he seemed disgruntled, like he didn’t want to be there at all.

Neither did I. I’d rather be at home with Vanessa, watching her paint in the living room or do the dishes in the kitchen. Everything she did was fascinating to me. When she concentrated on her work, she bit her bottom lip from time to time. Sometimes she would mouth words to a song under her breath, but she wouldn’t actually sing. I always wondered if she sang only when she was alone.

Our drinks arrived, and we both snatched the glasses and got the amber liquid down our throats as quickly as possible. We went straight for the hard liquor, skipping the beer and wine unlike everyone else in that bar.

Silence passed. It seemed to last a lifetime.

I wasn’t sure why he’d dragged me down here if he had nothing to say.

Unintimidated, I held his gaze and waited, refusing to speak first. He was the one who disturbed my day. He was the one who pulled me from Vanessa—again. This was the kind of bullshit I would have to deal with for the rest of my life, an overprotective father who wouldn’t back off.

If I didn’t love my baby so damn much…

He finally said something. “You’re right, I’m not going to apologize for the things I’ve done. I won’t apologize for taking my daughter away from you. I’ll never apologize for protecting my little girl…even if she’s not a little girl anymore.”

“Thank you for dragging me all the way down here to tell me that.”

He ignored the sarcastic jab. “I accept your hatred. In your eyes, I’ve earned it. That’s fine with me. I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

“Just as arrogant as ever.”

His eyes narrowed. “As are you.”

I drank from my glass, not denying it.

“We can’t change the past, and I’m sure neither of us wants to change it anyway. My reasons for hating you were valid. Your reasons for hating me are also valid. But I would like to put it behind us and move forward. Since you’re no longer the same man, your past is irrelevant. I’m willing to forget about it because you’ve proven how much you love my daughter. I’ve come to realize we’re very similar. I wasn’t a good man until I met the woman I love…and you have the same story.”

He wanted us to bury the past and start over, but for me, that wasn’t an option. “Look, I’m willing to put on a show for Vanessa because it makes her happy. I’ll live in Florence so she can see you all the time, I’ll come over for family dinners and shake your hand, I’ll give your wife a hug and make small talk with Conway. But let’s leave it at that. Let’s not be in the same room together any longer than that. We’re just wasting time when we would both rather be doing something else.” Maybe he felt guilty about the bullet I took for him. Maybe he felt like he owed me more because of the sacrifice I made. “All I want is Vanessa. Now that I have her, I don’t want anything else. So you don’t need to make this gesture out of obligation. I didn’t save your life for you—I did it for her.” I took another drink, letting the warm liquid fill my stomach.

He swirled his glass slightly before he looked into the liquid. It was the first time he’d dropped his gaze, abruptly ended contact with me. Maybe he felt relieved by what I said. Or maybe he felt something else entirely. “I’m not sitting here out of obligation or guilt. I’m not sitting here for Vanessa. I’m sitting here because I misjudged you, Griffin.” He set his glass down and looked me in the eye again. “I understand you want nothing to do with me, but I want to get to know you. I want a relationship with you.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. The Crow Barsetti I knew would never say anything like that. The only time I ever heard him say anything heartfelt was when he spoke to Vanessa. I stared at him blankly, unsure if I should be annoyed or disappointed. “Is this a joke?”

“No.” He looked me in the eye, his voice not shaking. “Conway married Sapphire, and now she’s a daughter to me. Instead of losing a son, I’ve gained another Barsetti. I know you’ll never be a Barsetti, but you will be my son-in-law. But I want you to be more than that…I want you to be my son.”

I still couldn’t believe any of this. “When I called you to tell you about Conway being captured, you threatened to kill me.” That was just a few weeks ago, not ancient history like he was pretending it was.

He winced slightly.

“And you told me I was trash and I always would be trash. Why the fuck would you want trash to be part of your family?”

He winced again, soaking in the words I threw back at him.

“Your insults don’t wound me. Bullets don’t even wound me. But let’s not pretend—”

“I’m not pretending I never said those things, Griffin. I said them, and I meant them—at the time. But I realize I was wrong. You’ve proven me wrong, Griffin. You’re not trash. You’re a very powerful and admirable man. When you ask my permission to marry my daughter, I will gladly give it to you.”

“Ask your permission?” I asked with a snort. “No, asshole. I will not ask for your permission. I earned that shit when I took that bullet for you. I never have to ask you for anything else.”

He dropped his gaze again, but this time, his breathing was different. He rubbed his temple then looked out the window, his hard appearance softening right before my eyes. Minutes passed, and he didn’t say anything.

I looked away, hoping this ridiculous conversation was over.

He turned back to me a short while later. “Griffin.”

I met his gaze, swallowing my annoyance.

“Please don’t take that away from me.” He placed his hand over his heart. “Please let me give my daughter away. Please let me be involved. Please show me the ring and tell me when you’re going to ask my daughter to be your wife. I understand if you don’t care or think it’s important…but it means the world to me.”

It was my turn to look away, uncomfortable with the emotion on his face. He never showed vulnerability in front of me, and the reason it bothered me so much was because I could feel his pain. I could feel his emotion…and it made me care. Unable to form a response verbally, I only gave a nod.

He dropped his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Griffin.”

I drank from my glass then waved down the bartender for another. I hated myself for caring about his feelings, for caving to his plea so easily. In my heart, I knew I didn’t do that for Vanessa. I did it out of respect…because he was a good father. I never doubted how much he loved Vanessa and Conway. I never doubted how much he loved his wife. It was one of the reasons I hated him so much…that he had something I never did.

The bartender brought new glasses then walked away.

I continued to stare at my drink, not wanting to look at Crow’s face anymore.

“I don’t expect things to change overnight. I don’t expect you to even like me. And if you never like me, that’s fine. But either way, I want to be part of your life. I want my own relationship with you, to get to know the man I’ve come to admire and respect.”

My eyes lifted to his face, to see the sincerity in his gaze.

“I’m not the kind of man who admits when he’s wrong because I’m never wrong. But with you…I was very wrong. You’ve proven your loyalty and your love. I trust you implicitly. I’m very happy to know my daughter has you. That’s all a father wants, for his daughter to marry a good man. You’re a good man, Griffin.”

The only other person who’d ever said that to me was Vanessa…that I was a good man.

Crow stared at me for a long time, as if he expected me to say something.

I didn’t have any words. Even without knowing Crow as well as Vanessa did, I knew I could assume this was challenging for him. For him to sit down with his enemy’s son and try to start a relationship couldn’t have been easy, and no one could make him do it either. Not only was this genuine, but also difficult. After everything he did to me, it was hard for me not to hate him, and it was even harder for me to stand his company like this. But something he said sank into my skin, hit the right nerve.

When I didn’t say anything, Crow spoke again. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“I’m not very interesting.” I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but that was the truth.

“I never assumed you were.” A slight smile moved onto his lips, telling me he was joking. “Tell me anything about yourself.”

I couldn’t believe I was sitting across from Crow Barsetti in a bar in Florence, having a casual conversation like friendly acquaintances. This man had been my father’s enemy for decades, and he was the reason I was orphaned before I was even ten years old. Now, I was in love with his daughter, forging a strange bond between us because we loved the same woman. “I’m not much of a talker.”

“Neither am I.”

“Then this should be fun…” I looked away, a sigh escaping my lips.

He drank from his glass, still looking at me. “Come on, meet me halfway.”

When I chuckled, it was full of anger. “I tried to meet you halfway once before…”

“You’ve proven you’re the bigger man. So do it again.”

I wasn’t used to this kind of flattery from anyone but Vanessa.

“Alright.” He swirled his scotch like it was wine. “I’ll go first.” He cleared his throat. “When that thug had his gun pointed at me, I was scared. I’ve had a gun pointed between my eyes like that many times, but it was always without a hint of fear.”

“You didn’t look scared to me.”

“I’m the best bluffer I know.”

“Why were you scared that time but not the others?” Now that we were talking about something interesting, I stopped focusing on the awkward situation that existed from the two of us being together.

“Because every other time I’ve been held at gunpoint, my family has been safe. One time, I was being tortured in a warehouse because this asshole wanted my wife. He demanded that I give up her location. She was pregnant with Conway at the time. Of course, he was wasting his time.” He shifted his gaze out the window, the memory dancing across his eyes. “He cocked the gun and prepared to pull the trigger. But I didn’t care…because my wife and son were safe. In Milan, that wasn’t the case. I did the best I could to save my son. I thought I could blow out the engine so Conway could run, but that didn’t happen. I fell to the ground, a failure. And that was why I was scared…because my son wasn’t safe.”

I held my glass but kept my eyes on him, seeing the picture he painted with his words. I remembered seeing him on the ground, staring down the barrel of the gun. He took his death with dignity, not giving his executioner any power over him. I’d killed a lot of men, and most of them went out like a pussy. They pretended to be brave until things got real, until they were held at gunpoint. Then they pissed themselves. Shit themselves. Begged for their lives. Crow Barsetti didn’t do that. He was a strong man, and it didn’t surprise me that he raised such a strong daughter.

When I didn’t speak, Crow kept talking. “I raised my son to be the strongest man he could possibly be, and I think I succeeded. But he was ambushed without any warning, and there was nothing he could do but hope that someone would rescue him. I won’t be around forever. I won’t always be there to save him. Sapphire won’t be able to protect him because she takes care of him in other ways. But you will be there…and that brings me peace. Before I knew you were dating my daughter, I told her I wanted her to marry a powerful man. It didn’t matter if he was rich because money can cause more problems than it solves sometimes. I’m not clueless to my daughter’s special qualities, and I can confidently say she can have any man she wants…and she’s chosen you. All I wanted was someone who could protect her when I’m gone. You fit the bill perfectly.” He took another drink, handling his liquor just as well as I did even though I was thirty years younger than him.

“No one will ever bother her as long as I live.” I said it with complete confidence, meaning every single word. A man would never get within ten feet of her without being chased off. I would be the guard dog by her side. All I would do was growl, and men would shit themselves.

He gave a slight nod. “I believe you. That’s all Pearl and I want.”

“Well, you’re getting your wish.”

He gave another slight nod. “Does that mean you’ll be quitting the business?”

“Are you going to point a gun at my head if I say no?” Our conversation was going well, but I couldn’t restrain myself from these vicious comments. For the past eight months, this man had dictated my life completely. My relationship with Vanessa revolved around him like he was the damn sun. He bossed me around and laid down all the rules.

He sighed while wearing a small smile. “No. I was only curious.”

“And nosy.”

He clenched his jaw almost imperceptibly, swallowing the frustration my words caused. “My daughter is an adult and I will respect her privacy, but one thing will never change. I will always look after her, even when I’m eighty and she’s closing in on fifty. I won’t deny that I want you to walk away from that life. After what happened with Conway, let’s learn from his mistake. The best way to guarantee a peaceful life is to live a peaceful life.”

I didn’t think my occupation would interfere with Vanessa’s safety. We were careful to hide our organization, to never show our faces. Work and pleasure were distinctly different.

“So…are you?”

My eyes narrowed in annoyance before I took a drink. “I’m not worried about something bad happening to Vanessa because of my job. But every time I leave her, it kills me inside. She’s worried about me the entire time, counting down the minutes until I’m safe again. I’ve decided to quit because I can’t put her through that every few weeks. I don’t want my woman staying with her parents every time I’m gone. She feels the safest with me…so I’ll be there every night.” Vanessa and I had discussed having a family. She gave me an ultimatum and said if I wanted to be with her, I had to become a father. I didn’t want to have kids, but since it was a requirement in order to be with her, I caved. And if that was in our future, then I definitely couldn’t have that kind of job anymore. I couldn’t leave my woman and my children unprotected for weeks at a time.

Crow didn’t hide the relief on his face. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I have to help out with a few more things before I leave, so I have a couple more missions. But once they’re completed, it’ll be over.”

Crow didn’t hide his displeasure, but he also didn’t make an argument about it. “When did you get into that line of work?”

“In my early twenties. I met Max and the rest of the boys on the streets. We needed money, so our operation started small, like stealing cars and robbing houses. It slowly grew into the business it is now.”

Crow nodded but didn’t pass judgment on my career choice. “Is it something you enjoy?”

“Yes.” I wasn’t ashamed to say that. “The men we hit aren’t good men. From sex trafficking to murder, these men are guilty of a lot of terrible things. Men pay us to destroy their enemies, but enemies like that are usually the bad guys.”

Crow swished his drink. “When I was your age, I lived for that sort of thing. Since I wasn’t responsible for anyone else, my life wasn’t valuable. Therefore, it didn’t matter whether I lived or died. There was no risk. I traded arms with all kinds of men, giving them weapons of mass destruction. Knowing full well those guns would kill other people, I sold them for a profit. I was exactly as you are now when I was your age…until I met my wife. At that moment, everything changed. I didn’t like who she turned me into. I didn’t like how she changed my priorities. I didn’t like how she made me feel. Eventually, the changes became so drastic that I couldn’t remember who I used to be.”

That was exactly how I felt about myself. “I know what you mean.”

“My wife told me we’re a lot alike… She was right.” He chuckled before he took a drink. “That woman is always right.”

“So is Vanessa.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She got her mother’s strength and intelligence. She got my stubbornness.”

“And your punch, your aim, and your reflexes.” Vanessa was a strong woman, born of two remarkable parents. She wasn’t the weak damsel-in-distress I met time after time. Most women I met just wanted someone to tell them what to do, to have someone look after them because they didn’t know how to look after themselves. Vanessa was nothing like that.

Crow smiled slightly. “Yes, she did.”

“I still don’t like you, but I admire you for raising her. I don’t think I would have fallen in love with anyone else but her.” I’d paid whores to fulfill my fantasies, and I’d picked up women at the bar purely for sex. Women were sexual objects. They weren’t people I could actually relate to. But then I’d met a woman who shook the ground underneath my feet.

“Thank you,” he said, showing a hint of pride in his eyes.

“What was she like? Growing up?”

Crow played with the glass between his fingertips as he reflected on her younger years. “Pretty much the same as she is now. She constantly questioned the world around her. If a teacher told her to do an assignment one way, she would question it and do it a different way. When she got a bad mark for the assignment, she wouldn’t get angry about it. She understood marks didn’t really matter, that understanding there were better ways of doing things was what really mattered. She was very wise for her age. But she always had an attitude. She always had sass. And one time, she beat up a kid at school because he lifted her dress.”

I smiled, immensely proud of the younger version of Vanessa that I never knew. “How old was she?”

Crow paused as he thought about it. “Nine or so.”

“Good.”

He chuckled. “She got in trouble for it. She received a much harder punishment for the violence than the boy did for lifting her dress. Of course, that made her angry, so she asked us to challenge the school’s policy. Her punishment had already been served, but that didn’t matter to her. She wanted justice for what happened, but she also wanted to the change the protocol for the future. In her eyes, she was being discouraged from standing up for herself. The only other possibility would be to allow the boy to keep doing it until someone heard her screams and came to help her. She said that wasn’t the way girls should be taught, to scream and wait for someone to help them. They should be taught to fight, to protect themselves and not be submissive for fear of punishment.”

I set my glass down, my mind numb from what I’d just heard. “She said all of this when she was nine?”

He nodded, the pride on his face undeniable. “Yes.”

I shook my head, a smile on my lips. “Fucking badass.”

“I know. She was always a smart girl. Always a champion. Her personality and morals never changed as she got older. I was always protective of her when it came to boys, always present and rarely allowing her to be alone with one.”

“You don’t say…”

He gave a guilty shrug. “But Vanessa was so smart I never really had to worry about it. When she went off to college on her own, I knew she was a grown woman and I didn’t need to worry about her anymore. She had good instincts, and she would explore romantic relationships with men…because that’s what she was supposed to do. But then she brought you home…and I forgot all the credibility she’d previously established with me. I didn’t trust her at all, blind to my own hatred. I forgot how smart and strong my daughter was…and I never really listened to her. That was my fault.”

When another insult came to my lips, I swallowed it back. Listening to him describe his daughter with such pride softened my anger. I knew he always tried to do the best thing for her, tried to protect her but strengthen her at the same time. So I swallowed back the retort and let it go.

“It seems like the best thing we have in common is Vanessa—we both love her.”

I nodded. “True.”

“What is your favorite thing about her?”

My answer changed depending on what time of day it was. If it was early in the morning or late at night, my favorite thing about her was her naked body, the beautiful slit between her legs. Her gorgeous tits as they pointed at the ceiling while she lay on her back. That was my favorite thing about her, having her pinned against my mattress while I enjoyed her like I owned her—which I did. I told Vanessa she had to pay the price for the sacrifice I’d made by becoming mine forever. She could never leave even if she stopped loving me. She was a possession now, not just my lover. “It’s hard to narrow it down just to one thing. But when I think of the moment when I fell for her, it has to be her fierceness. I’m three times her size and terrifying enough to make grown men shit their pants. But she didn’t hesitate to fight me, to outsmart me whenever the opportunity presented itself. She didn’t think twice before she grabbed that gun, pointed it right at my heart, and pulled the trigger. She meant to kill me. I saw it in her eyes.” When I thought of that night, I felt the coldness against my fingertips, the frozen air as it entered my lungs. I could still hear the crunch of the snow underneath my boots. I could even see the vapor escape my mouth when I breathed. I remembered that night with clarity because it was the night that changed my life forever.

“Isn’t that the night you met her?” he asked.

“Yes.” I wasn’t a romantic guy. I had no experience with love, not even when I was young. But when I met Vanessa on that winter night, the feeling in my chest was undeniable. I thought I just wanted to fuck her, but when I looked back over our relationship, I knew that was the beginning of something much deeper. “I fell in love with her the night I met her. I just didn’t realize it at the time.”

Crow watched my expression as he held on to his glass, surveying the different emotions that danced across my gaze. “I’m going to tell you something that only my brother knows. I’ll share it with you if you keep it a secret, especially from Vanessa. I know I can trust you.”

I gave a slight nod.

“Pearl had been your father’s prisoner for a long time, about three months. Cane and I only stole her because she seemed to be the one thing your father cared about. At the time, I had no idea about your mom. He must have kept her a secret on purpose. So, I stole Pearl to get revenge. I intended to rape her and kill her.” He spoke about his horrible intentions without skipping a beat.

I didn’t react at all, not surprised.

“When she was in my possession, she fought my men with a kind of battle rage I’ve never seen. She punched, stabbed, did everything she could to get away. I cornered her like a wild animal, and she was about to turn the knife on herself. She was willing to kill herself because being a prisoner for another moment was unbearable. I respected her for it, respected her for fighting as hard as she could until she realized there was no way out.”

I imagined a younger version of Pearl holding the point of a knife against her stomach. I imagined the moment they met each other, not seeing a hint of romance there.

“I got the knife from her, and instead of being cruel to her like I should have been, I asked her permission to put a syringe in her neck and put her to sleep. Instead of leaving her at the base, I took her back to my house…where we both live now. Long story short, I couldn’t rape her like I planned. I couldn’t beat her like I planned. I respected her way too much…admired her way too much. I wished that my sister had that same kind of fight, that she hadn’t given up. So I bargained with Pearl for her freedom. I told her if she worked off a jar of buttons by pleasing me, I would let her go. It’s not any better than raping her, not when I leveraged her freedom against her in exchange for fucking.”

I listened to every word, transfixed by the story. He really was the biggest hypocrite I’d ever heard of.

“I think I fell in love with her that first time we interacted, when she killed one of my men and fought until the very end. When she was in my captivity, she still fought me constantly, not just with her fists, but her words. I respected her…she forced me to respect her…and that made me love her. Our stories are very similar…”

“Identical.”

He nodded.

“You’re the biggest hypocrite on the planet.”

He shrugged. “I won’t deny it. And I won’t apologize for wanting more for my daughter. Now that you know this, you can run off to Vanessa and tell her. You can turn her against me. You can drive a wedge between us so you don’t have to deal with me all the time. I’m giving you power over me…just as I had so much power over you.”

It was tempting. I’d been punished for committing the same crimes he committed. He kept me away from the woman I loved for months, put me in mortal agony. But the idea of getting my revenge wasn’t appealing…not this time. He confided something to me that he didn’t have to tell me. Just as I gave him a loaded shotgun when we first met, he gave me a loaded gun in return. But these bullets could really destroy him.

He stared at me as he waited for a response.

“There’s nothing I could ever say to Vanessa to turn her against you.”

His eyes softened.

“She loves you. She loves all of you more than anything else in the world…even me. So you never have to worry about your daughter turning her back on you. Her love is unconditional. I never hear her say anything about bad about any of you, and when I say I think you’re the biggest asshole on the planet, she tells me not to talk about you that way.”

His eyes softened even more, turning emotional in a way he only did for his daughter.

“But I will take your secret to the grave, Crow. I don’t want to rip her family apart. I’ve never wanted that. I love her too damn much to ever cause her pain. She needs you to be happy.”

“She needs you too,” he whispered. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that.”

I didn’t accept his apology. It would be a while before I was ready. “Are you going to tell her I screamed at you?” I stormed to his front door and practically broke it down when I knocked. When I yelled at him, I didn’t give him a chance to say anything. I just told him he was lower than trash and I didn’t care whether he lived or died. I meant every single word I said, and even now I hadn’t apologized for it. If he told Vanessa, she wouldn’t leave me, but I knew she wouldn’t be happy about it.

He leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table, his glass cupped between both of his hands. He considered my question for nearly a minute, his eyes flicking back and forth between me and his glass. “I’ll take it to the grave.”