Page 79 of Unlocked Desire: Vol One
“You sure you can trust her?” Vance asks.
“You sure you can trust Clarissa?” Enzo spits.
“She’s my wife, motherfucker. Of course, I trust her.”
“Don’t pull your shit with me, Vance. She was a random girl you saw at the club one night, and that was it. You claimed her as yours and didn’t care how insane you became because of it. I was there when you chopped off a dude’s finger ’cause he touched her elbow. One look, and you claimed her as your ride or die. Reese is mine. None of you fuckers are to scare or intimidate her. You give her the same level of respect you give me. Got it?”
The men exchange tense looks. I don’t want Enzo to lose his family because of me.
“If you say she’s in, then she’s in,” Ciaran says. “I’ll always have your back.”
The other two men nod, which seems to satisfy Enzo.
“So, who’s watching him at the warehouse?” Enzo asks.
“Tony and Hawkley,” Vance replies.
I barge into the conversation. “I’m coming with you.”
Enzo glares at me. “The fuck you are.”
My father has done so many horrific things, and Enzo suffered the worst, but I want to look into his eyes before he dies. I want to see him suffer like he’s made others suffer. I want to know the nightmare is over.
“Enzo, please. I know how to use a gun. I learned from my uncle Paulie when I was a kid. I’m not helpless. I don’t want to be this pathetic woman who waits around like my mother. If you want me like you say you do, then you want a partner. So let me be one, a partner in everything.”
“Principessa,” Enzo snarls. I’m not sure if it’s a warning or a plea. “It’s fuckin’ dangerous. I can’t concentrate when you’re around. He’s a piece of shit, but the man is still your father.”
I pull down my pants slightly and lift my shirt.
Enzo snarls, practically jumping in front of me to hide my body from the other guys. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“This tattoo, the snake? It’s a brand, Enzo. I was ten years old when he fuckin’ put this on me. You know who he puts this on?”
Enzo rubs at a tattoo on the inside of his wrist. “Yes. It’s the label he puts on his whores.”
I nod, barely able to get the next words past the lump in my throat. “That night, when I came to the club… I was there because I wanted a say in how and to whom I lost my virginity. That man was going to rip everything from me. The only reason he couldn’t sell me sooner was because of my uncle. He protected me and kept me safe. I’m pretty sure that protection cost him his life.”
“I’m gonna gut him like a fish before I burn the fucker to a crisp,” Enzo spits.
“What’s mine is yours, brother,” Vance says, holding a boning knife.
Enzo ignores him, his dark eyes peering into mine as if he’s searching for something.
My heart beats wildly as I take in this handsome, dangerous man who’s wrapped himself around my joy. I never expected to find someone like him. I never dreamed I’d find a man half as amazing as him.
“You sure about this?”
I cup his face. “Yes, I’m sure. I need to be there.”
“Then you’ll be there.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ciaran says. His face is stern, and he’s turning the large chain around his neck in his hand, looking lethal. I’m sure he could kill a man with his hands without even breaking a sweat.
“She’s coming,” Enzo says, not taking his eyes off me.
Chapter 12
ENZO