Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“You don’t understand what I’m offering,” Tonio said, drawing my attention back to him. “Protection. Security. Family. I’d have kept your mother safe if I’d known she was pregnant. You’re my daughter, Darby. Let me be your father.”
“I’m fine on my own,” I countered, but the lie felt hollow even to my own ears.
Tonio must have sensed the crack in my armor because he took a step forward, hand outstretched as if to touch my arm. “Darby --”
The movement triggered something in Sully. In one fluid motion, he stepped between us, turning to pull me against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, careful of my injured ribs but unmistakably possessive. The suddenness of it left me breathless, my hands instinctively coming up to rest against his solid chest.
“She’s already home,” Sully declared, his voice low and firm as he addressed Tonio over my head. “She’s with me now.”
The silence that followed felt charged, electric. I could feel Sully’s heart beating steadily against my cheek, his body a wall of protection between me and the father I’d never thought I’d meet. The declaration hung in the air between us all, unexpected and absolute. Maybe I should have protested, but I didn’t want to. Not with Sully. I’d examine the why of it later.
Tonio’s eyebrows rose slightly as he looked between us, reassessing the situation with his calculating gaze. I couldn’t read his expression. Surprise maybe? Something very complex. I thought maybe he wasn’t sure how to feel about the situation.
I stayed within the circle of Sully’s arms even though I knew I needed to stand on my own. If I wanted my freedom, I was going to have to assert dominance over my own life. Instead, I leaned on Sully, letting his strength shore up my own. I let his claim stand unchallenged. It was terrifying how right it felt, how easily I could imagine belonging here, with him.
Tonio’s gaze settled on me, searching my face for confirmation or denial of Sully’s claim. I met his stare as calm settled over me. There was no defiance, only a steady reassurance that I would not be moved from the direction I was going.
Hell. Let him see it. Let him understand that I’d chosen this man, for however long it lasted.
“I see,” Tonio said finally, his voice betraying nothing of his thoughts. He picked up his glass again, swirling the amber liquid thoughtfully. “And does Kiss of Death understand what it means to stand between Antonio Miles and his daughter?”
The threat, subtle but unmistakable, made my muscles tense. I’d been avoiding exactly this. Dragging others into the complicated mess that was my life was not cool. Now Sully had placed himself directly in the crosshairs of one of the most dangerous men in Nashville, and all because of me.
But Sully didn’t flinch. His arms tightened fractionally around me, his voice steady when he replied. “I understand exactly what it means.” The simplicity of his answer, the lack of bravado or posturing, carried more weight than any threat could have.
I felt something shift between us in that moment, a realignment of power maybe. Underneath it all, a question hung unanswered. Was I truly prepared to accept what Sully was offering? Or would I run, as I always had, at the first sign of something real?
Tonio’s gaze shifted from me to Sully, his expression unreadable as he took another measured sip of his whiskey. “And what exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?” he asked, the formal phrasing somehow more menacing than any threat could have been. The question hung between them, two predators sizing each other up while I remained caught in the middle, still enveloped in Sully’s protective embrace.
“My intentions?” Sully repeated, his voice a low rumble I could feel vibrating through his chest against my cheek. I thought he might scoff or even tell Tonio it wasn’t any of his Goddamned business, but he didn’t. “I intend to keep her safe. To give her a choice about her own life and follow her wherever she wants to go.” His arms remained steady around me, his heartbeat a metronome against my ear. And my heart raced at his words. God, help me, I wanted so much to believe him. To finally have someone choose me.
I expected Tonio to bristle at the implied criticism, but he merely nodded as if Sully had confirmed something he already suspected. “And if her choices put her in danger?”
“Then I’ll be there,” Sully replied without hesitation. “Not to control her decisions, but to back her play. Whatever it is.”
My throat tightened at his words, and I looked up into his face. He was staring at Tonio intently, the truth of his words in his expression. How long had it been since anyone had offered support without strings attached? Yet here was Sully, promising not to change me but to stand with me, scars and flaws and all. And the man had spent exactly one night with me.