Trapped in his End Game (Series)

“I want to leave. Just let me go.”

A shadow crosses his face. “You can’t leave, Ade. I told you that in the beginning. I gave you a chance, but now it’s too late. I won’t let you go.”

I whimper suddenly, but he quiets the noise with his finger on my lips.

“My boss doesn’t trust you. If you leave me and the games, you’ll be clipped for sure. I won’t be able to persuade him not to.”

Something flips inside me as I look at his calm face. How dare he look so fucking calm?

“You’re a bastard. If I knew this would happen, I would have never worked for you.”

Anger twists his face. “Did I come knocking down your fucking door? No. You came in my life, honey. You’re the one who asked me if I had a girlfriend, remember?” He smiles fondly at the memory. “You knew exactly what you were getting into.”

“I thought it was just about loansharking and card games and protection money and-”

He laughs at me, his eyes shining with mirth. “Come on, Adriana. I never lied to you about who I was.”

I’m trembling as I stare at him, knowing that he’s right. I may have not wanted to confront it, but the evidence was there all along, hiding in plain sight. Maria warned me so many times.

“I know you’d be better off with someone else, but I’m too selfish. I want you for myself.”

Hands run up my sides and I hate the desire burning in my belly. Vince smiles as if he understands my dilemma, and I don’t push him away when his face comes closer and closer. Even now, I can’t think of anything but how his lips feel over mine. His hot mouth dazzles me, and when his tongue deftly sweeps inside I shudder in his arms.

“I love you,” he whispers against my mouth.

“You don’t love me.”

Vince pulls back completely. “Oh yes, I do. Otherwise, I’d have gotten rid of you when my boss asked me to.” His face hardens at the horror on my face. “Yeah, he wanted you dead. You’re not one of us. At least, not yet.”

Oh my God. I thought of the man I met at the card game, his fatherly smile, all while trying to convince the man standing next to me to end my life. “Why would he do that?”

A sick feeling burrows into my stomach. His arms snake around my body, pulling me tight against his chest as he sighs into my hair.

“Because he doesn’t trust you. He’s old school. Gets rid of anyone who isn’t part of the family without a second thought.”

So to them, I was disposable? I pull away, looking at his face, which is full of tenderness for me. I’m hurt.

“It’s nothing personal, Adriana. It’s just the way it is. Anyway, I’ll never let that happen. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.”

“Why? Why am I so important?”

“I fell in love with you. I didn’t expect that. Hell, I didn’t even want to settle down before I met you. Something changed inside me. You changed me.”

He says it while he gives me an unsettled look, as though the power I have over him upsets him.

“Why me?”

“You’re smart, talented, and you do what I want you to do.” He smiles as heat flashes over my face. “Go ahead and deny it, if you want.”

“I’m not your fucking lapdog,” I say heatedly. “I do what I want. Just because we both want the same thing doesn’t mean I take your orders like some slave.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

His smile grows wider. “I know, baby.”

I know he’s just saying that to placate me, and it pisses me off.

“What I love the most about you is that I can be myself around you.”

My heart gives another violent thud.

“How are you supposed to keep me safe when your boss wants me dead?”

He smiles. “Easy.”

There’s a faint rustling as he reaches inside his jacket and pulls out something. A small black box.

My heart stops.

No, it can’t be.

It opens. Inside is a dazzling ring that seems to shine in the darkness. It’s beautiful. My throat is thick with tears as he takes it from the box.

“I didn’t want to do it like this. I wanted to wait for a better time, maybe around Christmas, but it couldn’t wait any longer.” He makes a small frown. “But I love you, Ade. Nothing changes that. If you’re mine, no one will ever touch you again. You’ll get the full protection of the family.”

I’m shaking my head, crying. “No, it’s too much. I can’t-”

“You think I wanted it to be like this?”

Pain momentarily fills his face and I feel a tiny sting of guilt.

“You don’t have a choice. Be smart, Adriana.”

He’s right. I don’t have a choice. He takes my hand, and I don’t offer any resistance when he slips the ring on. I sob all over him, joy and misery swelling in my heart as I admire how beautiful it looks.

I must have pictured this moment a thousand times in my head growing up. Never did I expect to be coerced into marriage. He never was supposed to have blood on his sleeves.

No, I was never supposed to see the blood on his sleeves.

It’s madness.

An anxious look furrows his eyebrows. “Do you like it?”

“Oh, Vince. It’s not about that.” I look at the ring. “It is beautiful,” I murmur.

A smile breaks over his face as he leans down, kissing me again. “The first of many things, Adriana,” he says between kisses. “You could have the whole world-just say it and it’s yours. I want to do that for you. I want you to have everything you want.”

He’s saying all these perfect things that burrow deep inside my heart, despite my reluctance. I’ve never known anyone to be so generous, and he really is generous. He gives without a second thought, without expecting anything in return.

“Why me?” I ask again.

He sighs. “Why not you?”

I shrug, struggling with everything inside me. “I’m not much.”

He shakes his head, disbelieving. “You didn’t hear the way the guys used to talk about you. I’m just lucky that I got to you first. You’re one of a kind, Adriana.” He kisses my ear before whispering, “And now you’re mine.”