worse for what happened to Sofia…that she’d had to endure this for weeks. “You’ve forced a partnership, so it’s not based on loyalty or respect. It’s empty because you know I despise you. If you forced any other kind of relationship, the results would be the same…empty.” I refused to beg for my freedom, but I also refused to lie down and give in. Suicide returned to my thoughts because I’d rather be dead than have to live like this.
Maddox set down his wineglass and looked at me with disappointment. The silence continued for a long time, as if he was considering the perfect thing to say. Both of his arms rested across the table, and he leaned forward again to regard me. “If we solidified our partnership, we’d be unstoppable. Our reign wouldn’t only be in Italy. It would stretch all over the world, and it would be so much sweeter if we were more.”
I’d never been hit on by a dude, and it wouldn’t bother me so much if the request were optional. But I knew it was only a matter of time before Maddox pressured me to give him what he wanted. He wouldn’t have been this obsessed with me for so long if I’d really had a choice. I would be spared tonight, but not spared forever. “We’ll never be more, Maddox. Let’s not forget what you did to my wife. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I never will.”
“It wasn’t personal. And she’s your ex-wife.”
My right hand tightened into a fist. “It doesn’t matter if I hate her. She was still my wife, and you did something you can’t take back. I will always despise you for what you did to my family. You’ve threatened my son many times, and I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen. I will never reciprocate your feelings, not just because I’m straight, but I absolutely loathe you. If you want me, you’re going to have to force me.”
His gaze was impassive, and his eyes were wide open like he didn’t need to blink. His body tensed in the subtlest way, like he was channeling his rage to every part of his body. He could express so much with so little, and that’s what made him innately creepy. Both of his hands formed fists on the table. “You know I have no problem doing that.”
16
Sofia
Handing over my son was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.
I looked into his brown eyes and saw the man I loved. I saw Andrew’s perfect skin, his little fingers and toes, and I felt like I was leaving behind a piece of myself. I hadn’t had much time with my son, and this might be the last time I got to see him.
I kissed him on the forehead before I made the transfer into Ash’s arms.
For a man with no experience with children, he handled Andrew like a pro. He held him in his arms like he was a father himself. He looked at him with affection, but then he looked at me with sadness. “I’ll take care of him.”
I would have left Andrew with my mother, but she didn’t have the resources to protect anyone. The best thing she could do was run away and save herself. As far as I knew, Maddox had never threatened or mentioned my mother, so she was probably safe. Ash was the strongest man I knew besides Hades, and if something happened to me, he was the best protector I could find. “I know you will.” I felt the tears start deep in my throat. It was so painful that I reconsidered leaving at all. Hades would want me to stay with our son and abandon him.
But I had to save them both.
Ash put him in the crib in his bedroom and turned back to me. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“Yes…I’m sure.”
Ash opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pistol. “You know how to use this, right?”
“Well enough to kill someone.” I took the gun from his hand and put it in my pocket.
He continued to stand there as if he didn’t want me to leave. When we’d first met, he was a cold jackass, innately distrustful. But now he was warm and thoughtful, becoming soft like his brother but retaining his masculinity. “If he doesn’t meet you at the hotel, just come home and forget it.”