Chapter 95: 95 ~ Jace
"Doesn’t this get old?" She sounded upset but unsurprised nonetheless.
I smiled. "Take it as a means to juggle your memory."
"I don’t want to remember anything horrible." She said through gritted teeth.
I swallowed. I almost gestured for the blindfold to be taken off but I wanted to do it myself.
I was in one of the warehouses when I was told the jet had landed in New York. So, I drove as fast as I could to the house, waiting for her to be brought in.
Kidnapping her wasn’t exactly how I planned to win her back. Scratch that, there was actually no plan in the first place. I just wanted to remind her of what we once were despite how much of a risk I was taking.
I knew she would hate me more now but I could make her forget it in a jiffy.
"Leave us," I ordered, and the room emptied without hesitation. The door shut with a final click, sealing us in.
The silence between us was deafening. Mira stood there, hands bound in front, blindfold still on, her chin tilted stubbornly upward as if daring me to make the next move.
"Doesn’t this get old, Jace?" she asked again, her voice tight and her words more enunciated. "Dragging me around like I’m a pawn in one of your sick games?"
"Call it whatever you like," I said evenly, stepping closer. "But don’t forget, I’m still your husband no matter what."
Mira let out a short, bitter laugh. "That’s your favorite line, isn’t it? You saved me the pain of killing my brother right before my eyes. You own me. You’ll never let me forget it."
I reached up, brushing my fingers against the edge of the blindfold. "You don’t want to remember anything horrible. That’s convenient. But what about me, Mira? What about what you left me with? All the memories you threw aside when you left, they haunt me everyday."
"Take it off," she snapped.
For a second, I didn’t. I let the tension stretch, my fingers lingering at the knot, before I finally tugged the blindfold free.
Her eyes blinked against the light, sharp and furious when they finally met mine.
God, two years and she was still the most dangerous thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Her eyes though filled with fury, gave me the kind of warmth I had craved for the longest time. My fiery fireball who had me wrapped around her finger without even realizing it.
"You’re insane," she whispered, shaking her head. "Dragging me across the country like this. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Yes I was crazy. Crazy about her. She could call me whatever name she wanted. I did not mind.
"I wasn’t going to sit back and watch Ricciardi circle you like a vulture." My voice dropped, low and sharp. "You belong to me. Not him. Not anyone else."
Her mouth parted in disbelief before she let out a humorless laugh. "Belong? To you? You lost that right when you killed our baby."
The words slammed into me harder than any bullet ever had. For a split second, I couldn’t breathe.
I closed the distance between us, caging her in against the desk.
"You think I’ve forgotten?" My voice was harsh, ragged. "You think I don’t see it every time I close my eyes? I live with it, Mira. Every goddamn day. I live with the guilt all the fucking time!"
She shoved at my chest, but I didn’t move. "Don’t twist this into your tragedy, Jace. I was the one who woke up in that hospital bed with nothing. I was the one who had to bury dreams I never got to hold."
Her voice cracked, and for a moment I almost faltered. Almost.
Instead, I leaned closer, my words a growl against her ear. "And you think running halfway across the world, pretending to be someone else, erases that? You think hiding behind Ricciardi’s name will keep me from you?"
Her eyes flashed, and she shoved harder this time. I let her push me back a step.
"You don’t get it," she spat. "I wasn’t hiding from you. I was healing from you. There’s a difference."
My jaw tightened. Healing. As if anyone else could give her what I could. As if anyone else could know her the way I did.
Maybe it sounded arrogant but what she needed was me. And what I needed most was her.
"You don’t get to decide when this ends," I said, my voice cutting through the space between us. "Divorce papers, Ricciardi, your businesses in Lisbon, I don’t care. None of it matters. You are my wife, Mira. And until I say otherwise, that doesn’t change."
Her chest rose and fell sharply. "You are unbelievable."
"No," I corrected softly with a cynical smile tugging at my lips. "I’m inevitable."
She froze at that, fury burning in her gaze, but beneath it, beneath the sharp edge, I caught it. That flicker. That tiny betrayal in her eyes that told me she wasn’t as untouchable as she wanted me to believe.
And it was enough to keep me from letting her go.
She refused my hand as I tried to lead her to the room.
"Don’t touch me,"
I raised my hands in surrender and watched her leave so she could freshen up after the flight. I made sure everything was ready for her so she didn’t have to worry.
She was still mad. But I believed she would cool off eventually.
~
About an hour later, I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in,"
It was my mother.
"I just saw her."’
"Nice to see you too mom,"
I had not seen her in months. We barely conversed over the phone and whenever we did, we were arguing.
I got into New York nearly two days ago and she had either been avoiding me or just strangely unavailable. Now the first thing she does is talk about my wife?
She heaved a sigh and spread her arms for me. I got on my feet, walked to her, crouched down and pulled her into a warm embrace. She rubbed and patted on my hair softly.
She stepped back and took a good look at my face. "You look well,"
"You look even better." I returned with a slight grin.
"LA is treating you nice yes?"
"More recently, yes."
"Words of a man in love," she teased me,
I let out a chuckle as I shrugged.
Just then my mother sighed. "Why did you have to kidnap her? She’s not happy about it."
"It’s for the thrill of it."
She shook her head in disbelief before catching herself. "Well you have to make up for it."
I smirked. "I sure will."
"Oh my goodness," she rolled her eyes. "I didn’t mean it like that you perv."
We laughed at the same time. But when the laughter died down, she became serious.
"Seriously Jace, if you really want to pursue her, do it right this time. Keep your ego aside and win her over."
Solemnly, I nodded. "I promise."
"Good," she tapped my face softly and left me to my thoughts.
~
My phone rang. It was an unknown number but I took a wild guess to know who it was as I picked up.
"You kidnapped my woman,"
It was none other than Massimo and he went straight to the point.
Bold of him but I wasn’t surprised.
"Your woman?" I asked with a brow raised.
"Don’t make me repeat myself cause I’d do that with bullets instead."
"Watch your mouth asshole. That is my wife. And you have no right to call her yours." I warned him.
"She hates your guts. Give her the divorce so I can marry her already."
My fists clenched automatically. I wished he was right in front of me so I could punch his nose till its broken.
"She’s not going anywhere. She will never be yours. Get that into your oblong head."
"You’ve got jokes for a don. Watch your back Romano."
I ended the call. There was no reason for me to exchange words over empty threats. I would end his life in the snap of a second. I didn’t have to try too hard.
All he had to do was make the first move and I would have him gunned down.
Mira came in just then looking supple in her nightdress.
I held in a breath. God, I wanted to bend her over and remind her of all she had missed.
"Hey beautiful,"
She sneered at me.
For some reason, I found it cute.
"Don’t try to be sweet to me, Romano. I can’t find my phone."
"What do you need it for?"
She frowned. "What else are phones for?"
"For next couple of days, I want it to be just you and me, no distractions."
By distractions, I meant Massimo.
"We’re not on a vacation."
"Let’s make it one then."