Sold To the Grizzly Don (Alcee and Bruno) novel Chapter 111

Chapter 111

The door opening and the Lapping of Avalanche’s paws on the tile was followed by the heavy step of Torq’s feet. She stiffened as Brunella winked at her and rose to continue making breakfast.

She was surprised when he paused and kissed the top of her head after unclipping Avalanche. The sound of the dog slurping water noisily drowned out the thumping of her heart. She looked up at him, meeting the sad expression on his face with one of her own.

“Hi beautiful,” he whispered as he reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. “You look sleepy.”

“I am. How was your walk?”

It all felt too civilized considering she’d been nasty and mean not only a handful of hours before.

He squatted down next to her. “My walk was good. It let me get out of my thoughts. I’d like to try talking again if we could.”

She looked past his shoulder at Brunella who shot her a wink and then nodded at him. “Okay.”

“Let’s go in my office.”

“Your office?”

“Yes. My office.”

She took his hand, and he helped her off the chair and she didn’t argue when his arm went around her shoulder to hold her tight to his side as they walked down the hall. He seemed to want to keep her close and she admitted she felt the same way. Her talk with Brunella surprised her but it was putting a lot into perspective.

He took her to his chair behind his desk and settled her on his lap.

“You want me to sit here?”

“Yes. I did not like the way things were. I was out for a walk with Avalanche and per usual there were guys with me, and it made me realize at any given moment, I could find myself with a sniper bullet to the brain and the last thing I want is our last words to be angry ones.”

She must be completely exhausted, she decided as she felt tears stinging her eyes at the notion of him dead on the street. “You can’t die Torq.”

“Well, it’s going to happen, one day for sure. The men in this family rarely live past sixty–five. It’s why we have so much fun in our youth because retirement is a joke.”

“Why do you say such things?”

“Practical things?”

“Cold things.”

“Baby, I’m a mob boss.” He looked at her very seriously. “There are things in this world I must look at from a very different perspective than the rest of the world. It was how I was raised. Life, death, loyalty and honor are very standard conversations for me, and they are usually blunt, factless and truthful, even when it hurts,”

“Some things don’t need to be said, Turq.”

“Some things do need to be said but perhaps I can learn to soften my tone and my words. His thumb made circles low on her spine as he turned his computer on.

“You’re turning on your computer.”

“Yes. We’re going to draft a set of rules and consequences for our marriage.”

“What?”

Chapter 111

“It will work both ways. You can hire a hitman if you must for the things which result in death for you.”

She looked at him and for the first time realized quite possibly where her son’s autism might be rooted from. She was incredulous as he opened up a screen for notes and one–handed typed the word rules.

“We’ll send this to the lawyer later, get us each notarized copies and we’ll put them in a safe place.”

“Are you serious?”

‘t this what you wanted?”

“As a heart attack. Isn’t this what

“I said I wanted to understand what cheating means to you.” She sighed and reached out and closed the laptop. “This isn’t necessary.”

“Yes it is. I don’t want misunderstandings between us and if we set clear boundaries and rules we will define clearly so not to make mistakes.”

She grabbed his face in her palms and pressed her lips to his surprised ones. “You’re cute when you’re trying to appease me.”

“I’m not trying to be cute.” He frowned at her. “I’m serious, here Alcee. We need to sort this out.”

Then we ca

we can sort it out by talking. First let’s back track a bit. I’m sorry I went haywire when you came home. I was dealing with some thoughts, and they involved you and instead of waiting until you were rested and reasonable I picked a fight and I’m sorry.”

Now he was well and truly confused, “you u said you weren’t upset about your father dying.”

“I’m not. I’m upset about my mother.”

“Your mother.”

“Torg, she betrayed him in the worst possible way. They were together for a long time and while they weren’t the billboard of an example of a healthy marriage, I know she loved him, very deeply at one point in her life. How does someone love someone as much as she once did, love them so much she would choose them over her own daughter and then not only turn her back on him but not even give him a head’s up he was about

to die.”

“I imagine things would need to become quite difficult for her to reach this point.”

“But she did reach it. It’s what scares me Torq. She loved him so much she always turned a blind eye to his shit. It never mattered to her how much he spent or his bad business decisions or how he sold me off when I was only twelve. She put up with soldiers in her house, guns on the dinner table, drugs in the basement. She watched him kill people more than once. What made it so she couldn’t tolerate his current behavior? I don’t understand. None of it makes any kind of sense,”

As if a lightbulb went off in his head he sighed. “You’re thinking because you don’t love me now, someday even if you grow to love me, you betray me as easily as your mother did because it’s evidently possible.”

could

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