All Chapters of The Butcher - A Mafia romance : Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

Fleur continued to stare at me, her face turning as white as her wine. She’d either heard what Luca said, or she could read the disappointment on my face.Luca waited for me to say something.But I didn’t know what to say. I’d told Adrien this wasn’t my problem, but it looked like he’d tried to take my advice and get out of there before they came for his head. He just didn’t leave quick enough. “Do you know where they’ve taken him?”“No, but I can call around.” He hung up and got to work.I returned the phone to my pocket.Panic continued to burn in her eyes. “What is it? What’s happening?”So, she didn’t hear. “I warned Adrien about the Aristocrats. Told him he should leave the country. Guess he took that advice, but he didn’t take it quick enough because they got him.”“Oh no.” Her hand immediately cupped her mouth as the emotion swept over her face like the incoming tide. She didn’t dull her emotions for me, wore her heart on her sleeve because that was how she was, always transpar

I moved into his chest and hugged him tight, smelling the rain that had dampened his clothes. He was alive and well, and I squeezed him as I treasured that fact.His arms circled my shoulders, and he held me there, let me hold on to him like a life raft. “It’s alright, sweetheart.”Luca silently excused himself.I pulled away and looked at Bastien’s arm, seeing the thick bandage that had been wrapped tightly around his bicep. “You kill the asshole who did this to you?”He gave a slight smile. “You know I did.”“Where have you been shot?”The smile disappeared. “That was a long time ago.”“Where?”His hand moved to the back of his head, and he rubbed an area behind his ear. “It grazed me. It’s the one spot where I can’t grow hair.”“You were shot in the head?”“I said grazed.”“Jesus.” He was right in front of me, alive and healthy, probably healthier than he’d have been if none of this had happened and he’d been able to eat that steak. But I still felt winded, like the action continue

The silence was heavy, as if whatever he was about to say had enough substance to put a hole in the wall. His eyes were sharp like the knife that had cut his arm, and he seemed to slice straight into my soul. “I know how.”Bumps formed on my arms as the excitement prickled. After the night we’d had, I expected a quiet evening on the couch, but it looked like he wanted to throw me on the bed and tie my wrists to the headboard.He cocked his head slightly, still giving me a look that hit harder than a bullet. “Marry me.”I blinked, unsure if that was a serious statement or some kind of a joke. But given what had just happened over the last few hours, it seemed like a shitty time to make a joke. I almost asked but I changed my mind, and that was probably for the best.His stare didn’t change, and that told me he was dead serious. “You want to thank me for what I did? Then marry me.”All that stuff in the closet was dirty talk—but it was also true. It’d clearly been on his mind, but for h

13BASTIENThe butler escorted us into the sitting room, the equivalent of a lobby in an office building, and we waited a few minutes before my mother emerged in a white button-up blouse with midnight-blue trousers and ballet flats. Around her neck, she’d tied a little scarf. My mother always lit up at the sight of me, lit up in a way my father never did, even when I did something right or impressive.“My baby, what a surprise.” She came over to me and kissed me on each cheek before she gave me a squeeze. Then she turned to Fleur. “Lovely to see you again.” She kissed her on each cheek and blanketed her in motherly affection. “You look beautiful. I love this—” She spotted Fleur’s engagement ring and cupped her mouth with both hands. “Oh my lord, look at that!” She clutched her hands to her chest before she moved back to Fleur and hugged her hard. “You’ve made me so happy.”I hadn’t seen my mother in the throes of joy in a long time. She smiled politely and appeared engaged in her life

It hurt me to listen to all of this because I could see his pain in his eyes, hear the unspent rage that burned in an inferno inside his chest. He commanded a room with his confidence, but inside, he was broken like the rest of us.“He said I was—and I fucking quote—a worthless son I wish I’d never had.”I inhaled a painful breath, killed the tears before they had the chance to start. It hurt to picture that exchange, to picture anyone saying that to someone I loved so much. His mother was so loving, so motherly, and it was hard to imagine having a father who was such a fucking prick.“Not only do I have no desire to be a parent, I’m also unfit for the job.”I needed a second to process what he said, to accept his heartbreak with a straight face. “I’m sorry that happened⁠—”“Don’t pity me. I’m a grown-ass man who doesn’t need sympathy.”It was as if his confession in bed had never happened, his vulnerability long gone. “It’s not pity or sympathy.”“Whatever it is, I don’t fucking want