And evidently, he has certain expectations that I’m sure were drilled into his head by his father and the other men around him.
Eric Rinaldi.
It will be him sharing her bed.
His children she carries.
His name she’ll have to moan night after night even if her heart’s not in it.
When I imagine her under that greasy sonofabitch, my teeth grind together hard enough that I’m afraid the boss will hear.
I can’t let that happen.
There’s got to be a way out for her.
But not if I want to stay alive.
“I know what’s bothering you.”
My head snaps up.
I hadn’t realized I zoned out.
“Pardon?”
“You look troubled.
I know why.”
He sits up straight, pulling the chair closer to the desk.
Folding his hands on top, he looks me straight in the eye.
“You’re wondering what this means for you.
Of course, the Rinaldis will want to furnish Mia with a security detail.
They offered the option of taking you on as part of their crew, but I knew you wouldn’t want that.”
That last line falls heavy, full of meaning.
Even if I wanted to go, he wouldn’t let me.
It would be a betrayal, even though the families would now be joined if only on paper.
He takes my silence as agreement.
“I want you to know you have nothing to worry about.
You’ll always have a place here, in the family.
Having you return to your old job duties would be kind of a demotion now, wouldn’t it?
That’s why I want you as head of my security detail.”
“Head of security?”
“As of right this minute, yes.”
His smile reminds me so much of Mia’s that it’s uncanny.
“And with that comes a raise.
You deserve it.
You’ve done well.
I’ll want you at school with her in the spring, but I’ll keep you abreast of matters as they come up around here, so you’ll be up to speed by the time the semester is over, and you transition back to your role with me.”
I know he wants me to thank him, and ordinarily, I would do so without thinking.
This is a big promotion, something I thought I wanted before everything I wanted flipped on its head.
I can’t even enjoy it.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to enjoy anything again.
Not with the fact of another man taking what’s mine hanging over my head all the time.
She’s not yours.
She never was.
And I was nothing but a fool to think she would be.
I hear her running down the hall before I see her.
How I know it’s her, I can’t say.
I only know it doesn’t come as a surprise when she runs into the room.
Her tears, however, do surprise me.
I stand, as does her father.
She glares at him, shaking.
“How could you?
How could you lie to me?
What have you done?”
Chapter 28: Mia
28
MIA
It’s all been a lie.
All of it.
And I was stupid enough not to see it.
“Sweetheart, what’s happened?”
My father makes a move, walking around his desk, but the idea of him touching me is enough to make me want to throw up.
I back away, shaking my head.
“No,” I sob.
“Stay there.”
And there’s Zeke, holding a glass of liquor.
What were they doing, sitting around and having a toast?
“Did you know?
You’re a part of this, aren’t you?”
His face falls, one of the rare times I’ve managed to catch him off guard.
“Part of what?
No, I didn’t know exactly-“
“Save it.
I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
I swing around, turning back to Dad.
“From either of you.
How could you lie to me?
All this time.”
“You did say she would get emotional, didn’t you?”
Dad glances at Zeke.
“You were talking about me?
Planning how to deal with it when I found out what really goes on here?
What you do for a living?
How you’ve made all this money?”
I’m shaking so hard it’s amazing I haven’t shattered into pieces.
Even my teeth are chattering.
All those articles.
All those hints, allegations, payoffs to keep the Morelli name out of the courts.
My father, the man whose DNA I carry, is responsible for death, misery, horror.
Sex trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering.
All of it.
Dean found all of it when he was researching, and that’s what he didn’t want me to know.
That’s what he tried to shield me from.
Because unlike the men standing in front of me, he actually gives a damn.
Zeke blinks rapidly, his head snapping back like he’s surprised.
“Wait a second.
What are you talking about?
The business?
The family?”
“What else would I be talking about?”
I scream.
It feels good to scream, but not good enough.
It doesn’t ease the pain in my chest.
Is it possible for a heart to literally break?
“Just take it easy.”
He sets his glass down and holds his hands out like he’s not a threat.
What a joke.
“I can put two and two together, you know.
How many people have you killed for him?”
Tears drip from my chin onto my shirt, and my nose is running.
I run my sleeve under it, not caring how it looks.
I don’t care about anything anymore.
“I can’t even look at you without wanting to be sick.”
“Mia, sweetheart.”
At least my father has the decency to look pained.
“I never wanted you to find out, but especially not this way.
Not until you could be eased into it.
Nobody expects you to have anything to do with that side of the family, not ever.”
“I sure as hell hope not!”
“But this is the sort of thing you’re going to have to learn to deal with once you’re-” He’s cut off by Zeke, who violently clears his throat.
They exchange a look that can’t mean anything good.
“Once what?”
I bark.
“What else haven’t you told me?
What else do I have to be the last to know?”
I have to get out of here.
I can’t even look at them.
How could I have been so blind?
Of course, the man makes his money in all kinds of shady, immoral ways.
Why else would he keep it from me?
Why else would he have so many powerful, wealthy friends?
Not to mention the security.
How often have I deliberately turned a blind eye because I didn’t want to know?
It’s Zeke who speaks first.
Zeke, who, even with my vision blurred by hot, furious tears, looks like a whipped dog.
“Once you’re married to Eric Rinaldi, the son of another prominent family.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.