If I can have Zeke.”
His eyes harden.
“No way.”
“Then we have no deal, and I’m gone.”
“I have a contract to fulfill.”
“And I love Zeke.
I love him.”
For once, I don’t fight against the tears.
They flow freely now.
“I know it doesn’t matter to you.
You don’t know me.
You’ve never made an attempt at getting to know me.
But this is my entire life we’re talking about, and he’s the person I love.
He’s the person I’m choosing.”
“You don’t know what you want.”
“Look at me.
Listen to me.
I understand we don’t know each other very well, but from the past few minutes we’ve spent together, do I seem like a girl who doesn’t know what she wants?”
I’ve got him, and he knows it.
He just doesn’t want to admit it.
“I still have obligations.”
“I understand that, but there has to be a way around it.
Some kind of force majeure clause, right?
Don’t tell me you didn’t get one of those.”
He rubs his temples, eyes squeezed shut.
“I’m starting to regret sending you to college.”
“After what happened tonight, it’s the perfect cover.
I’m a total wreck.”
Then something else hits me.
Should I even mention it?
It’s gross, it’s despicable, and I know it.
But I’m also beyond desperate at this point.
I run my sleeves under my eyes and stand up a little straighter.
“You know, maybe Dean did hurt me tonight.
Maybe he hurt me badly.
Maybe he forced himself on me.”
His eyes pop open, and oh, my God, they’re murderous.
“He didn’t, did he?”
“No.
He never got that far.”
I wait, hoping he’ll catch on.
“But what if he did?
He’s not around to say he didn’t.
We don’t have to spread that around to the police or the press-but what if you hinted at it to the Rinaldis?
I’m disgusted with myself for even thinking it, but if my being a virgin is so important to them, maybe they’d be willing to break the contract.”
He’s stone-faced.
His plan, his goal of uniting our families is not something he’s going to let go of easily.
But I’m not letting go either.
I think he’s starting to figure that out, too.
We both look at his phone when it rings.
He picks it up, his face falling when he sees who’s calling.
I’ve never seen him without his mask on.
When he’s not acting like the big, bad guy.
Now he’s a man stuck between a rock and a hard place.
He’s human.
When he doesn’t answer right away, I prompt him.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Philip Rinaldi.”
Our eyes meet.
“I sent him a message to cancel dinner, so I don’t know why he’s calling now.”
“What are you going to say to him?”
My heart’s in my throat.
Everything comes down to this.
I only wish I knew if I could trust my own father to do the right thing.
Chapter 35: Zeke
35
ZEKE
I
have faith in her.
I trust her.
She’s going to do the right thing.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t packed my shit, though.
I might have turned into an idiot for her, but I’m not a total moron.
If I need to go, I want to be ready.
Maybe I should have told her before we sat down with her father that he promised me anything I wanted.
That immediately, my mind went to her.
She’s the only thing I’ll ever want, the one good, true thing I’ve ever known.
The rest of the world could burn down, and I would roast marshmallows over the flames so long as she was with me.
I didn’t have the chance to tell her all those things.
Everything moved so fast-the police, building security, horrified neighbors who finally clued into the fact that there was an emergency once Dean hit the ground.
I didn’t even tell her I loved her before we were separated for questioning.
I only had time to give her a cover story that we could agree on when asked to give our version of events.
And she did so well.
I couldn’t be prouder.
She’s not going to let me down now.
I can’t believe it.
I won’t.
Still, everything I need is packed.
I have money in the bank, and the Harley is mine, free and clear.
If I have to go, I’m ready.
Because this isn’t up to her, is it?
The boss has final say.
And he doesn’t exactly have a track record of listening to women.
There’s a heavy knock on my door, and my head snaps around at the sound of it.
That’s not Mia’s knock.
A fist the size of a ham makes a sound like that.
Dread forms in my stomach, hardening like ice.
I withdraw my Glock and make sure the safety is off before approaching the door.
“Yeah?”
“Somebody here to see you.”
I recognize the voice as belonging to one of the lower security guys.
Maybe somebody looking to rise in the ranks.
Would Bruno send him to take me out?
A way to prove himself?
“Who is it?”
I ask, my shoulder to the door and one hand on the knob while I hold the gun with the other.
“For God’s sake, it’s me.
Open up.”
I let out a long breath, slumping against the door a little.
Setting the gun aside, I open it, and there she is.
And she’s smiling.
“Thank you for showing me where to go,” she tells Frank, who looks almost shy when he offers a brief grin before striding away without a backward glance.
So this isn’t some kind of trick.
“So?
What happened?”
She shakes her head, motioning for me to let her in the room.
I step aside, waiting with bated breath.
“You’re never going to believe it.”
She sits down on my bed, smiling brilliantly.
“It’s like a miracle.”
“What, for fuck’s sake?
Tell me.”
“Philip Rinaldi called.
You know, my future father-in-law?”
She pretends to stick a finger down her throat.
“I gave Dad the perfect out.
I told him we could pretend Dean forced himself on me the way he wanted to.
If I was used goods according to those Neanderthals, it might be enough of a reason to make them look elsewhere for a wife.”
It has a certain twisted logic.
“Did he say it?”
“He didn’t have to.”
She giggles, touching her hands to her cheeks.
“I still can’t get over it.
It’s like a miracle.”
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.