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But you deceived him, not the other way around.
Okay, that was true but locking me in, acting like he was going to at minimum take the present away he’d just given me? Sighing, I buried my face in Zorro’s fur.
“I need you to talk to me, Margot. I’m not angry with you but I need you to tell me right now how this came to pass. It’s vital I learn the truth, no matter how painful it might seem.”
“Why? So you can kill all of us?”
He laughed, the sound more bitter than I’d heard before. “As I told you several times, the family has enemies who will come after anything and anyone I love. They exploit weaknesses. You wanted to know about my world. Now, I believe I understand why. The Irish were determined to come into Kansas City, attempting to extort and take away both a legitimate portion of my business and as you might have guessed, the more illegitimate aspects as well. In the process, they killed several of my men, and were responsible for the attempted assassination, or so I believe.”
“Were? Or so you believed?” Why was I bothering to ask him anything? I suddenly couldn’t take my eyes off him, the despair in his tone more tortured than ever. There was no doubt how distraught he was.
He chuckled and rubbed his jaw, the stubble turning darker in only a few hours. “Yeah. Their entire family turned up dead, torched.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, trying to understand what he was saying. “The leader of all those men you murdered?”
Instead of trying to justify what he’d done, he nodded, still laughing as if he was completely uncertain what the hell was going on. “So you see, there is someone else out there who tried to pit the Irish against us and I fell into the ruse. So did Constantine. Then there’s you, the woman I married, a family who came to see my brother with a deal so I’d become the next leader of the Cosa Nostra out of Sicily. Which will potentially cause issues with the other five families who hold territories inside Italy. The business of running syndicates is very political.”
I swallowed hard, finding myself crawling closer but not so close that he could reach out and grab me. Zorro took the opportunity to jump onto the bed, placing his head on Daniel’s knee. That meant the man hadn’t done a single thing to the fur baby. I crossed my legs, trying to focus as much as I could.
“I know your background story to a point, Margot, but you need to trust me enough to confide in me. If you don’t, I fear that there will be additional violence and I assure you that whoever planned the attacks won’t want a witness to what’s going on or someone who can shed light on the issue. That means your life is in danger. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The icy chill coursing through me was like sharp clawed fingers digging into my neck, prepared to choke me to death. “Yes.”
“Can you trust me enough to know I will never allow anything to happen to you?” His eyes were imploring, the man remaining unblinking.
“Why? So you can torment me later?”
Another laugh escaped his lush lips and I was drawn to the lines in his face. I could swear he’d aged several years in hours. “Why? You’re really asking me?”
“Yes. I’m not your wife. I’m not the woman you believed I was. I’m just a girl from Philly and New York who moved here with her mother to try and start a new life.”
“But you are my wife, Margot. I agreed to marry a pampered princess of a brutal regime, a girl who had her whole life planned out for her from the day she was born. She was a party girl, used to the finer things in life. A spoiled little brat. What I got was a resilient fighter with a lust for life, just as likely to enjoy digging her hands in the dirt planting flowers as she was playing with a shelter animal. I think I knew from day one you weren’t Maria Rossi but the day I met you, the moment you tossed your wine into my face, not only did I admire your spunk, I also wanted to get to know you. All of you. In doing so, I was incensed at first that you spoke your mind, backtalking me even though you knew it would likely result in punishment. But you never faltered, refusing to accept my world without at least knowing what was happening. You challenged me. You pushed me into becoming a better man. And I was able to enjoy aspects of life I thought mattered little. Food. Drinks. Walks. Buying dog toys and treats. It was crazy but in one week, I was happier than I’d been in my collective life. So yes, you are my wife, Margot Rollins.”
He lifted his head, nodding once as if offering me a sign of respect. I was shocked by his admittance, my heart racing and dear God, I did love him. But I still needed more. “I fell in love with you, Daniel. I told myself it was just an acting job and that I would never, ever fall for someone who killed people for a living. But something happened along the way. You. You allowed me to see through the false bravado, exposing a side of you I knew you hadn’t with anyone else. And I thought for once in the hard life I’d led that I could find happiness. But you know what they say about living in glass houses.”
“It doesn’t need to shatter, Margot. We need to trust each other.”
“Do you love me? Of course not. You couldn’t. You can’t. I just… I’m not royalty. I can’t bring you a new regime to control. I can’t bring you anything but a bank account funded by lies and deceit, something you told me from day one you couldn’t tolerate. I was acting a part, at least at first. All because I wanted to help my mother. She’s sick. So sick. And after my father left us when I was little, she did everything in her power to give me a good life. But God doesn’t care. He tossed her aside, giving her terminal cancer. I was promised she might be healed. Then her life was threatened that day I went to the airport to talk to Maria, to tell her I couldn’t go through with the horrible lie. She told me she’d have my mother killed.” I took gasping breaths, fighting the pain building once again in my system, my mind reeling from the horrible agony of telling him the truth and realizing the awful deed I’d done.
What the fuck did it matter? I pressed my hand across my lips, shaking my head. When I tried to give myself some additional space, he leaned forward, snagging my arm. When he pulled me between his legs, I was shaken by the intense look on his face.
“The Rossi family threatened your dying mother?”
I nodded, hating that tears were once again streaming down my face. So much for being strong. I wasn’t strong at all, just a helpless young woman who’d gotten in over her head, falling for a man who didn’t belong to her.
“Where is the real Maria?”
It was now or never in coming clean.
“In some faraway clinic fighting for her life.”
“Goddamn it. Fuck them.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.
He rubbed tears from my face, shaking his head. “Don’t you get it? Don’t you understand? I found the woman I could love and it doesn’t matter what your last name is or where the hell you’re from. I told you before that you belong to me. No one is going to hurt you or your family. I’m sending some men to retrieve your mother. There are plenty of amazing clinics here. I promise you that I will get her the best medical team in the entire world.”
“Why? Why would you do this after what I’ve done? Why?”
