God, my gut had told me she had real feelings for me right from the very beginning. So all the back and forth with her, the constant hot and cold, it was because of my parents and their “deal.” I was glad to find out I hadn’t been imagining Emzee’s affections. But at the same time, the situation was so much worse than what I’d imagined. It wasn’t just blackmail, wasn’t just Emzee’s reputation at stake—it was her life. Ourbaby’slife. The lives of her entire family. This was the Russian mob, and they weren’t the type to bluff when it came to threats.
I just couldn’t believe my parents had known about the Bratva’s extortion all this time and had used their power and money to strike this bullshit lose-lose deal with my wife.
Then again, of course they had. They’d been against my relationship with Em from the get-go, and I knew how much they wanted to control my life—my mother especially—there was no way they would have just stood by and let me be with Emzee without putting some sort of failsafe in place behind my back. Something to guarantee we wouldn’t stay together.
“So they offered you money in exchange for a divorce,” I said. “Enough money to pay off the mob. It was never about blackmailing you at all.”
“They said they’d help me, but only if I agreed to leave you,” she confirmed. “I’m sorry. It was the only way I could save my family.”
I was seeing red, practically shaking with anger. I’d never felt so betrayed. And by my own fucking parents.
“So that night of the gala, when I walked in on you in the library—”
She nodded. “That was when they told me I couldn’t get pregnant, or they’d let the mob go after my family. Your mom said they’d smear me in the press, deny the baby was yours.
“I didn’t know I was pregnant yet, but the second I did, I knew they could never know the truth,” Emzee continued. “Otherwise they’d never pay off the mob. So after the gala, I went to them and said that I’d divorce you right away. Before anyone could find out about the baby.”
“I still don’t get how they knew about your problems with the Bratva,” I said. “Did you go to them for help?”
“No. They came tome,” she said. “Right before the wedding. I don’t know how they knew. I just assumed…maybe they had their own ties to the Russians somehow.”
She looked up at me, her eyes worried and big. As if she was telling me something I hadn’t already suspected. As if I would be completely and totally shocked by this news.
“That makes sense. I’ve had access to my parents’ lives for a long time. And I’ve seen plenty of things that made me think they had shady dealings. The first time being, you know, all those years ago—the day I heard them fighting about my dad sleeping with the models at KZM. Like I told you, that was how I found out about your dad and the trafficking stuff.
“I never really explained why I kept it from you. At first, I guess part of me wanted it to not be true. Like speaking it out loud would make it all real. By the time you and I became friends, I’d already buried it. Carrying those secrets around was a burden to me, and I cared too much about you to let it be a burden to you, too. I wanted to protect you.”
“You did protect me,” she pointed out.
“Not just from the bullies, but from everything ugly and harsh in the world. I know how shitty it is to find out your parents aren’t who you thought they were,” I said, letting out a sigh. “Who knows? Maybe my parents are the ones who introduced your father to them in the first place.”
I pulled Emzee into my arms and leaned back against the pillows, rocking her a little, my mind on fire with all the bombshell revelations.
“I know I said this before, but I always loved you,” I said. “Looking back, I think even when I couldn’t see it, I wanted to protect you. Ever since I saw you hurting that first time, the hurt that I caused, I wanted to make things better for you. I wanted to make you happy.”
Looking down at Emzee, I realized there were tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. As I wiped them gently with my thumb, kissing their tracks, she said, “What are we going to do, now that all our secrets are out?”
It was a fair question. We knew what we were up against—whowe were up against. But that didn’t mean the danger was gone. If anything, it seemed even more present, especially after learning that some fucking Bratva operative had tried to corner Emzee at the bar earlier.
I was not going to forgive my parents for this. They’d crossed a line a long time ago and it was time for me to push back. Emzee and the baby were my family now—not my parents—and I was going to make that perfectly clear to them.
But first, I had to figure out how to save my family.
“I’ll take care of it,” I promised her. “I’ll find a way.”
If we had to run away together, I’d do that, too.
I wasn’t going to let anything come between us. Not ever again.
Emzee
Chapter 23
Ford and I stayed up all night, holding each other and talking about the future. Making plans. Admitting our hopes and fears. That night turned into the rest of the weekend, which we spent ordering takeout, having sex, and trying to plan our next steps—and ultimately, what we were going to do about the Bratva and his parents and the money. Everything was fucked, on the one hand, but at least we were together now. We were a unit. A family.
We’d figure something out.
I was woken up just after five a.m. on Monday by my phone ringing. Ford groaned beside me in bed, and I fumbled for my cell on the nightstand.
