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“You be careful.”
“You are my son.”
“And I’m your capo. That girl is mine. You insult her, you insult me. Dad or not, I will take you down.”
“You’d face consequences.”
“In case you didn’t get the memo, I don’t give a shit about them. I’ll deal with whatever is thrown my way.” He stepped up to his father.
“You always were a piece of shit. Always thought you had what it took.”
“What’s the matter, Dad? Does it bug you that I’ve taken over and shown The Boss what a real man can do?”
His father drew his fist back as if to hit him. For years he took the hits without fighting back. No more. He was a strong man, independent, and there was no way he was going to let him speak out about his woman.
Slamming his fist into his father’s face, he felt immense joy at the sound of shattered bones, and his scream.
“Stay away from her. If I hear you’ve even looked in her direction, I’ll fucking kill you.” With that, he turned on his heel, heading toward Belle. Richard was lurking close. “Stay with him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. If he tries to hurt you, kill him.”
“You’re giving me permission to kill him?”
“Why not? I seem to be on a roll tonight.” He also didn’t want an audience when he saw Belle.
The cuffs on her irritated him, and as he made his way to the room, he felt … nervous. He was Diego Leoni. He didn’t get nervous.
Turning the door handle, he entered the room.
“Belle?” He closed the door, moving toward the bed where he saw her on the security footage. She was still kneeling in the corner, and seeing her like this broke his heart.
“Diego,” she said.
“Yes, it’s me.” He took a step toward her, but she threw her hand up.
“No. I don’t want you to come a step closer.”
“Belle, don’t do this.”
“Capo? You’re not just a nightclub owner, are you? Capo is something related to the mafia, isn’t it?”
“Belle—”
“Isn’t it!” she screamed at him, getting to her feet. Her gaze was off in the distance, but he saw through her blank stare. She was hurting, and it was all because of him.
He stayed silent, resting his hands on his hips. “I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Diego Leoni.”
“What are you?”
“I’m just a man.”
“You’re not just an ordinary man. Stop lying to me. Stop with all the bullshit and tell me the truth.”
He didn’t want her to know the truth, but she already knew so much. There was no way he’d be able to let her go. If he didn’t keep her now, she would be killed.
“I’m capo of the city,” he said, opening up and telling her everything. He told her who he was, and what he did, not leaving anything out, including tonight. “You and your father got caught in the crossfire.”
“Where is my dad? Did he know? Is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay?”
He went to her, reaching for her arms, but she screamed at him.
“Don’t touch me.”
She slammed his hands off her. Diego wasn’t going to be pushed aside. Pulling her into his arms, he didn’t allow her to say no for an answer. She screamed at him, trying to get away. He wasn’t letting her go.
Holding onto her, he collapsed onto the bed, with her in his lap, holding her tight against his body so she didn’t move, so she didn’t fight against him. Slowly her wiggling stopped, and he didn’t let up, knowing she was a fighter and would do everything in her power to hold him off.
“You lied to me,” she said, whispering the words.
“I didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
“You’re not who I thought you were, and you’re engaged.”
Diego gritted his teeth.
“Please, Diego, let me go.”
“Not happening.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
“I can’t let you go either. You’ve seen too much. You know too much.”
She began to cry, sobbing against his chest. “What happened to my father?”
“He’s in a coma. I’ve paid for all the best kind of care money can buy. He will be protected and safe.”
“He knew about you?”
“Yes. He recognized me and my name.”
“I don’t watch the news,” she said. “I stopped a long time ago.”
He stroked his fingers through her hair, holding her, wanting to take her pain away, but not seeing any way he could do that.
“I never wanted to lie to you, but knowing how you were with me, you didn’t treat me any differently, and I liked it. I shouldn’t have pursued you. I even tried to stop, but every single time I did, you were always there, waiting.”
“I want to go back home,” she said. “I won’t say anything. I don’t know anything.”
He sighed, slowly lowering her to the bed. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and she had already done a lot of damage with those claws. He felt the scratch along his cheek, but if it made her feel better, he took the pain. “You’re not going home.”
