AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because he stole a lot of money from you,” she choked out.
“How much?”
Eyes downcast, Ava whispered, “Ten million dollars.”
“And you didn’t think to come to us?”
Sobbing, she put her hand over her heart and took a few deep breaths. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the dirt on her skin. “Look, I didn’t help my dad. He asked me to cover it up for him. But I couldn’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have feelings for your brothers,” she said with her eyes on her feet.
I slid my hand beneath her chin and tilted her head back. “I know you’ve been hiding something from me. What have you been up to?”
“I tried to get the money back,” she said between strangled breaths. “Every penny plus interest.”
My father was right about Ava being brilliant. In a short time working for our family, she was already outperforming Giancarlo.
Nicodemus hopped into the hole beside us and pulled Ava into his arms, molding her back to his chest. Then he put the inhaler in front of her mouth. “Just calm down,passerotta.” He tucked the fallen strands of hair behind her ears. “Take a deep breath.”
After her breathing returned to normal, Nicodemus swaddled her like a newborn baby. But I wasn’t finished with my questions.
“How did you attempt to get back our money?”
“You probably won’t like it,” she muttered as she wiped the tears from her chin. “I wrote a program that takes a few pennies on the dollar from every client’s dividend check. It’s a small amount. I knew I could use that money as my initial investment and then pay them back.”
“You had no right to steal more money to make up for your father’s debt,” I snapped.
“I know.” She raised her hands in defense. “But I didn’t know any other way to pay you back. My dad liquidated all of my assets. I have nothing. He didn’t even leave me a cent.”
“We’ve known this for some time.”
Her eyes widened as her lips parted. “You did? How?”
“Because we know everything about our employees.”
She stepped out of Nicodemus’s embrace and moved in front of me. “Dante, please.” Ava had her hands in front of her as if that would keep me from snapping her neck. “Just let me finish. I didn’t steal anything from your family. I knew I could get the money back for the clients. They wouldn’t miss a few pennies from their dividend checks. Some of your clients are the wealthiest men in the world. A few are in the top five on the Forbes richest list.”
“That’s beside the point,” I said with an attitude.
“Dante.” She whispered my name like it was a melody falling from her lips. “I got all of your money back. Plus interest. Assuming the current vig is around five percent, I added another two for the inconvenience.”
I laughed at her words. “You call this an inconvenience?”
She sighed. “Seven percent is more than fair. I took an extra risk and turned that seven into ten. It’s in an offshore account. So, can we call this even?”
I studied her face. Even with dirt on every inch of her skin, she was still gorgeous.
“I also replaced the money I borrowed from the clients,” she added when I didn’t answer. “I checked the account earlier. If you hadn’t thrown me out of your apartment, I was going to tell you everything.”
“We’re done.” Angelo tapped my shoulder. “You’ve traumatized our girl enough for one night.”
“Agreed,” Stefan chimed. “You could have fucking killed her, Dante.”
I smirked at my brothers. “Only the strong survive in this world.”
“Fucking asshole.” Stefan shook his head and extended his hand to Ava. “Come here, baby. Let’s get you home.”
