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“I’m no threat to her,” I snapped. “As long as you cooperate.” I barely retained the presence of mind to bluff.
I had hurt Allie. The horror in her lovely eyes when she’d fled from me…
I gritted my teeth and forced my focus back to my quarry. Reaching into my jacket pocket with my free hand, I pulled out my phone and selected the app to play the recording.
So, you believe me now? The echo of my voice was rough with emotion. In that moment, I’d known that I was betraying her. But there was no going back now. You believe that your father colluded with the Russian Bratva to murder my mother?
Agony lanced my chest when Allie’s tremulous reply filled the space between us. Mike told me that my dad had an anonymous Russian informant that broke the mafia case for him. You said he worked with the Russian Bratva to bring down the mafia. He didn’t keep a record of the man’s identity. Why would he keep it secret? And now, I think the Ivanovs have Bratva ties. They’re my dad’s biggest donors. They’ve paid him millions. And today…
She’d trailed off, so I’d soothed her with a tender touch while I continued with my worst sin. Tell me what happened.
I tried to pull my mom’s autopsy and the arson report, and they were missing. How could they be missing? The D.A.’s office said something about losing the files, but how could they lose the files about the mayor’s wife’s death? I wanted to prove to myself that she died in an accidental fire, but now I can’t. I can’t prove that my father is innocent, Max.
I spoke once more, urging her to fully implicate him in his crimes. Do you believe that your father is guilty of everything I’ve told you?
I believe it.
That hadn’t been her true reply. I’d edited out three crucial words: I don’t want to believe it.
The fact that I’d manipulated the audio didn’t matter; she hadn’t believed it then, but she did now.
And judging by Fitzgerald’s bloodless face, he knew it too.
“What did you do to my daughter?” His voice hitched on the demand.
“I told her the truth,” I snapped. “And now I can make sure that everyone else knows it too. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll leak this to the press. How do you think the public will react when they find out that your own daughter knows you’re in bed with the Bratva? At the very least, you’ll be kicked out of office. You might even end up in prison with my Uncle Tony. You put him there, remember?”
Fitzgerald wouldn’t last a day in prison.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “What do you want?” The question was soft with horror.
I forced myself to remember the sense of power that’d flooded me when my father had shown me respect, trusting my judgment against my cousins. That toxic strength filled my chest, burning the back of my throat.
No worthy man would betray the woman he loves in exchange for power. My grandfather’s words grated through my mind.
I ignored them, ignored the pain of knowing that I’d damned Allie the moment I’d come into her life. I’d kidnapped her and forced her into my bloody, cruel world. I’d hurt her in ways she never could’ve imagined, destroying the perfect lie of her safe, comfortable world.
“I want you to leave my family alone.” I forced out my planned words through gritted teeth. “You’re going to use the power of the mayor’s office to make sure the cops stay off our backs. We’re going to retake everything you stole from us, and you’re going to help.”
His brows drew together, his face darkening. “I know people who will kill you for this.”
I managed a nonchalant shrug. “You can try, but this recording will get leaked to the press if I disappear. My family will make sure of it.”
It was a lie; I hadn’t trusted anyone else in my family with the recording. I didn’t have a failsafe, but I hadn’t dared to bring any of them into it. Who was I supposed to trust to have my back? My insane cousins? My hateful sister?
No. I had no one in my corner. There was only me, and I would be solely responsible for this triumph. All the glory would be mine and mine alone.
My chest didn’t glow with savage pride. I just felt empty and slightly sick.
Alone.
I didn’t have anyone. I didn’t have Allie. I’d lost her when she finally saw what I truly was. And now I was further condemning myself by betraying her, using her vulnerable words to take down her father.
I hardened my heart and tightened my grip on the gun. “Tell me you’ll cooperate.”
“You turned my daughter against me,” Fitzgerald said bitterly. “I’ll find a way to make you pay.”
“Try it, and you’re finished. You’ll be run out of town in disgrace. If you don’t end up dead.” I fixed him with my most menacing stare, twisting my features into the horrific mask that terrified my enemies. “Tell me, Fitzgerald.”
