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“Yes, Luca’s sister, she’s been feeding the Souls information to maintain her boyfriend’s protection in prison.”
“Fuck, Rafe. Luca is a friend.” Ricardo’s reluctance to comply burns my blood even hotter, and I stand up from my chair and slam my fists on my desk for a second time, making Gioele jump out of his wrinkly skin. “I don’t give a fuck who she is! She betrayed me, and so she must pay. Luca too.”
“Rafe, maybe you should think this through. There could be a mistake, a reason. Desperate people do desperate things.”
“Are you to be the next member of my staff that lets me down?” I ask him sharply, ignoring the hurt I see on his face. Ricardo is much more like family to me than staff. He’s proven that more than once.
“No, sir,” he speaks, with a sour look on his face.
“Then you best prepare yourself to leave. I’ll deal with Luca myself.”
Gioele nods his head solemnly before he sees himself out while Ricardo hangs back, and when the door closes— and we’re alone— he looks at me desperately.
“Rafe, I’ve had your back for eighteen years. I’ve never questioned a single decision you’ve made. But please think about this. I’ve never hurt a woman before. Do you really want to go down this road?” Ricardo proves that he doesn’t know me as well as I thought he did.
“I gave the girl a job— a respectable one— because her brother had proved himself to me. She chose to give her loyalty to the Souls.”
“Luca and Marcella’s father was a good friend to yours. I’m not denying what the girl did was stupid, but—”
“What the girl did could have cost me my family,” I seethe back at him, and the fucker’s lucky there’s nothing in arm’s reach for me to throw at him.
“She was just trying to protect someone she loves,” he adds weakly.
“Ricardo, I pay you to deal with my inconveniences, not to become one. Now fuck off and deal with them or add your ass to my shit list.”
“Boss, I’m just asking you to think about this before you do something you regret,” he pleads with me one final time, and I wonder if he actually thinks this is a bad idea or if he fears hurting a woman.
“I’ve misjudged you, Ricardo.” I sit back in my chair and let my index finger slide under my bottom lip. “I thought you had grown to care for Riley and that you were prepared to protect my son against any threat.”
“No misjudgment, Raphael. I would protect either one of them with my life.”
I nod calmly as I absorb what he’s saying. I’ve had no reason to disbelieve him. I see the way he protects them, and I know that he cares for them both. It was harsh of me to throw that into question. But that doesn’t make the slightest difference to the outcome for Marcella.
She had the balls to fuck with me. She will pay the price of her betrayal the same way any man would.
“Then you will have no problem killing the person who put them in jeopardy.” I finish the conversation by standing up from my desk and leaving my own office.
I have the sudden urge to be with Riley. I can deal with Luca later. But first, his sister can wish she’d let her boyfriend’s ass get raped in county.
I need to step out of the life I hide from Riley and into the one I’ve created for her. And I need to hurry the fuck up and shut it all down so I can take her and my son as far away from the Dirty Souls as I can get them.
“I need to travel to Chicago today.” Rafe doesn’t look up from his task of feeding Gabriel his breakfast. My little boy sits so contently on his daddy’s knee while he supplies him his favorite, Nanny Sylvia’s French toast.
I smile in response, but on the inside, I feel like I’m drowning. It’s difficult living in a perfect world when it suddenly doesn’t seem so perfect anymore.
“You’ve been quiet these past few days. Are you coming down with something?” he asks, his eyes lifting to study me suspiciously across the table.
“I’m just tired.” I shrug him off, sipping my coffee and trying to ignore the nerves building in my stomach. If Rafe’s out of the house today, I’ll have the opportunity to do some digging.
I’m running out of time. When I went to retrieve my pills from the trash the other day, they had vanished. Raphael is a control freak. The fact he’s taken them proves that he’s unconvinced of my commitment to our agreement. It also means that I’m unprotected, and Rafe’s been proving ever since that morning just how committed he is to us making another child.
“I’ve arranged for Sophia to visit. Sylvia can take care of Gabriel,” he informs me, poking out his tongue at our son as he speaks.
“What will you be doing in Chicago?” I ask, trying my best to sound casual and not like I’m trying to catch him in a lie.
“Just business, nothing that would interest you.”
“Try me.” I attempt to sound cute, giving up trying to eat what’s in front of me. I’ve struggled with meals for days now. There’s nothing quite like finding out the man you’ve fallen in love with exploits women to ruin your appetite.
