AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded a few times, finally returning her gaze to the fire. “Why were you told Bruno was in the state?”
There was something very odd about the look in her eyes. “Eliminating a witness to a crime he committed.”
“I doubt that.”
“I didn’t buy it for one second, but you’re going to need to be more specific. You know more than you’re willing to admit.”
“It’s complicated, Maverick. So much so I don’t know where to begin.”
“Why don’t you start with your real name?”
Her laugh sounded bitter, but more in control than I’d heard it recently. “My name is Amelie Rathbone. I’m from Chicago. My mother is dead, and I lived with my father, if you can call him that. He was the man who paid the bills, nothing more.” As I’d seen her do many times, she rubbed the locket around her neck, dragging it back and forth across the chain.
As I processed what she’d already told me, she never blinked.
“You have a beautiful name,” I told her.
I was rewarded with a slight smile that quickly turned into anxiety.
“Rathbone? Why does that name sound familiar?” I studied her impassive face, doing what I could to keep my anger in check.
She took a swig of her drink before answering. “Carmine Rathbone owns Rathbone Industries, a multimillion-dollar business in Chicago that was funded by my mother’s money from her family, grandparents I never knew. She was rich and my father wasn’t. Now, he’s the toast of the town, rubbing elbows with every powerful person in the city and beyond.”
“O-kay.” I sat down on the chair in front of her. “Are you suggesting your father has a connection to the crime syndicate?”
“Oh, I know he does. I’m not certain of all the reasons why, but I found several connections that my father initially tried to hide. He has investors who wouldn’t look kindly on him being in bed with a monster. I knew something was off and started looking into his business. Our relationship was strained after my mother died in a car crash, more so in the last few months. He never wanted a child. That much was easy to tell. He simply tolerated me.”
Jesus Christ. While every kid had issues with their parents, this was ridiculous, but there was more to the story.
“What does this have to do with you?”
As she locked eyes with mine, the smile crossing her face sent ice into my veins. “I think my father knew I was investigating his company and his unscrupulous activities, including trying to pin my mother’s death on him. I had plans on coming to Missoula after I graduated veterinary school in order to find the truth. Unfortunately, he was one step ahead of me, delivering a blow I didn’t see coming. He sold me to Giovanni Butelli as payment.”
I almost choked on my drink.
“Whoa. The fucker sold you? For what? How?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Marriage.”
Hold the fuck on. Was she kidding? I could tell by the look in her eyes the secret she’d been holding was eating her alive. My anger swelled again, my mind already processing methods of revenge.
“So you’re married to the pig?” I tried to keep all emotions from my voice, but it was impossible.
“No, which was what continues to confuse me. I lived in the man’s house for over two months. It was like he was waiting for something, maybe more control. Maybe he had something on my father. Or he was waiting for my twenty-fifth birthday. That’s when my trust fund will be released.”
“When is that?”
Lily… Amelie fisted her hand. “I’d lost track of time until this morning. One week from today.”
If this was all about her trust fund, the Butelli clan had possibly sent Bruno to retrieve her. Why did I have the feeling there was much more at stake?
“Go on.” The entire situation was unfathomable.
“I wasn’t privy to much information about being held prisoner in Giovanni’s house, but he was careless, likely thinking I wasn’t a threat. I paid attention. I played a game. Within a couple weeks, I started overhearing some conversations that led me to believe Giovanni had plans of eliminating my father. I knew something was off. I started trying to find evidence or any scrap of information as to what was really going on, but I was kept on a short leash. Giovanni is a violent man.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“See why I told you I was damaged?”
