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“That’s it,” he said. “My son has made a huge effort to clean up his life this past year, and I worry that not getting into any schools will set him back on a path that I’d like to avoid.”
I blinked several times as I processed the simplicity of the request. Ezra could be an asshole. I was sure that he was the one who had me fired. But he wasn’t a bad person. When I explained the reality of Rome’s situation, he would help. I was sure of it.
“Hand me your phone,” I said, holding out my hand to Rome.
His brow lifted in confusion, but he was already reaching into his jacket to pull out his phone. “For?”
I snatched it out of his hand. Rome’s request might have been a simple one, but he’d blackmailed me to get it. I didn’t like him, and I didn’t trust him. So, playing nice wasn’t exactly on my agenda. “Have your son email me his resume. I’ll see if Ezra is willing to take a meeting with him. He’s not going to write the letter otherwise. If he truly has turned over a new leaf, then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
As I spoke, the car came to a stop.
“Excellent,” Rome said, reaching out to take his phone back.
I held it just out of reach. We were at the restaurant, but I had a point to make before heading out. “If you so much as utter a word of my existence to anyone in the Bratva,” my voice was low as I spoke. I wanted Rome to know I meant business. “I’ll make sure that your son is blacklisted from every Ivy league worth getting into. Then, I’ll be sure to remind my father that for a month you sat on knowledge of my whereabouts, thinking best about how to blackmail me with it.”
The fear that overtook Rome’s face was subtle, but it was there if you were looking hard enough for it. “I might have been dead for a year, but I can assure you that my father doesn’t take too well to those who aren’t loyal, and you wouldn’t want to cause your son even more pain. Would you?”
My voice was sweet as I posed the question.
I dropped the phone into his stunned hand. “Thank you for the ride.” I told him as I did my best to inch out of the car. “Let’s never do it again.”
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
I was full of anxious energy as I waited at the restaurant for Annie to get here. Her being late was making me nervous. Since my mother gave me the ultimatum of Annie or her money, I’d been pulling back from Annie for the past week unsure of what I was going to do. After all, Annie was key in revamping my interest, and if I were being honest, I enjoyed being with Annie.
The relationship might be fake, but sometimes, it felt wildly real.
But I also needed the money from my family in order to run the kind of campaign I wanted. If I needed to try and find donors, which I didn’t think would be too hard, I knew that I was going to make concessions. And those concessions were probably going to be favors.
There was no easy answer to the rock and hard place that my mother had put me in between. It was another thing that made me hate the woman. She needed to control me, and she’d finally found a way to do it.
Looking up I was startled to see Annie hobbling toward me. The morning sun was illuminating her almost like a halo. After not seeing her for a week, I felt as though her beauty was even more radiant.
What was also obvious was the fact that she was injured.
Immediately, I jumped from the table and rushed towards her. “What happened?” I asked urgently as I took her hands in my own.
She smiled up at me, and as corny as it sounded, the sight of her smile, one which I missed terribly, made my heartbeat against my chest. “Good morning,” she said cheekily. “Sorry, I’m late.”
Her words did nothing to assuage my worry, and I looked her up and down. Her ankle was swollen around the strap of her shoe, and I noticed a twinge of purple on the skin.
“We aren’t staying.” Before Annie could say anything, I lifted her in my arms. She weighed almost nothing as I held onto her. Her body was nearly weightless.
“Ezra!” she squealed. “Put me down.”
I said nothing and ignored the stares of the other patrons as we walked out of the restaurant. “I’m only a block away. I’ll order breakfast for the two of us, and we can get some ice for your ankle.”
Annie opened her mouth to speak, but I squeezed her slightly. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. “I can walk,” she said after a few minutes. “You don’t have to carry me the entire way. I’m sure I’m heavy.”
I snorted. “You weigh less than those groceries you made me lug into my house.”
This made her smile once more, and she stopped arguing with me as I walked through the lobby of my building and into the elevator.
“I’m sorry,” Annie said, as we walked into the house. “I fell on my way, and I didn’t mean to ruin breakfast.” Her voice was soft as I spoke, and I felt a tug in my heart as I placed her on my couch.
“Let me get you some ice.”
I walked into the kitchen where I could still have a clear line of sight onto Annie. I could tell how much pain she was in from her breathing, but there was something else off about her. It made me think back to what my mother had said. It was the only reason I hadn’t told her right away to go to hell.
