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"Prick," I grunt, wrapping noodles around the fork for her.
"He's not the only one who feels that way."
"Taggert?"
"Him and about half of the other guys in the office." She rolls her eyes. "I didn't even have a chance to prove myself. They decided they didn't like me on sight."
My blood boils as I carefully feed her. Fuck each and every one of them. She's been on this case for a matter of days and has made more headway than they did in a year. If I were to talk to anyone, it'd be her. Simply because she isn't a fucking prick who hides behind a badge and thinks it makes her better. She's fierce and smart and relentless. And she has more courage in her pinky toe than they've ever shown in their miserable lives.
"You promised to tell me why Genovese wanted Valentino to think you were the one behind the murders," she reminds me, clearly ready to change subjects.
"I did promise, didn't I?"
"Yes."
"He found out I was talking to the FBI."
"That's it?" Her brows furrow. "That was his reason?"
"You think that's a small thing? It's the one rule you don't break in the mafia."
"So why break it?" Her gaze flits across my face. "What did you want so badly that you were willing to risk it?"
"Rafe Valentino in a body bag," I say bluntly.
She flinches.
"You asked. This is who I am. I won't pretend to be something I'm not. My world is vicious and ugly and bloody. I do what I have to do, and I won't apologize for it, Athena. If you're looking for an innocent man, you won't find one here."
"Tell me what happened," she pleads.
So I tell her. "I happened."
"I don't understand."
"Rafe Valentino's father murder Amalia's parents."
Her eyes widen in shock.
"It was a revenge killing, bella. Her father killed his mother and shot him. Amalia had nothing to do with it. She wasn't even born when it happened. She was two when her parents died. Alvise found her in foster care when she was a little girl. When he brought her home, we both knew what would happened to her if the Valentinos ever found her. They'd already killed her parents. Rafe had killed my father, too. I wasn't going to let them kill her too. She was innocent."
"She was just a little girl," Athena whispers.
"Yeah, she was. And she grew up safe because we kept her hidden. But I knew the only way she'd ever be free was if Rafe was dead and gone. I wanted him that way anyway, so I started talking to the FBI. Genovese found out. He thought he could use me to get Rafe out of the way."
"You guys teamed up?"
"Fuck no," I growl. "He was going to tell everyone about my chats with the FBI. I couldn't let that happen. It would have left Amalia completely unprotected. So I reluctantly agreed to help him bring Rafe down. Except I couldn't do it alone. Genovese had already made sure of that by trying to pin those fucking murders on me. I had to ask Amalia to help.
"It was all downhill from there. When Rafe came looking for me, he found her, exactly like we'd planned. It was a risk, a huge fucking risk, but it was one we had to take. She was supposed to find his books and smuggle them out to me. I'd turn them over to the FBI, and the Valentino empire would fall, freeing us.
"Except we didn't fucking know Genovese knew who she really was. As soon as he had a chance, he grabbed her, trying to lay claim to the Cerrito fortune. And I had to make a choice…let my shit with Rafe go, or risk losing my sister because I fucked up."
"Diego," Athena whispers, her expression soft.
"Had I known Genovese wanted her too, I would have done it differently. She ended up under his thumb because of me. Every goddamn thing that went wrong was because of me, bella."
She licks her lips, watching my face. "You're leaving things out."
"Yeah, I am," I freely admit. "I'm leaving it out to save your life."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. There are things I'm not telling you because the minute you know them, your life is over." I laugh abruptly. "The life you knew is already over."
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you think happens to you now, bella? You think you walk out of here in twenty-four hours and go back to your life as if nothing has changed?" I ask, brushing a curl away from her face. "You aren't that naïve."
"I…" She exhales a breath. "My boss knows I'm here, Diego. If I go missing, they'll know it was you."
"You think I'd put my hands on you? Hurt you?" I push our plate back and then lift her from my lap to set her on the table. "You know nothing, bella. Nothing," I growl. "Everything I do, I do for you."
