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“You can’t make me,” Russel whines.
Luca finally walks around Mom. He stares at Russel with his intent and capability completely clear. He’d ragdoll him without a single question. He’d slice him to pieces. “There are ten ways I could force you,” Luca says, “and that’s just off the top of my head. I’ll get some rope.”
“Oh, lord,” Mom says, burying her face in her hands and bursting into tears. It’s like all the pain of the last few months, ever since Dad’s stroke, is catching up with her. She melts into her chair. I can’t go to her, but even if I wasn’t guarding Russel, I’m not sure Iwould.
She cheated on Dad. How am I ever going to be okay with that?
Scarlet walks over to Mom and sits beside her, placing her hand on her shoulder. Mom turns and collapses against my woman, crying desperately. Scarlet hugs her tightly. There’s a twitch in my chest when I see my woman comforting my mom.
When Luca returns with the rope, we tie Russel to the chair.
“Can you stay with him?” I ask Luca. “I’m going to take Scarlet and…” I trail off, realizing it’s better not to talk about this in front of Russel in case he somehow gets loose.
“I got you,” Luca replies. “You should probably take Mom and Dad too. I’ll tell the staff to leave. From now on, vetted, trusted Family men only.”
CHAPTER23
Scarlet
Elio drives us to another penthouse about a mile from his parents. Mom, Alessia, and I sit in the back, Alessia staring out the window on one side of me and Mom doing the same on the other. They both seem spaced out for their own reasons. Leo sits in the passenger seat. My heart broke a little when I saw my man helping his dad into the car—the pain in his eyes.
When we reach the penthouse, Elio drives us into a private garage and climbs from the car. He opens the door and offers his hand to his mom. I can tell he does this reluctantly, as though it hurts him. I’m unsure what to say or do to help heal the rift between them.
Cheating… It’s just so wrong. It makes me sick to think about it. Whenever I think about getting steamy, it’s always with my man. I can’t even imagine somebody else touching me, being naked with me. It’s unnatural. It doesn’t fit into my head.
“Come on, Mom,” I say, touching her arm softly.
“Hmm?” she replies. “Oh, yes…”
She opens the door on her side and climbs out. She’s shaky on her feet, so I offer her my arm. She clings to it gratefully as I lead her to the elevator, joining Alessia. Elio returns for his father, helping him into the wheelchair and pushing him over.
“Mom, can you take Dad and Mrs. Smith upstairs? I need to speak with Scarlet.”
He speaks in a detached way, and he doesn’t look at his mother. It’s like he can’t, not after what she did. There’s a coldness to him that wasn’t there before, but I can’t blame him for that.
“Of course,” Alessia says, pressing the button to the elevator.
Elio takes my hands and leads me away from them. Even so, he waits until they’re inside the elevator. I turn and see Mom watching us, even in her spaced-out state. She’s got a small smile on her face, almost like she’s happy I’ve found somebody and can see how much belonging flames in me when I’m close to my man.
“What a dinner,” he says once they’re gone, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ. Mom cheated. I never would’ve guessed that.”
“Would it really ruin the Family?” I ask.
“Don’t you think cheating is serious?” he growls.
I place my hand on his chest, calming him down a little. “I’d never cheat on you,” I tell him. “Never. Just the idea of it is sick to me.”
“Promise,” he says fiercely, leaning close, letting me feel the heat of his passionate, frantic breaths.
“I promise,” I tell him. “I swear…”
He pushes his lips against mine. I can feel how badly he needs this kiss. There’s fresh hunger in the closeness. We kiss even deeper, the passion scorching, but then he grabs my shoulders and gently pushes me away.
“I need to go back.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“First, we need to ensure Russel checks in with his men and that his men don’t guess something’s up. After that, we’ll work out how to get our hands on this video and delete all the copies. Then…” He grits his teeth. “We end the prick. I would’ve cut him to ribbons if he hadn’t pulled that slimy little ace. What he did to you…”
