Page 51 of Sins and Secrets

“It really is, isn’t it?” I ask, trying not to make whatever is about to happen worse. “You know, I really can’t talk this morning. I have an important meeting I need to be getting to.”

He lifts the hem of his shirt slightly. It’s enough for me to see the gun he has holstered at his hip. “If I were you, I would want to hear me out before you go scurrying away.”

“Well, since you put it so nicely. What can I do for you, Paolo?”

He chuckles and loops his arm around my waist, pulling me toward the door. “Not where so many people can hear us.”

His arm is a tight vice around me as he leads me out of the café and into the parking lot. As he starts to turn me toward a black car, I stop in my tracks and turn to him.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I really do have a meeting I need to get to soon. What is it that I can do for you?”

“Life in the Marchetti mafia can’t be good for you. Especially not with who your father is. You would think that would gain you some respect, but I remember my days there. The men used to have a bet going. Whoever was the first one to sleep with you would win a lot of money.”

My blood boils at the mention of the bet. It’s not the first time I’ve heard about it, and I doubt it will be the last.

Is Alessio part of the bet?

It’s a dark little thought, but it’s one I can’t shake. The longer I stare at Paolo, hoping that this will be over soon, the more I wonder if Alessio is in on the bet.

I bite back the urge to tell him to fuck off, knowing that it will only get me hurt. “It’s certainly not an easy life.”

“If you were to marry me, you could escape that.”

“Excuse me?” Has he gone mad? What is he even talking about?

Knowing Paolo, I don’t think I even want to know.

I shake my head and give him a polite smile. “I’m sorry. Unfortunately, I’m not really looking to get married anytime soon.”

“Billie, you should really see things my way. Think of how powerful we would be together. We could draw away support from the Marchetti mafia. We could take down an organization who doesn’t respect you.”

“With all due respect, Paolo,” I say, reaching around to the small of my back and pulling out a gun. I keep it down at my side and hidden from the other people in the parking lot. “I’m not going to be marrying you. Not now. Not ever. The life I have may not be perfect, but I was raised better than you. I do not betray the people who protect me. Now, if there is nothing else, I will be going.”

Paolo laughs and shakes his head. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Billie, but one day you’ll understand.”

He gets in the black car without another word. I slide the gun back into my waistband beneath the blazer, my heart racing. Normally, I leave the gun in the car. It stays in a hidden compartment unless I know I’m going to be walking into danger.

I don’t know what compelled me to grab it before I went into the café, but I’m glad I did.

I might not be standing here if I didn’t.

Yet another reminder of why I hate this fucking life.

Paolo’s car peels out of the parking lot as I head back to my own. I take a deep breath as I get in the car and put my coffee into the cupholder. My stomach is tossing and turning. If he knows that I frequent this café nearly every morning, I’m going to have to start going somewhere else.

It was foolish to think that I could have a routine anyway. Papa always taught me that it was better to keep my schedule varied. To switch it up often in case anyone was watching me.

I should have listened to him.

After taking a few more deep breaths and checking my mirrors to make sure Paolo is gone, I head to the office. It’s only a short drive, but I look over my shoulder the entire time. If he is bold enough to approach me in public about joining him, then I suspect he is willing to try just about anything.

I wouldn’t put it past him to kidnap me to get to my father.

The interaction with Paolo is all that circles through my mind as I park the car before heading to my office. What-ifs keep popping up, each one of them making me question how safe me and Papa truly are.

The sooner he gets out of the hospital, the better.

There’s nothing that I can do for him there, though Alessio does have men guarding him day and night. It’s a peace of mind that I wouldn’t otherwise have, but the worry still seeps in.

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