Page 4 of Vicious Redemption

I’m used to things falling apart. In my world, things go to shit every day. That’s what happens when you’re a criminal working alongside convicts and overseeing all varieties of illicit activities. But my father—the don—is not supposed to be on my list of vulnerabilities. He should not have been left exposed.

He’s the head of this family, even if I am acting commander. And that he was not just shot but targeted is more deeply disturbing than the rest of the evening’s events combined. Don Guerra is out for blood. He’s ready to play dirty. And he seems overly confident that he’s in a position to win this war he started.

But what he doesn’t realize is that his shield, the only thing that has been keeping him and his men safe these past few months, is the very person he’s left at my mercy. His daughter. I let him be, first for the sake of our marriage alliance, and later to ensure Tia’s happiness. But I see no reason to concern myself with the contentment of a wife who so readily betrayed me.

Why should I show her loyalty when she’s shown me none?

Rasco watches me silently as I cross the lobby floor for the hundredth time. Back and forth, I pace, fuming as I finally have a moment to consider the implications of what happened this evening.

I can’t believe Tia’s been scheming behind my back this entire time. She lies to my face with the innocence of an angel, her beautiful brown eyes so dark and full of trust. Just the thought of them brings Tia’s porcelain-doll face to my mind. Her indescribable beauty, combined with her youthful, incorruptible expression, makes her far too easy to believe.

She tricked me.

She made me feel like some kind of white knight when she kissed me.

And that makes her betrayal cut all the more deep.

I thought I was the villain in our relationship. I imagined I was the monster lurking in the shadows of her pristine and idyllic world. I believed I would need to change if I was to be worthy of her.

And this whole time, she’s been playing me.

It weighs like lead in my stomach—the fact that she could manipulate me, not just willingly but so easily. I thought I was all but impervious to people’s influence. But my pride left me vulnerable to her masterful game.

Before Tia, I was untouchable. I had one vision, and I had the conviction to reach my goal at any cost. No matter who stood in my way. Then Tia came along and made me question everything. Even the valuable life lesson my father taught me at an early age.

Trust no one.

Especially when you’re at the top.

Snarling in my frustration, I release my hair and pace more ferociously.

I should be focusing on the traitors I intend to execute as soon as they’re released from police custody. I should be envisioning the torture I will inflict and the lessons I can use them for to deliver the clearest message.

But I can’t get my mind off Tia. Her betrayal.

And how willingly I fell into her snare.

I thought I was falling in love with her. I thought I was becoming a worthy man by trying to win her over, that I was learning to change for the better. And all the while, she was looking for ways to destabilize me so the Guerras could swoop in and take me down.

Well, they failed.

And though Tia certainly did a valiant job of championing her family, her father cut her loose. Left her hanging. I wonder how that sits with her. As rankling as it was to have Mayor Romney step in and try to protect Tia from my fury, I found Don Guerra’s response far more offensive.

His lack of devotion to the daughter who betrayed me for his sake unleashes a new level of loathing inside me. The man is the scum of the earth, and the fact that Tia chose him over me leaves a bitter taste on my tongue. How can she possibly remain loyal to him still?

Don Guerra thinks the child she’s carrying will protect her from my wrath.

He’s not entirely wrong.

But there are more ways to punish a person than to physically abuse them, and I have no qualms with teaching my wife a lesson. If she wants to play games with me, she’s going to quickly realize she’s challenging a master.

And as smart as Tia is, she hasn’t gone toe to toe with me yet.

But I see her for what she really is now.

I thought she was the pawn in her father’s chess game. But she’s not. She’s the queen, and I let my defenses down enough; she almost could have managed to checkmate me.

Never again.

---