Page 20 of Vicious Redemption

I thought his final move was sacrificing me to Leo. To ship me off to our worst enemy to save our family. And even there, he’s managed to obliterate the relationship I was starting to build with the husband I was forced to marry. A man I never dreamed I could love and yet somehow do.

“How can I possibly spy for you when you threw me under the bus at the charity ball? Leo doesn’t trust me anymore because you said I gave you inside information.” Despite my best efforts to hide it, my voice is laced with hurt.

It doesn’t matter how ruthless my father has proven to be. I still want to mean something to him. And it still brings me pain to confront him about using me—abandoning me even. He’s the one man I’m supposed to know will protect me. For the longest time, I truly believed he would. But lately, it feels as though he’s either trying to punish me or that he feels no concern for me at all.

As if sensing my distress, my father’s face softens, his eyes warming with fatherly affection. “Tia. You’re more convincing than you give yourself credit for. I have full confidence that you’ll win the Moretti boy back over. You’ve only been married a few short weeks, and from what I saw last night, you had him eating out of your hand. Don’t worry, my child. Together, we will rid Piovosa of the plague his family has become in this town.”

Only I’m also part of that family now.

Rising from his chair, Father comes around his desk to pull me up from my seat, and he grips both my shoulders warmly. “I’ll be in touch,” he assures me. Then he pulls me into a hug once more. “I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become. I couldn’t ask for a better daughter.”

A knot forms in my throat, and I hate that his words mean so much to me.

They shouldn’t. Not after all he’s done.

Not after he’s utterly betrayed me.

“I need to get back,” I murmur, fighting the tears that choke me.

“Of course,” my father agrees.

He walks me to the door; his tone is affectionate as he keeps the conversation light. And as I walk back down our drive, I feel horrible for an entirely different reason than when I came.

Once again, I’m faced with choosing Leo or my family, and from the sounds of it, Father has no intentions of backing down from this fight. He’s going to get everyone killed. He can’t possibly think he can overthrow the Morettis.

And nothing I do will change that.

Even if I were willing to spy on Leo for my father—which I’m not—the small bit of intel I managed to pick up last time wasn’t enough to destroy Leo. It didn’t even get him arrested. How can my father possibly think he’s done anything but put a target on his back?

Trudging down the streets, I head back into the historic downtown of Piovosa. I barely notice my surroundings as I think about everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. I don’t want to betray Leo again. I can’t.

Against all odds, I’ve fallen in love with him. I can’t hurt him.

But I don’t want my family to die either.

My thoughts turn to Maria, Anna, Vienna, and Sofia. So sweet and still innocent. I hate that I can’t protect them. And I’m terrified that what my father’s doing is going to put them in worse danger.

Fighting the urge to cry, I force myself to focus, to consider what I can do to fix this awful situation. So much violence. So much death. And why? So, one man or another can claim possession of the town we live in?

Lost in thought, I pay little attention to where my feet are carrying me. They know the way. But when a car screeches to a halt beside me, my heart plummets. I freeze like a deer in the headlight as I sense danger.

Then, my heart stops entirely as I recognize the canary-yellow Ferrari.

The passenger door pops open, revealing Leo’s thunderous expression.

“Get in,” he growls.

11

LEO

Tia hesitates as she stands by the car door, seeming to debate whether it’s safe to get in. Considering I’m livid right now, I suppose her instincts aren’t entirely unfounded, but I’m not in the mood to fuck around.

“Now, Tia,” I command. It infuriates me how rarely she seems to listen to me—or obey.

She flinches, her brown eyes widening as she takes a step back. “I’d rather walk, I think.”

Why she’s walking through downtown Piovosa in the first place when she’s supposed to be confined to the Moretti estate confounds me. But her statement reminds me of how she walked down the street, her shoulders slumped, her face troubled.

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