Page 91 of Born into Sin

“He’ll pay for his betrayal with his life, but it doesn’t change what happened to you.” He pulls back just enough to get a good look at my face. “I once saw your mom looking like this, and I swore I’d never let it happen to anyone else that I love.”

I’ve never seen my dad cry before, but I swear he’s seconds away from it now. His blue eyes look glassy, and his voice is thick and trembling slightly.

“I failed you, and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

I grab his hand and shake my head. “You found me and saved me.” I wave a hand at my body. “This will all heal, and you got there before he could do anything worse.”

“God, I don’t know what I would’ve done if we’d gotten there any later,” he admits, looking horrified at the idea of it.

“You got there in time,” I remind him. We’re both sitting on the edge of my bed, so I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling like I used to when I was younger and my dad was the safest place I could ever imagine being. He’s always been my hero in so many ways, and I may not remember every detail of my rescue, but I do remember using the last of my strength to call out for Dominic instead of him, and I imagine that must’ve broken his heart.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about Dominic, Dad. Please don’t be mad at me, because I can take a lot of things, but you being disappointed in me isn’t one of them. I swear I never meant to hurt you. It just sort of happened, and we were going to tell you as soon as the Zolotov threat was taken care of.”

He cups my hand in both of his and kisses the top of my head. “I could never be mad at you, princess. I’m just not capable of it. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t furious at him, but never at you, honey.”

“Please don’t be mad at him.” My words are shaky, and when he hears how upset I am, he pulls back so he can see my face.

His eyes search mine, and after several seconds I see his lip ring move as he gives me a soft smile and shakes his head like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.

“You really do love him, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He’s been holding my right hand, and when I put my left hand on top of his and he sees the large diamond on my finger, he mutters something that I’m happy I don’t catch.

“He doesn’t waste any time, does he?”

“Dad,” I say, and he smiles at my tone. “Seeing me like this terrified him, and we both want to be together, so why wait?” I give a soft laugh and add, “Plus, it’s not like he’s getting any younger.”

My dad laughs and gives me a wink. “The next time he pisses me off I’m going to tell him you said that.”

I laugh again and then wince at the pain in my ribs. My dad’s eyes narrow, anger and hurt radiating off him as he looks me over.

“I’ll tell Dominic to make sure your ribs stay iced. That’s what I did to help your mom.”

“What happened to her?” He looks like he doesn’t want to tell me, but I just sigh and say, “You guys have way too many secrets. Does it really matter if I know?”

“We just wanted to protect you from the world, from how ugly people can be.” He lets out a breath and gives my hand another soft squeeze. “Not that it’s done any good. Violence has a way of finding our family.”

“You all gave me and my cousins the best childhood any kid could ever hope for, Dad. We were surrounded by love and always felt safe, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I can handle whatever you want to tell me.”

“You’ll always be my little girl, princess. That’s never going to change.” After a few seconds, he sighs and pats my hand before scrubbing it over his jaw. Like Dominic, he hasn’t shaved in several days, and he looks like he could easily sleep for a week straight.

“I met your mom because her brother was into underground fighting. I regularly kicked his ass, and he kept coming back for more. Your mom approached me one night because she wanted me to teach her how to fight so she could defend herself. I realized her brother was beating her, and that didn’t sit well with me.”

My heart breaks for my mom. She’s one of the happiest people I know, and now I know why. People are rarely that happy unless they’ve first been in a shit situation. If you’ve always known good, then it’s easy to take it for granted. My mom never has, though. Every time she sees my dad, her eyes light up, like he’s her everything. I could’ve easily ended up a spoiled brat who never appreciates how good she has it, except I was raised by a family who has endured pain, and they handed those hard-earned lessons down to their kids. I owe my family everything.

My dad brushes my hair behind my ear. “I fell hard and fast for your mom,” he admits with a grin. “And I’ve never regretted it for a second. She’s my whole world, and she gave me you and Sasha and Mia. I can’t imagine my life without any of you, and if you think falling in love with a stubborn Italian is going to push me away from you, then you don’t know me at all, princess.”

I wrap my arms around him and give him as tight of a hug as I can manage. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, honey, more than you can imagine and nothing will ever change that.”

“I have one other thing I need to tell you.”

He rubs a hand over my back like he used to do when I was little. “Lay it on me, kiddo. If I can handle my daughter being engaged to Dominic fucking Alessi, then I can handle anything.”

“You sure about that, Grandpa?”

I feel his whole body go still, and his voice is barely a whisper when he asks, “What did you just say?”

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