Page 65 of Betraying the Mafia Boss

“You can’t know for sure unless you talk to him about it,” Naomi says.

Someone opens the door before I can muster a reply. Vincent enters the room and smiles at me.

“Um… Vincent is here. I’ll call you back later.” I hang up and stand as Vincent approaches.

He scrutinizes my face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I walk to my vanity and sit on the chair. “Is there a problem?”

“No.” He stands behind me, our eyes meeting in the mirror. “You just seem a bit off today. Is there something you’re upset about? Tell me what it is and I’ll fix it.”

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. When I open my eyes, I twist around and face him. “Isn’t there something I should know?”

He shrugs, his eyes narrowing. “Something like what?”

“Like you getting initiated into the mafia.” The words leave my lips before I can stop them. I’m not in the mood for back and forth.

Vincent freezes, his blue eyes growing colder. “Who told you that?”

“I heard you sneak out of bed last night,” I say. “And I heard you discussing it with your brothers. Are you going to deny it?”

His jaw ticks and he hisses out a sigh. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? How does keeping something that important from me, protect me?” A frown forms on my face. “You’re the father of my unborn child, Vincent. I deserve to know when you make big decisions.”

“It wasn’t a big decision. The mafia has always been my destiny, Isabella,” he says, the veins on his neck bulging. “It was useless for me to try and run away from it. I only did it to become who I always was.”

“Who you are?” I scoff. This doesn’t make sense. “That is not who you are to me.”

“This is the only way I can protect you and our child.” He steps closer, filling my nose with his woodsy scent. “It doesn’t matter if you hate me for it, this is who I am now. You can choose to accept it or not.”

Okay, take a deep breath, Isabella.

“I don’t hate it. I don’t hate you or who you’ve become,” I say softly. “I only dislike that you tried to hide it from me.”

“I’m sorry. You’ve already been through a lot and I didn’t want to upset you.”

“It’s fine. If this is what we must do to catch Elio, then it’s fine.” I reach for his hand. “Just promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll never put yourself in harm’s way. Not even to catch Elio.”

Vincent brushes the back of my hand with his thumb. “I can’t promise that. I don’t care if I have to crawl to hell over shards of glass, I’ll make sure I find him because that’s the only way to keep you safe.”

Vincent’s eyes darken. He no longer looks like the same man who would buy sick kids flowers and tell them jokes. The man in front of me thrives off the need for violence and has murder flowing through his veins.

And I don’t hate him one bit. I understand him and I would also do anything to keep him safe. Because for the first time, I’ve come to realize that I just don’t like him.

I love him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Vincent

Alexei is just as arrogant as I imagined he would be. He’s as tall as me and my brothers, his eyes as cold and dark, and his expression blank.

He gives nothing away, and even when he smiles, his aura is filled with pure darkness. Just like my oldest brother.

“So, you’re the Vincent I’ve been hearing about,” he says in a way that feels like mockery.

I take a seat next to Dominic, maintaining eye contact with the Russian devil across me. “You look nothing like I’ve heard about.”

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