Page 30 of Betraying the Mafia Boss

We both take a sip of our drinks before I begin to speak. “How was your day at work?”

“Stressful, but worth it. The kids in pediatrics kept asking about you.” She purses her lips. “You haven’t been in the hospital for a few days.”

“I’ve been busy.” Which is not technically a lie, but I omit the part where I’ve been trying to find out details about her behind her back. She won’t be pleased when she finds out.

“Oh.” Her tongue darts out, wetting her lips. “Care to tell me why you asked to meet?”

I think of how to bring it up. “Do you know Elio Valentes.”

She goes rigid, her eyes widening and her breath catching. “Why? Is something wrong?” Her hands begin to tremble and she shoves them between her thighs.

“Your grandma is not at a retirement home, is she?” I ask cautiously. I can’t let her think I’m upset she lied, or else she’ll be even less likely to confide in me.

She exhales loudly. “How did you find out?” Her eyes narrow on me and they’re brimming with suspicion. “Hold on a second, did you dig into my personal life without my permission?”

I don’t bother lying. “I did, but only because I’m trying to help you.”

Her jaw clenches, her nostrils flaring. “Help me? How does you invading my personal life help me.”

“Hey.” I touch her cheek lightly but she jerks away from my touch. “You said you missed your grandma, I wanted to plan a surprise party and that is how I found out. I promise it wasn’t because I was trying to pry.”

“You have no right to plan anything for me and my grandma, Vincent.” She’s raising her voice, so it’s a good thing the bar is empty. “You’re not my boyfriend. One night of sex does not make you special.”

I can’t deny the sharp pang of disappointment that stabs my middle, but my feelings don’t matter right now. Hers do. “Maybe it doesn’t, but I’m not doing this because of my feelings. I would have tried to help if it were anyone else and you know that.”

She sucks in a breath. “I’m sorry, I overreacted.”

“It’s fine. Isabella, I need you to trust me,” I say, hoping she sees sincerity in my gaze. “I want to help you, but we need to work together and I need to know what we’re up against.”

She takes a moment, absorbing the information. “I never asked for your help," she finally says, her tone defensive.

“I know. But you don’t need to ask.” I take her hand in mine, brushing the back of her hand with my thumb. “Is it the money he wants? How much?”

She pulls her hand away. “Listen, Vincent. I know what your family is and I know who you are. You must also know who Elio is and how it’s better if I don’t do anything to piss him off. He wants money and I’ll pay him every dime on my own.”

“I can help you and you don’t need to pay me back,” I offer, holding my breath and hoping she accepts my help.

She shakes her head. “You don’t understand, I don’t want to be indebted to you.”

“So, you’d rather be indebted to Elio? Is that it?”

“Yes, I’d rather be indebted to him than you.” She lifts the negroni to her mouth and gulps the whole thing down in one long drink, then she clenches her hand around the glass. “Thinking of it now, I think everything was a mistake.”

I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”

“That night in the storage room should never have happened.” She sounds like she’s choking on the words. “The date, our meeting right now, none of it should have happened.”

My chest constricts and the bar walls feel like they’re pressing me in. “Are you saying you regret meeting me?”

“Yes.” She shoots to her feet and I get a clear view of the torment in her eyes. “Forget me, Vincent. Forget anything ever happened between us.”

Chapter Ten

Isabella

“Let me get this straight, he found out about your debt to Elio Valentes and you asked him to forget you?” Naomi asks, pacing around my living room in disbelief. “That doesn’t even make sense.

She found me crying on my couch an hour ago and after minutes of unrelenting interrogation, I finally came clean and I’m glad I did.

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