Page 7 of Paying the Mafia Don

I wished I could see his face clearer. The reflection was poorly lit, turning his eyes into flat, emotionless orbs. His words were equally flat. I pulled the edges of the comforter closer. “Did you love her?”

“No.” If the rest of his words were flat, this one was a sharpened blade. “I thought I did at first. She was the helpless, beautiful angel in need of being rescued. She was a tall, slender, blonde-haired, blue-eyed trophy, no more suited to being a wife and mother than a rabid dog.”

I peered closer into the makeshift mirror. How could he deliver those words in the same passionless voice?

“I thought maybe she had some mental illness or a type of postpartum depression that made her temperamental, angry, and vile… bitch.” A quick bark of a laugh broke his droning. “For her safety and mine, I moved into another wing of the house. We rarely saw each other. It was our third year of marriage, and we were more strangers than we’d been on the first day. We’d stopped having sex by this point. So when she told me of her pregnancy, I lost my shit. I didn’t hit her, but I threw her unfaithful ass out.”

“Where did she go?”

“Straight into the arms of her lover. Which turned out to be her bodyguard—my cousin. They died the next day in a motorcycle crash; going too fast around a bend in a mountain curve, they plunged into the sea.”

“Oh my God—” I didn’t finish the sentence because I couldn’t think of another word to say. That story would take a Rosalyn-level session to decipher.

“I killed them—maybe not by my own hands, but…”

“Do not tell me you feel guilty.” I leaned forward as if the reflection were real and he was standing in front of me and not behind. “It’s not your fault.”

His shoulders rose and fell. “Maybe not completely… But I don’t feel guilty. They owed me, and they paid.”

My shiver returned his focus to me. He ran his hands up and down the sides of my arms. “Today in the kitchen—I can’t explain it. Something snapped. That shit has never happened to me before. But for a minute, I was right there with Eden. I lost control. I knew it was you. But I couldn’t hold back my rage—six years of anger erupted. All I knew was I had another young woman in my house about to lead me down a road I’d walked away from. When you hit me—”

“—I’m so sorry. I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I don’t believe in violence at all.”

Another bark of laughter broke the silence… and a sliver of my heart that I didn’t know could still break. “So, we bring out the worst in each other.”

“I don’t know. I just know that I never wanted to be my parent’s prostitute. And yet, here I am.”

He turned me around. Finally. Whipping me around so fast, I’m surprised my neck doesn’t snap. “No.” He growls into my face. “You are a brave and loyal person. Willing to give up everything she has to save her family. That shit counts for a lot in my world. And I admire you more for giving up sex for that reason than because you’re another Eden.” I hold his gaze, processing… Leo sighs. “I know what I said. It isn’t true and… I apologize.”

“I apologize as well.” We search each other’s eyes for a long minute before releasing. “Where do we go from here?”

“To Kouris,” he answers. Although I know damn well, he knows I wasn’t asking about our physical location. “You’re still my wife. I need you to raise the daughter Eden couldn’t be bothered with. She’s asking for a mother, and she deserves one. We’ll get along fine as long as you respect three simple rules.”

“Which are?” I ask, afraid to hear the answer.

“You will never raise your hand to me again.” I nod because I had no intention of repeating such an uncharacteristic act.

“You will care for my daughter as if she were your own.” I nod again because why wouldn’t I?

“You will report your whereabouts daily.” My brows pull together, and I narrow my gaze.

“Like a child? Why don’t you just put a tracker on me and be done with it?”

“A very real possibility, so don’t test me on this. There’ll be no unexplained absences where you mysteriously disappear for hours, only to return with a lame excuse.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Correction, you won’t get the chance to do that. Because two guards will accompany you at all times.”

“Two.” My brows shoot up as the penny drops. “So I’ll never be alone with one.”

“Good. You’re smart. Use those brains to stay out of trouble, and we’ll get along fine.” Leo cups my cheeks. “I can give you more than you can possibly imagine. I’m a rich and generous man, and I believe in rewarding loyalty.” He leans closer. “The only thing I can’t give you is love. Understand me, Valentina. Such a romantic name for a woman who has entered a loveless marriage.” His hands grip mine. “I mean it, Valentina. I had my heart ripped out once, and I have no intention of putting it back. The only love you’ll get in this arrangement will be from my daughter. Never seek it elsewhere. You won’t like the consequences.”

My teeth grind together like a mortar and pestle, but I say nothing. Until a thought occurs to me. “Will we do more of,” I nod towards the bed, “that?”

“That?” He raises his brows.

“Sex. Will we do that again?” I can’t believe I’m asking. But I can’t go through that again. I just can’t.

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