Page 69 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

“Go.”

I had no interest in staying with the Don. I wanted to stay with Matteo—the Matteo I’d grown up with. The one who smiled and teased. Who showed interest in me.

Not this man.

“Where are we taking this?” I asked as we pulled back onto the street.

“One of the few businesses that the Russians haven’t interfered with,” he stated factually.

“Matteo,” I pushed, reaching a hand toward him. He tensed as it landed on his shoulder. I pulled it away slowly and bit my lip, thinking better of asking him to talk to me again. I’d begged so many times, but it had gotten me nowhere. I didn’t know what else to do.

He stared forward for long moments as I took in every inch of his steely face. The only indication of his thoughts was the occasional clenching of his jaw, but he said nothing. Even as the car stopped, he said nothing.

The driver pulled up to the local library, not even putting the car in park before popping open the trunk. The door to a large van slid open, and two men stormed out, grabbing the boxes and throwing them in the back. A woman followed them, her long blonde hair making her look like anything but a criminal. If anything, I would have pegged her as a preschool teacher.

Matteo stepped out of the car, pulling away from my hand without hesitation.

Fine.

If he wanted to be cold, I could do the same.

I got out of the car, too. I made my way around it just in time to see the woman handing over a wad of cash and backing into her van. It peeled away, and I leaned into the car door as Matteo turned to get back in, tucking the money in his pocket.

“I’m done,” I admitted to him. “I’m done watching you act like this. You’re either going to talk to me, or I’m not getting back in the car.”

I needed him to acknowledge me. I needed something from him. Maybe I wanted proof that I was relevant here. Proof that he cared enough about my connection to the Russians to include me in his plotting.

I needed proof that there was a reason to stay. Because after today, I wasn’t sure he would include me in the revenge I’d wanted since my family’s deaths.

“You will get back in the car,” he snarled, his eyes going dark with anger.

Anger was a start. At least it was an emotion. It was more than he’d shown me in days.

“Why are you so angry?” I asked. “You know why I did it, don’t you? You have to understand.”

“Understanding your motivations means nothing.”

“It means everything!” I finally shouted. “If you understood, you wouldn’t be giving me the cold shoulder! I’ve tried everything, Matteo. I’m sorry. I’ve told you that. I hate that I hurt you, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.”

“I can understand your motivations and still fucking hate you for it,” he seethed with a low tone. He didn’t raise his voice, but I felt the potency of his words.

Did he really hate me? It felt like a blow to my chest, and I couldn’t draw in a full breath for a moment.

He continued. “I can hate you for not trusting me. I know why you did it. I get what went through your head, but I’ll never understand why you betrayed me by keeping my son a secret. I lost two years with him because of your selfish need for control. It’s a lie that never should have happened.”

He pinned my body to the car with his. Though his warmth seeped into me, I still felt cold. I hadn’t ever seen his eyes so dark. Not until right now. It sent a chill down my spine as I wondered how far I could push him. I wasn’t sure he could go any further without exploding.

“I don’t know what to say to you, Lilianna. If anyone else had betrayed me in this way, they’d be dead. I don’t let people lie to me and deceive me, and that’s what you’ve been doing since you’ve been home. You lied. And you don’t regret a damn thing.”

“I regret making you feel this way.”

He threw his arms up and took a step back. “But you don’t regret what you did!”

“You shouldn’t regret it either. He’s safe because of me!”

Matteo tipped his head back and took a few steps away before turning and pointing at me. “And you never gave me the chance to be a part of that decision, did you? You never let me keep him safe.”

I couldn’t deny that. I had made that decision, and it had been the right one at the time. The outcome had been worth it. There was no saying that the outcome would have been the same if I’d chosen to tell Matteo.

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