Page 82 of Blood Money

“We need a good showing of numbers,” Lucien continued. “Vito and Tony can accompany us as well.”

I didn’t like that plan. “Sir, Tony is with Liam now. I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“I’ll look after Liam,” my father said.

I froze. The last thing I wanted to do was subject Liam to my father without me there as a go-between.

“I’m certain one of the guards could?—”

“I said I would take care of it.” My father’s tone made it clear I was not to argue. All I could do was pray Liam would still want to be with me after the encounter. I knew my father wouldn’t hurt him physically, but emotionally, I couldn’t be sure.

38

LIAM

Ilooked down at the text I’d received from Val.

Meeting with your family soon. Tony is needed with me. My father will take care of you. Don’t be afraid to stand up to him. He won’t hurt you.

I stared at the phone with my heart beating wildly, no longer able to breathe.

“Liam?” Elio said. “Are you okay?”

Tony’s phone buzzed before I managed to respond. He looked up, confusion on his face. “Lucien wants me with him. Dom is going to take over watching Liam. A car with one of his guards is on the way.”

“I’ll go with Liam,” Elio said.

Tony shook his head. “Liam has to go alone. That was made clear.”

I tried to speak, but my mouth was too dry for words to come out. I swallowed and tried to take a breath, but my lungs felt constricted.

Elio laid a hand on my shoulder. “You can do this. He just wants to meet you and probably test you. Stand up to him and stay strong.”

I wanted to ask questions to find out what they knew about Dominic, but the doorbell rang before I could say anything other than “thank you.”

Tony motioned for me and Elio to stay back. He checked the peephole with his hand on his weapon. He must have recognized the man who stood outside because he unlocked the door and opened it.

A big man in a black suit stepped into Val’s apartment. He nodded to us in greeting, then turned to Tony. “I’m here for Liam. I was instructed to tell you to drop Elio at home and meet Lucien and the others at headquarters.”

“This is Liam,” Tony said, gesturing toward me. “Liam, this is Sticks. He’ll take you to Dominic’s house.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sticks said.

“Nice to meet you too.” I wished my voice sounded stronger. I was going to have to gather every scrap of confidence I could find. I could not appear weak in front of Dominic Marchesi.

“So you want to marry my son?” Those were the first words Dominic said to me.

Had Valentino actually mentioned marriage? Whether he had or Dom was making an assumption, I wasn’t going to contradict it. “Yes, sir.”

“And what do you bring to the family? As far as I can see, potential trouble with the Irish, a debt that now won’t be repaid, and the ability to make my son forget the rules I’ve set for him.”

Stay calm, I told myself. You can handle this. I knew what to say, but I’d wanted to tell Val first. “I love your son.”

Dominic huffed. “Love. I believed in love once, and it almost got me killed. Why should I believe you’ll be any better for my son than the bitch who did this to me?” He touched a finger to the scars on his face.

“Love is real, but some people use it to manipulate.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you won’t?”

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