Page 9 of Morally Gray Daddies

It had taken all of my willpower not to scoop her up and take her away with me, but she would be a distraction at a time when I couldn’t afford distractions.

As soon as I caught the thief, though, I would be coming to claim her.

Chapter Four

Clara

“So… where has Gio been lately?” When I’d shown up at Hailey’s home for lunch—the vast mansion housed multiple members of her husband’s family—I’d hoped he might appear at some point, but so far, nothing. It had been three days since he’d appeared in my bedroom and… well, not quite ravished me.

I was starting to think it really had been a dream on my part.

If I could just see him, if I could look him in the eye, then I would know whether it had really happened or if it had been a particularly vivid figment of my imagination.

Hailey gave me a stern look.

“Please tell me there is nothing going on between the two of you.”

“There’s nothing going on between the two of us,” I parroted, batting my eyelashes at her. There hadn’t been for three nights in a row now. “I was just curious. But what would be so wrong if there was? Am I not good enough for him?”

“Of course you are!” She looked aghast at the suggestion.

I nodded slowly, tapping my spoon against my lower lip.

“Ah, I see. He’s not good enough for me. But no one is, so…”

Hailey sighed, but her lips were threatening to curve into a smile against her will. Regardless of how frustrating she found me, she was also entertained.

She looked around the room, as if waiting for someone to appear, but there was no one. It was just us.

We weren’t far apart, but she leaned forward all the same, and I did as well so she could keep her voice as soft as possible. My heart started to pound. If she needed to escape, I was still here to help. We’d figure it out.

“I don’t want this life for you,” she said softly, almost sadly. Her hand made a small gesture just above the table that somehow encompassed the entirety of the massive house we were in. “The Familias… once you’re in, you can’t escape it. I thought I had and look at me now.”

“Do you want out?” I asked, just as softly. I reached my hand across the table to put it atop hers. “We can get you out.”

“You can’t. But even if you could, no, I wouldn’t want to.” She shook her head ruefully. “I can do good work here. I am doing good work here. I feel like I’m making more of a difference than when I was working at the precinct. And, despite everything, I love my husband.”

I searched her expression for any signs of duplicity or hesitation, but she was completely sincere. I knew her well enough to be able to tell. That she was able to do more as a future mafia don’s wife rather than a social worker at the precinct didn’t surprise me. I quickly learned that in this world, money and connections mattered more than anything else when it came to getting things done.

No matter how hard we worked, no matter how hard we tried, the effort only went so far without money or connections.

“You love him?” I asked a little dubiously, just to be sure. Considering she’d been forced into marrying him only a few months ago, a little healthy skepticism was required.

“I… do.” She shrugged her shoulder, and now one side of her lips did cant up in a half-smile. “A mad love, as he calls it. It is mad, and yet, that’s how I feel.”

A mad love.

That resonated in an unexpected manner.

Not that I was in love with Gio, but this dance we were doing around each other… it was madness.

“Well, I’m not sure Gio’s interested in me anyway, but he is very fun to flirt with.” I grinned at her. I’d never told her about the way he watched over me because I’d known she wouldn’t approve. I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that he’d either snuck into my room and done filthy things to me or that I’d dreamed he had.

“I think he is interested in you, but I’ve warned him to leave you alone.” She gave me a pointed look, sitting back in her chair, her voice returning to a normal volume. “Don’t you go undoing all my hard work.”

I stuck my tongue out at her, but that was very interesting to know. Obviously, Gio hadn’t done a very good job of following her orders. I knew he was Don DiNardo’s nephew, but Hailey was the don’s daughter-in-law… Who had more authority? Would he get in trouble for pursuing me despite Hailey’s wishes? Who would Don DiNardo side with? I wasn’t sure.

“I can take care of myself.” Not for the first time, I was tempted to spill my secrets, so she understood just how well I could take care of myself, but it was too dangerous. Especially when I had been occasionally stealing from her family. She might not have wanted to go back into the life, but now she was, and her first loyalty was probably to her family.

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