Page 27 of Morally Gray Daddies

“Are you cold?” she asked, frowning down at me. It was a warm day, so I shouldn’t be.

“No.” I certainly wasn’t going to admit to her what I’d been thinking about. I peeked at Tomas’ huge form standing by the door before averting my gaze again. I couldn’t see him without thinking about Gio and last night. My bottom was feeling much better except when I forgot and sat down too quickly, but even a glimpse of Tomas was enough to make my sore muscles clench. “I’m afraid.”

Hailey sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I am mad at you for stealing from us, but I would get you out of this if I could. I just don’t think I can… at least, not alive. Jack’s dad has been furious about the thefts. If you were a man, you’d already be dead. If Gio hadn’t claimed you…” Her voice trailed off, but the implication was there.

Even though I was a woman, I’d already be dead.

I stared at myself in the mirror.

Marrying Gio wasn’t a fate worse than death, right? He’d said himself that once I was his wife, no other man would be able to touch me. Not even Tomas.

And the truth was, Gio was the only man I wanted touching me. Even though there had been a certain thrill to having him ‘share’ me last night, Tomas could have been interchangeable with any other man. What had excited me was that it was Gio commanding the situation.

Gio touching me.

Gio filling me.

Gio watching me.

I shivered again.

Hailey mistook my shiver for something else.

“Good. I’m glad you understand the severity of the situation.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you were stealing from the Familias. I never thought anyone would be that stupid or that reckless, but to find out it was you…” She shook her head again.

All I could do was shrug. I didn’t have an explanation. Part of it had been the challenge. The thrill. Although stealing from the wealthy and redistributing their wealth was satisfying, there was an extra dollop of excitement that came from stealing from the most dangerous wealthy families. Plus, when it came to the DiNardos, I’d had an additional reason.

“They shouldn’t have forced you to marry Jack. You should have been allowed to choose,” I muttered.

Hailey paused, and when I looked at her in the mirror, I could see the sudden sadness in her expression. Sadness I hadn’t meant to put there.

“And now you don’t have a choice, either. I’m sorry, Clara. I really didn’t want this life for you.” Real regret filled her voice.

Unable to see her blaming herself for my bad decisions, I reached up to take her hand, holding it against my shoulder.

“Hey… I made my own bed, remember?” I gave her a wan smile. “I was playing with fire, and I knew it, but that didn’t stop me. And you’re not responsible for my choices, and it was my own choices that led me on the path to this place.”

For a moment, we shared a heartfelt sympathy that only two women who were being forced to marry into the mafia would understand.

A loud knock at the door made both of us jump, my heart leaping up into my throat as the door flew open. Tomas was already standing in front of it, but he was no match for the woman who came marching through, followed by Hailey’s mother-in-law.

“There you are!” She was all of five feet tall, even shorter than me, with dark eyes and hair that glinted with streaks of silver through the curls. “Bella! My new daughter!”

It wasn’t until she was walking toward me, her hands outstretched in front of her, that I realized she was talking about me.

Oh my God.

There was only one person she could be.

Gio’s mother.

With her hands in front of her, she cupped my face as she reached me, only able to look down at me thanks to the fact I was sitting in a chair. Hailey had stepped back, amusement dancing in her eyes, as little help against Gio’s mother as she was against the man himself.

Thankfully, I’d been around the Italians long enough to know that she was calling me beautiful, so I didn’t try to correct her on my name. She kissed each of my cheeks, beaming at me.

“My son, he moves so quickly. So. Now. We must get to know each other immediately.” After patting my cheeks, she released them, to my relief. I wasn’t sure how to react to all of this. Despite the way she beamed at me, something inside me quailed as her eyebrows rose up in question. She reminded me of Hailey’s mother-in-law—all smooth sweetness on the outside with a hidden facet that was terrifying. “Now, you are a thief? And you work for the police? Tell me, how does this work.” It wasn’t a question; it was a demand.

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