Page 40 of King of Wrath

“And I promise you. We are not criminals. Not like your father. We run a legitimate real estate empire. Yes, we work with families like yours. Mostly, Mason loans them money to keep them in check. The one exception to our legitimate life is…”

But it’s Nia who answers. “When the people you love are threatened.”

I run my fingers through her hair. “That’s right.”

“Why do you want to know if Toni is my father?”

My teeth grit together. She isn’t ready for the truth. Her being a witness against her father puts a price on her head that I’m not sure I can protect her from. She’s already in so deep…

My offer of protection is mostly fake. It makes my fingers tighten in her hair, my stomach twist into dissatisfied knots. I want to make it real. I do. But first, I need the information I came for and then I can figure out if I can keep her safe.

“How hard is he going to fight for you?” I ask, my fist clenching into my side as I wait for the information I was always here to collect.

She shrugs. “Hard. He’ll come for me because I belong to him, because he has plans for me.”

I sit up, staring down at her. What kind of plans? I clamp my jaw together to keep from asking.

Because I’m back to caring more about Nia than about my family’s plot to remove Toni forever. And also, I had no idea that Nia had a purpose in the family. I took her because she has information. How bad is this? How much have I hurt her. And my family? Is this going to blow back on them? A brick settles in my stomach.

“But if you’re asking if he cares for me, I doubt it. I’m just a tool.” She fingers a lock of her own hair, which is drying, the blond becoming increasingly apparent.

“He’s not your father.” I don’t ask. She doesn’t have to say anything.

She shakes her head. “No. It was a tennis coach, I think. I’ve seen one picture. Blond hair, blue eyes.” She shrugs.

I’m trying to decide how I determine the plan that Toni has for Nia. But before I ask, she takes another sip of her coffee.

“I know you offered to marry me, Jake, for my protection. But it isn’t good enough, no matter how much money your family has. Not unless you’d be willing to forgive the debts my father owes, and I know you won’t.”

I stare at her, trying to make sense of those words. How would Nia bring in enough money to get her father out of debt?

A niggle of understanding snakes down my spine and a rage begins to build in my chest. The piece of shit wouldn’t…

“If you told me you could make me disappear, like witness protection, that would be different. But I doubt you can.”

“Why would you think I couldn’t?”

“I should have said,I doubt you will. Because all I can I figure is that I’m here to act as bait.”

I keep my face expressionless, but inwardly, I grimace. It’s not far from the truth.

She looks away, setting her cup on the nightstand between the beds. “Toni is no man to underestimate. He’ll kill me and he’ll kill you too if he finds us.”

She wraps her arms around herself as I slip off the bed, resting on my haunches so that our faces are level. Does she understand that if I do what she asks, I’d be losing the witness I need?

I’d be giving up my future, the one where I get out of this life and maybe the future of my nephews. They need me to do what they can’t. Shamelessly use an innocent woman who is the one person who is still alive who can prove Toni Carcetti is a murderer.

I’m facing a decision that means her or the safety of my family. “So if I let you go, for example, Toni does what with you?”

“He marries me to some mob boss in Italy.”

Fuck. My hand is on her hip before I can stop it, like I’m going to physically hold her away from Toni.

“And if you protect me, then I’m assuming your plan is ruined.”

I don’t answer. She hasn’t asked me what my plan is, not that I’d tell her. But Nia has always been intelligent, and she’s realized, without knowing my plan, that we are at an impasse.

I have to choose her, my family, or come up with a new plan. I stare into those big blue eyes as she nips at the shell-pink full lips.

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