Page 24 of Blackmailed to the Altar

Maybe he could help his older brother as well.

It didn’t take a genius to realize this family played by underground rules. While I knew nothing about their organization or systems, I understood that this life was dangerous. After speaking with Eden, I knew these men did what they wanted, when they wanted, without a care for the destruction left in their wake.

I wouldn’t allow Sebastian, or Riccardo, rather, to lead me down a dark hole. I’d worked too hard in life. This man clearly needed help. While I wasn’t sure how old he was, he was old enough to know better.

Which meant I should view him as a child, but my mind revolted right away at the idea. My body didn’t react to Sebastian like he was a kid. Not that I’d had much of a reaction to Sebastian, it was more Riccardo.

Yet, they were two halves of the same coin.

I couldn’t want one without the other, which was why merging would work best for everyone involved. I just needed to get Sebastian on board. I wasn’t worried about Silas. I looked over to the clock to see that it was almost three in the morning.

I was going to hunt Silas down, and get whatever background I could on my next patient. When Riccardo approached me next, I would be ready for him. Hopefully, he would accept that he was no longer needed in Sebastian’s life, and the two could become one.

I was certain that goodness would prevail between the two alters. There was no doubt in my mind. I mean, I was the best of the best. If anyone could get rid of Riccardo for good, it would be me. I hoped what was left would be a stronger man, someone who might change the future for Eden. Someone good like Sebastian Caputo. He was a decent man from what I couldsee; a great brother, and an even better CEO. I couldn’t find a complaint, and now that I knew he had this disorder, I knew Riccardo was the one who kidnapped me.

It must’ve been Riccardo who kept the pair in trouble. He was darker. Sebastian was just walking around, living his everyday life, with no idea someone was hurting all his progress at the same time.

Riccardo needed to work together with Sebastian, otherwise, he couldn’t stay around. It was too much of a liability. Not to mention, I still had to tie up a loose end in America.

I checked my emails shortly before falling asleep, and had a notification from the parole board. Eden’s Uncle Darren was headed for another hearing. It looked like the odds weren’t in our favor this time.

He was going to get out for good behavior. A fucking serial killer. And I wasn’t even there to administer the drugs that would keep him away from his vulnerable victims.

Before Sebastian caught me, I’d been fucking Darren up for a while in my prison reformation program. Now, without the medication, Darren would hurt more women and children.

Maybe before I got rid of Riccardo, he could help facilitate a hit on Darren. No, that was even more unethical. I couldn’t do that. Not yet. I closed my eyes and drifted off to a disturbed sleep, as I tried to figure out a way to get away from this mess.

The future looked bleak.

CHAPTER TEN

Sebastian

I woke up with a start, the stiff, unforgiving office chair digging into my back. The dim light in the room disoriented me, the faint scent of leather and old books clinging to the air. My desk was a chaotic mess of papers I didn’t remember leaving there, and my computer screen reflected a hollow, confused expression back at me.

How did I get here?

The last thing I recalled was walking home from the bar. But now, the clock read ten in the morning. My stomach churned. Had I blacked out? If so, how had I ended up back here?

I rubbed my temples, the sensation of the leather gloves against my skin grounding me as I tried to untangle the threads of memory. All I found was an impenetrable void, stretching like a black fog. My gaze returned to the clock, and a knot tightened in my stomach, the familiar dread of lost time creeping over me.

He’d been here. Worn my skin. Lived my life. While I was locked away, forgotten in the recesses of my mind.

I rose from the chair, my body stiff and achy, and stumbled into the kitchen in search of coffee. My limbs felt heavy, myexhaustion clinging to me like a second skin. As I fumbled for my phone, the screen lit up, and my breath hitched when I saw her.

My little mouse.

When did she become mine?

The thought lingered, unbidden and unwelcome. I didn’t have time for this—for her. The company I ran was in shambles. A billion dollars had gone missing, unaccounted for in my ledgers. My accountant had handed everything to Daveed, who passed it on to Makari, the family bookkeeper. He’d sort it out, as he always did. My businesses were legitimate, unlike most of the famiglia's. But this was my responsibility to fix.

And yet, she consumed my thoughts.

Mya was just down the hall, likely talking to Eden. Her presence was a siren’s call, soothing and maddening all at once. The two women couldn’t be more different. Eden, frail and birdlike, had lost the curves stress had stripped from her. Mya, however, was all supple seduction. Her body screamed sexy, woman, and the image of dying between her thighs sent a rush of heat through me that I had no business entertaining.

But she wasn’t mine. She was here to help Eden, and once her task was complete, I’d send her away. Whether on the first flight back home or to one of my loyal men, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t meant for me. I didn’t need to get my hands dirty.

There were soldiers for that.

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