Page 236 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

“That is none of your business,” I said, trying to show him that this wasn’t exciting me one bit … but it was.

He brushed his fingertips lower and lower and lower until they were against the waistband of my pants. I sucked in a deep breath and kept his intense eye contact.

“Don’t touch me. I have a boyfriend.”

His lips curled into a smirk. “A boyfriend who’s cheating on you.”

My eyes widened slightly, and I pushed his hand away—even though I didn’t want to. “How do you know about that?”

“Everyone knows about it. I could tell by the way he was talking with those women at the family gathering. He has no respect for you.”

I pushed myself to a seated position, resting my back against the side of the couch. “And you do?”

He shrugged. “You’re growing on me, reginetta.”

I rolled my eyes and stared at him for a long time and then I said, “So … are you going to tell me now why the whole fucking mafia is after us?”

His gaze hardened, and he immediately turned away from me, every muscle in his back tensing. I stared at him and waited a long time for an answer. And when he finally said something, I was completely and utterly shocked.

“I did rat them out,” he said, jaw twitching. “But for a good fucking reason.”

“You’re a rat?” I said, my eyes wide.

How could I trust him? What would happen when everyone found out? Did Daddy know? Why did Dad trust him so blindly? He probably knew all of our family secrets now.

“Are you serious? You know the first thing about this business is that you don’t tell anyone anything, and you ratted your family out to the fucking cop—”

“I ratted on them because they were doing shit I didn’t agree with.” His voice was tense, his whole body rigid.

There was something in his eyes that told me not to push it, an intense rage that actually scared me. But I pushed him anyway.

“So, drug trafficking and killing people and—”

He grabbed a glass lamp and slammed it off the table. “Like child trafficking, Chiara,” he yelled. His eyes were an angry, dark mess.

My eyes widened, and I pressed my lips together. Children? They were using children?

And then I shook my head and stared right at him. “Then, why are you here?” I asked, trying so damn hard to figure out why he had come to America to start with a new family when he should be hiding out on some private island.

He had enough money. He had enough resources. Why come here, where there was danger, where he could be found by his family? And why had Dad let him into the business?

He stared at me for a long time, then turned away. “You’re staying with me.”

And that was the only answer he gave me, so I decided not to push it for now. I would ask him another time—when I knew I could get it out of him.

“I’m not staying with you. Tommy is probably waiting for me,” I said, not really giving a single fuck about Tommy.

All I wanted from him was sweet revenge. I just had a few more fucking days to hold out to get some dirt on him. Daddy liked him too damn much for me to break his heart without him having done something to betray this family.

Even if he didn’t do anything, I could always make it seem like he did.

Alessandro laughed and walked toward his hallway. “You think you have a fucking choice? After what you know now, I can’t have you blabbing that to everyone, including Tommy. You’ll ruin everything that I’ve done here.”

After throwing me one last scowl, he walked into the hallway. I listened to the door close and the shower turn on.

I slumped back on the couch. One question answered, a million more I needed to figure out.

Had he told me the truth, or had he been in on such a hideous crime? How’d he get out of jail? Why was he here?

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