Page 76 of Filthy Little Games

“God, no. I just don’t want his filthy blood on your hands.”

“His blood won’t be on my hands. I’ll make sure it doesn’t comeback on me. It may take some time, though. I can’t be hasty like before with Izaiah. I’ll need to set it up carefully. But if I’m able to get your daughter back in the meantime, I will.”

“But…why? Why would you do that for me?” She looks genuinely puzzled. “It can’t be for sex. We haven’t…I haven’t touched you.”

“Because you’re a good mother,” I tell her. “And you endured thatfiglio di puttanaIzaiah just to see your daughter. You obviously love her. She belongs with you.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, then leans forward to place a soft kiss on my lips, followed by another. As the kiss deepens, my restraint lessens. But I can’t do this, not right after everything Zara just told me.

“I didn’t offer it so you would fuck me,” I assure Zara when I grip her upper arms to reluctantly push her away.

“I know.” A small smile lifts her lips. “And I was just kissing you, not fucking you. Get Oriana back, and you can do anything you want to me for the rest of my life.”

Fuck.I want to take her up on that offer so bad.

But I won’t ever take advantage of her the way the Rovina assholes did.

And worst of all, I know I can’t keep her much longer.

24

Zara

I’m falling in love with my husband, a murderous mobster.

I think I’d love Creed just for giving Eugene a job if for nothing else. It would be an understatement to say I was surprised when the teenager showed up at the penthouse with a bouquet for me from my husband.

Eugene told me Creed gave him ten thousand dollars with no strings attached and a job the Thursday night I sent him to the store. While I know the ‘work’ Creed will have Eugene doing for him may not always be legal, at least the boy will have someone to watch his back and bail him out of trouble if he needs.

Now that I also know where Creed is spending his days, it’s impossible not to want him so much, it hurts.

There’s no way I could ever repay him for what he’s trying to do. He’s not just risking his life to get Oriana back to me. He’s risking everything.

There’s nothing I can offer him for such a gigantic favor but my body. I’d offer it up on a silver platter for him to do whatever he damn well wants with it every night, but he hasn’t touched me since the night in his office.

Even if he can’t pull this off, I won’t be upset or disappointed with him. Creed has been kinder to me than anyone ever has been before.

Maybe it’s stupid, but I actually believe he will succeed in this impossible task, despite the odds. Creed Ferraro doesn’t seem like the type of man who doesn’t back up his talk.

After all, he’s the king of kings. The other mafia bosses answer to him and fear him and his family.

That afternoon, when he walks into the penthouse hours earlier than usual, I get my hopes up.

As if he can see the hope written on my face, he says, “Sorry,micetta mia. There’s not been any sign of her at the apartments on Union Avenue either.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I hate that you’re spending so much time out there alone.” I keep offering to go and sit with him, but he refuses without an explanation. So, I’ve just been sitting around the penthouse waiting. “I wish I knew where they keep her. Whenever I do get to see her, it’s at Central Park or one of the playgrounds in Brooklyn. They never invite me over to the house. I’ve never seen her bedroom or read her a story before bedtime. I’ve never had a chance to tuck her in.”

“You will,” Creed promises as he takes a seat on the sofa and grabs my arm, pulling me onto his lap. “I won’t give up searching for her. It could take weeks to find her or maybe even months.”

“I’ve waited years,” I remind him. “I can wait however long it takes. Being able to raise her on my own…it’s not something I ever thought would be possible.”

“I’m going to make it possible,” he says. “But tonight, how about a little distraction?”

“A distraction?”

“I know you must be bored, sitting around here all day.”

“Only a little,” I lie with a smile.

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