Page 112 of Filthy Little Games

“Why are you protecting him?!” he shouts.

“I’m not protecting anyone.”

“You lying cunt! There’s only one reason you’d lie for that son of a bitch. And he did go to an awful amount of trouble for you…How long have you been fucking him, huh? Was it before or after he killed Izaiah?”

I don’t like where his thoughts are going. He’s already rightly assumed it was Creed who killed his son and guards. And if he didn’t know for certain about Oriana, I’m sure the nannies will fill him in, since they don’t owe any loyalty to Creed. Hell, maybe they already have while I was passed out.

And the nannies may also tell Emilio Creed is my husband.

“It was just sex. We had an agreement — he wouldn’t kill me for setting him up, getting his brother killed, if I let him fuck me. I hate him,” I lie.

“Creed wouldn’t kidnap my daughter and kill my men for pussy. Do you think my guys didn’t notice you slip something into your pocket on the ride over?”

Reaching his hand down into my jean pocket, he pulls out my huge diamond and my wedding band. “You married him, didn’t you, you stupid whore?”

He sounds jealous, even more so than when he’d find out Izaiah had visited me on the same day as him. It was always more painful on those days.

When I don’t respond, Emilio smirks. “Let’s find out if I’m right, shall we?” His phone is in his hand a moment later.

Fuck.

If he’s going to make me call Creed and beg him to find me or some shit, I should at least try to get something useful out of him first.

“We may be married, but Creed doesn’t give a shit about me,” I assure Emilio. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t say the vows and sign the application. So, whatever you’re plotting will just blow up in your face when he kills you. Creed still has more alliesthan you in the other families, who will come after you if you kill him to take his place.”

“Who are his allies? Those slum pirates, the Marinos?” I shrug in response but he just huffs, “I already knew that, you dumb bitch.”

“And the Bertellis,” I add, hoping that revealing this information won’t bite any of them in the ass.

“Now that’s not necessarily true,” Emilio immediately replies. He squeezes my jaw, and it feels like he could crush the bones with his bare hands. I close my eyes to fight the pain and nearly miss the vital information in his next statement. “How do you think I knew to be looking for you at that exact place and time, huh?”

How did he…

Oh fuck.

Weston Bertelli betrayed Creed?

This is the information I wanted Emilio to spill before he calls Creed. I need to tell him. I have to warn him about Bertelli before I never get to talk to him again. It’s also been driving Creed insane that he can’t find evidence Emilio was behind the club raid that killed his brother.

“Was it... did you set up the raid at the nightclub…with Izaiah?” I ask Emilio, figuring there’s no reason I shouldn’t try to get the mouthy asshole to keep spilling his secrets.

“No. That was all Izaiah’s idiotic idea,” he says, his outrage obvious in his tone. “He was trying to take Creed and Carmine out. He wanted to prove to me I should make him my heir after I told him he had to get clean, or I would pass him over for Saint.”

Well then, it wasn’t Emilio after all.

“He had a little help but not enough,” Emilio continues ranting. “Too bad it failed, or Izaiah would still be alive. Fucking Bowen Bertelli.” He practically growls the man’s name. “If he had the balls to hire one of his father’s men, it would’ve gone off without a hitch. But Bowen is a fucking pussy.”

So, it wasn’t the head of the Bertelli family, but the son, Bowen, who was stupidly working with Emilio.

“My son did his part perfectly,” Emilio says. “Bertelli is the one who fucked everything up. Izaiah was on the right track. He was finally getting clean.”

No, he wasn’t.

I don’t say that to Emilio because it will only anger him. But I knew Izaiah, and heneverwould have given up the drugs. Not as long as he had access to his family’s fortune.

I’m surprised he didn’t overdose before Creed killed him.

The fuckingcretinowas so braindead he died still absolutely certain he was Oriana’s father.

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