Page 49 of The Forbidden Husband

But since talking to Giovanni, there was one last thing I wanted to try—one avenue that could still be explored before I told my father about the birthday party.

“I need you to do something you told me you don’t like to do.”

She chuckled. “What would that be?”

“Going against my father.”

Any lingering amusement faded. “If I do that, I lose half of New York City as clients. And I’ll have a target on my back. Do you know how hard my job is when I have a target on my back?”

“I can imagine.”

“I need a damn good reason to ostracize myself from half of my clientele.”

She wasn’t saying no. That was a start.

“Do you like working for my father and his men?”

“Of course, I don’t. But they pay me the same as everyone else.”

I took a deep breath. “I have two sisters who live in that house, and I have reason to believe he is going to either kill them or sell them for their virginity. He’s going to destroy their lives if I don’t get them out, and you’re the only one who can go inside without him batting an eye.”

Her jaw ticked in the same way as Enzo’s had. “This job is my livelihood, and I don’t risk myself for women I’ve never met.”

“Name your price.”

“There isn’t a price on this, Aria. This is a betrayal.”

I was getting good at betraying people, so I didn’t even flinch. “Enzo is going to take him out. He’s not going to be a threat for long.”

“Then why can’t you wait for them to get your sisters out?”

“What if they fail?” I pushed. “Jaimie, I know you don’t do friends. I know we’re only here together because you were hired to watch out for me. That’s fine. But I’ll pay anything to get both of them out. I’ll do anything. I can’t let him hurt them. If he realizes Enzo and Giovanni are coming, he’ll use them as collateral, and I can’t let that happen.”

She stared into my face with so little expressiveness that my heart sank. She wouldn’t help me. Of course, she wouldn’t. There was too much at stake for her.

“What will he do to them?” she finally asked.

“I have no way of knowing, but he’s threatened to auction off their virginity. He beats them. He’ll use them to get what he wants. He has no limits, Jaimie. He has no morals.”

She turned her back and walked away, putting both hands over her head as if the decision was a difficult, exasperating one.

“Fine,” she exclaimed. “I’ll see if I can find and get my hands on them.”

“How much do you want?” I asked.

She looked back at me and clicked her tongue once. “I don’t usually do friends, but you’ve grown on me.”

She said nothing more as she walked away. I stood and gaped at her for just a moment. Even when she walked outof sight, I couldn’t believe what had just happened. It made something inside of me shift.

For the first time, it felt like this situation may go my way after all.

I stepped back and into the bathroom with my new sense of hope. I walked back to the sink and lifted the bath towel, ready to see the results of the test I had taken.

Just like that, there was another factor in this entire situation.

Pregnant.

Chapter Seventeen

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