Page 64 of Borrowed Bride

I throw my arms around her and drag her into a tight hug, and then the wall breaks. The last thread of my sanity that’s been focused on keeping Freya safe, snaps at the sight of a true friend, and I sob on her shoulder as I clutch at her.

“I can’t believe it,” I wail. “I can’t believe you’re here, I can’t believe you’re really here!”

Tara hugs me back just as tightly and guides me back toward the chair Fawn pulls out for me. We sit, and Tara laughs softly.

“I’m here,” she says. “I’m more amazed that you are.”

“I’m not dead!” I say as we part, and tissues appear in my hands. “I’m not dead.”

“No,” Tara says warmly. “You’re not.”

“Are you okay? I saw that bitch, Cherry, and I was so mad that I—” It’s then I realize where the tissues came from. Cherry stands in the doorway and snorts.

“You did nothing,” Cherry says.

I glare at her through tear-soaked lashes. “Yeah, but I’ve planned it.”

“Hey.” Tara takes my hand, drawing my attention back to her. “Cherry and I are good.”

“What? How can you say that after what she did to you? Seeing you in that hospital because ofmebroke my heart.”

“I know,” Tara soothes. “But we’ve had a long time to work out our differences.” She glances at Cherry with a warm smile.

“Five years,” Cherry says.

“Five years,” I repeat. Turning to face the table, I take the vodka that Fawn prepared for me and down it in one gulp, wincing as the burn tears down my throat. Screwing up my eyes, I focus on the pain as Cherry excuses herself and Tara squeezes my thigh.

“Okay,” I say hoarsely as the burn fades. Opening my eyes, I look at Fawn. “You have to tell me what’s really going on. I’m tired of being in the dark.”

Fawn sighs. “Okay.” She pours me another drink, and then begins to explain.

“After your death, the Mafia world fell apart. Both families thought the other was responsible for your death, so they’ve been tearing the city apart trying to kill each other.”

“For five years?” I croak. “They haven’t stopped?”

“You’ve seen the news,” Tara snorts. “They’re both like cockroaches.”

“Anyway,” Fawn continues. “After I got out of hospital, Dante was keeping Marco on a short leash. I couldn’t get near him to kill him, and it was pissing me off. That, and I never trusted Dante because he raped me, so I’ve been keeping an eye on him for years. Partly for revenge and partly because I wanted to stop other women from getting sucked up like I did. Like you almost did.”

She briefly closes her eyes, and I try to dry my tears but they just keep coming.

“About six months ago, I noticed he started sneaking away to meetings with members of a third family, the Ricci’s. They were the small family who were actually behind Dante’s kidnapping that forced Marco to rescue him. Only it wasn’t a kidnapping, it was a meeting. Back then, I suspect they were hoping to kill Marco, but he was so hell-bent on finding you that he was just too good.” Fawn rolls her eyes. “So, while Leo and Marco rip each other apart, they’re destroying the two largest families, leaving space for a smaller one to sweep in and pick up the pieces. To me, it looks like Dante has a plan. He’s letting Marco and Leo kill each other so that the Ricci’s can come out on top, then Dante will join them likely by marrying their heir, Tianna, and becoming top dog once again.”

“Holy shit,” I breathe out. After a few seconds, I take the next glass and drink a few mouthfuls. “Why doesn’t he just kill Marco then if he wants power back so badly?”

“Killing one and leaving the other wouldn’t give the Ricci’s the smooth entrance to power that they clearly want. They’re banking on Marco and Leo draining themselves and killing each other,” Tara explains.

I clutch at her hand, giving her a watery smile. “Look at you,” I whisper. “You’ve grown so much.”

“So have you,” Tara murmurs. “I saw Freya, she’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Fawn clears her throat sharply. “One thing I do know is that we don’t want the Ricci’s to fill any kind of hole left by the other two, because theyareinvolved in sex trafficking. Their previous don was someone I killed several years ago because of that, and clearly, they haven’t learned from their crimes.”

“But Marco,” I say softly and my heart clenches at the thought of him. “You have to believe me, he really did help those women. The people I called were all real, and I don’t know if there was something else going on or if he was oblivious to something, but I looked into his eyes. I truly believe he thinks he helped those people. And he wasstunnedto learn you were alive. So…”

Maybe my heart is blinding me to the truth, but of all the awful things Marco has been accused of, I can’t believe he’s a sex trafficker. Not my Marco.

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