Page 15 of The Forbidden Secret

“Why are you so interested in asking them when you plan to leave the moment you are cleared to do so?”

I considered the question, staring at the counter between our bodies. I told myself it was important to know more about Beatrice’s father. Genetics meant so much, and she shared so many of his features. His bright eyes. The dark, Middle Eastern hue of his skin. The dark hair. She was unmistakably his clone, so what if she inherited more from him than the physical?

Who was I kidding?

I wanted to understand him. I had been curious to know more about him from the moment we had met, and though we would never be anything more, I still wanted to understand him and his complexities.

“You’re interesting,” I admitted. “You kill people for a living, but you seem to be afraid of being a true monster. You didn’t kill the man who was following us until you were sure he was a threat. You have morals, and it’s not something I’d expect from someone in your occupation. Hell, my father doesn’t have any.And if we’re going to be together until this is sorted out, I want to know who I’m living with.”

He leaned his elbows on the counter as he narrowed his eyes and sucked his lip ring into his mouth in contemplation. “I’m not a good guy, and that’s all you need to know. I do what I’m hired to do, and right now, that’s protecting you.”

“Okay,” I replied. I glanced around as I thought about the conversation I had with Maggie moments ago.

I knew nothing about him, and he clearly didn’t plan on divulging anything further.

Being around him dragged up too many thoughts from a time in my life when I finally allowed myself to do something reckless and free. I couldn’t reminisce on it without wanting to experience those emotions and feelings again.

Most importantly, I needed to get Beatrice, and I couldn’t do that with Zeke here.

“Good,” he said. “Now that we have that settled, we—”

“I want someone else to take your job.”

His mouth slammed shut. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“I. Want. Someone. Else—”

“Evelina,” he scolded, his lips pulled into a tight line.

“I said what I said. I either want to be released or protected by someone else until this all passes.”

“Thereisnobody else.”

I shrugged. “Then I’m going to leave.”

“Nobody else is evenhalfas good at their job as I am. You won’t be safer with anyone else. Not a single other person would deal with your bullshit and still keep you out of danger.”

“Mybullshit?” I countered. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“The hot and cold. You’re content to sit in my presence, and then you want to pick a fight. You’re pissed that a one-night stand didn’t become anything more, and then you seem like you accept it. Then you ask for someone else five fucking minutes later. I am the best at my job, and I am sought after by everyone in the industry. You’re stuck with me until Giovanni Rissi tells me otherwise.”

I crossed my arms and turned my back on him, practically stomping away as my anger fueled my words. “I doubt you’re half as good as you think you are.”

As I closed myself in my room, considering any other ways to get my daughter back, his words followed me. His voice was set in frustration and almost a threat.

“I hope you never have to see how good I am at my job.”

Chapter Six

Evelina Bianchi

I only allowed myself one day to contemplate the odds of my escape and survival before I made my decision.

Maggie had done more than enough, and I wouldn’t risk her and her child’s life if the person stalking her had been because of me. I wouldn’t riskBeatrice’slife. Because if this was a mafia-related threat, she would stand no chance against them.

At least I had lived a life surrounded by crime and knew how to avoid it.

I could get us both out of the city, and when we landed somewhere else, nobody would find us.

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