Page 79 of Mafia Don's Secret Twins

Anger, bright and hot, flares in me.

I’m lucky that I had my mother. She taughtme that children are not clones of their parents, but their own people. I am not a tool to be used by Benicio.

I choose how and when I will be part of his plans.

I’m only here now because I had no other option.

I lean forward so that our faces are close. “I am not a child, Benicio. I am my mother’s daughter. I will play your game now so you can get what you want, but I will also get what I want.”

“That is what I am trying to tell you. You could tell me which of these…”

“And have you kill them? No,” I sneer. “You’ll have to make those decisions all on your own. I’m just the prize. But when you’re finally flush with the cash you need and you have your precious son-in-law to hand everything over to, remember that you will just be their father-in-law. I will be theirwife.”

I grin at him, as some kind of understanding flashes. “You are not the only one who can manipulate others, father,” I hiss.

Then I gather myself.

And I leave.

I stalk toward the pool.

While there is an outdoor lagoon, which my father maintains for reasons I can’t fathom, the indoor pool is where you could swim laps. Built for a politician and his family, this estate has many such amenities.

I want to take advantage of it.

Andrei follows me, a shadow that’s always three paces behind. I turn to look at him. “I want to be alone,” I say, right outside of the changing room where I keep a couple of swimsuits.

“Marisol…”

His accent makes my name musical.

But it’s not the raspy growl that makes my blood run hot.

“Please,” I whisper. “There’s only one entrance. You can sit outside of it. Please just leave me alone.”

Actually, it’s not true. There are two ways to enter the pool. One of them happens to be connected to the pool maintenance room. It’s a mess of pipes and chemicals, and if someone did enter through that way, they’d have to navigate a terrible crawl space filled with whatever nasty insects the jungle wants to produce that day.

Technically, there’s another entrance, but I’ve never seen anyone actually use it. They’d have to know the compound really well, and they’d have to be very okay with being bitten by something that would likely take their life.

Or worse.

Andrei looks at me. His eyes, which normally are so impassive, become rounded with concern. “Marisol…”

I look away.

He sighs, but relents. I hear the door to the pool room close, the sound echoing around the space.

I’m grateful that he is willing to leave me alone.

God knows my own father would be less willing to do that. Clearly.

Remembering the horse has dredged up a thousand more memories of my father. I’m struggling under the weight of them, and I think a quick swim might be helpful.

I braid my hair into a long rope before I change quickly into the unassuming one-piece that I keep down here. I’ve definitely grown a little since I last put this on, so it stretches tight against my breasts and comes up higher on my ass, but it’s fine.

I’m alone, after all.

Silently, I play a game that I used to play when I was little.How quietly can you swim?

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