Page 42 of Reckless Pawn

"And again, I say you don't know me. Not then and certainly not now. Especially not enough to be making any kind of decisions or sacrifices for my benefit. That's crazy."

"I knew you well enough to stick my dick in you. That's saying something."

I rolled my eyes. His crude reference to our time together almost made me laugh. "From what I've seen around here, you Wrath guys will put your dicks in anyone who will give you the time of day."

He shrugged, glowering down at me. "I think you already know I'm not typical. I may have been raised in the club, but I've been gone a long time. Besides, I have good instincts. Ten years of killing bad guys gives you a little insight into the shit going on around you. Just like I might have been right about the club, there might be more to me than whatever is going through your head."

I turned away, not wanting to look at the man I'd longed for for too long. He was all but saying that I was being judgmental, when I had to be. Now he was going to force me to reexamine my past. And I really didn't want to go back there.

"That girl you met on the pier doesn't exist. I made her up. I needed your help and sex was the easiest way to get it. I used the oldest trick in the book because it's all I had." Which was not a lie. Maybe not the whole story, but kind of the gist.

He gently grabbed my chin and turned my head until our gazes again met.

"What the hell are you trying to say? I have a crystal clear memory of you screaming my name every time you came, and there were a lot of orgasms going on. You trying to say you faked all that shit?"

I fought not to roll my eyes. He kept focusing on the guy aspects of all this. "No, I did not fake all that shit." It was impossible to swallow all of my sarcasm. "I loved every minute of it. But that doesn't mean you know anything about me. I didn't want you to know the truth."

"Is that why you hid your real driver’s license in a secret pocket of your purse? Because you had to hide your last name? What makes you think I'd give a shit about that anyway?"

"Because everyone gives a crap about a Mazzeo. The only thing that might be different is what you think I am. If you hate my family and what they represent then I'm persona non grata and you want nothing to do with me. If you like Frank Mazzeo then you like me because you want something from him and that makes me a golden ticket. And lastly, if you hate my father and want some sort of revenge then I become the Mazzeo heir that fucks like a slut and helps you get some sort of payback."

I was breathing heavy now as I finished my rant. I wrenched free from his hand holding my chin and crossed the room to the window again. "So now that you know where I stand, which one are you? I guess I need to know so I can prepare for what comes next."

"What the fuck, Izzy? Just cause you've clearly got daddy issues, doesn't mean you gotta take it out on me. Jesus. I don't even know where to go with all that mess you just laid out on me."

I dropped my forehead against the window. He was right, of course. My issues with my lineage were my problem not his. "You should just go. There's nothing for you to do anymore but leave. I made my own deal with the club and you don't have to stay. You've got the freedom you have more than earned."

The seconds ticked by where neither of us moved. I was holding my breath waiting to see what he would do.

"Fine. I'll go. Only because I haven't slept in two days and I'm feeling dead on my feet. And if we keep this up even more is going to get said that we'll both regret. So you can have tonight, babe. Catch your breath. Get clear in the head because you only get one night. I'll be back tomorrow and then we're gonna deal with it all."

I didn't respond. It wasn't worth arguing anymore. Another day wasn't going to change anything for us. And the odds of him actually returning were probably fifty-fifty at best. Although even those odds might be too generous.

He walked to the door and yanked it open. "Guard'll be back on duty after I leave. You won't be left unprotected."

"Unprotected from what exactly? I thought I was safe here."

"Shit's brewing. And I'm afraid you're going to be right in the middle of it."

I turned and made the mistake of looking at him again. The vivid blue of his eyes pierced through me just like they did the night we met, taking my breath away. With a sudden clarity I knew I still wanted him as much as the day we met and I realized that might never go away.

Although I had no plan to admit that, it still stuck.

"Does this have to do with something more than my father?”

"Club's a little more complicated than one massive problem. It seems the club has changed a lot since I was a kid. With my father away in prison they've turned to somewhat more legitimate, but equally dangerous lines of work."

I scoffed. "Like gambling? Yeah, that'sreallegal. I live here now, remember? They don't tell me much, but I know how to observe. There's a lot more going on here than even that. People go in and out at all hours of the night and they guard that stupid clubhouse like Fort frigging Knox. They're hiding something."

"Yeah, I've heard about your snooping. You need to cut that shit out before it goes too far and then even I can't save you."

The resignation in his voice pulled at my core like a puppet's string running from me to him. I struggled not to go to him so I could seek and give comfort again in his arms. He seemed different from the man I met a few months ago—harder somehow. And I was no less attracted because of the changes. In fact, I felt drawn to him more than ever. Yeah, I really needed to keep plenty of space between us.

With his sexy scent filling my head and all this crazy talk, I was feeling a bit lightheaded. "I already agreed to that deal. It's how I got my job."

He shook his head. "Another issue we need to talk about.Tomorrow."

"Whatever," I said. I could see we'd be butting heads even more next go round. If there was another go round.

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