Page 98 of Ruthless Oath

“How did you end up here?”

“What’s wrong with here?” He shoved his hand in his pocket. “I get to see you.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said. “You make Marchello’s rage episodes bearable.”

“He’s not that bad.” He shrugged. “He seems to have a soft spot for you.”

“Really? I must have missed that.” I sat on the steps. “I meant how did you end up working for the Accetti family?”

“My father worked for them for years. He was on their security team. Mr. Accetti has always cared for my family, and when my father died, he continued to support my mother and siblings. There are five of us.”

“I’m sorry you lost your father.”

“Thank you.” He nodded. “My father was responsible for Mrs. Accetti.”

“Marchello and Milo’s mother?”

“Yes.” He gazed out the window. “She was a beautiful woman. Young, vibrant, so full of life. Not just her life.”

“Marchello told me she was pregnant,” I whispered. “Do you know how she died?”

“I do.”

If I had a phone or access to the internet, I would have searched for the details by now. I couldn’t press Marchello. The demons in his expression when he opened up to me about his mother were enough to torment me for the rest of my life.

“Will you tell me?” I scooted over and patted the step above me. “Please.”

“It isn’t my place.”

“Please, Ricardo.” I pointed to the step for him to sit. “I need to understand who Marchello is and where he comes from.”

“You know where he comes from.” He took a seat on the step I had indicated. “The same place you come from. Nico and your father are not that different. Although, they may have different values.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nico Accetti would never promise one of his children to a man like Danny Collins.” He gripped his thigh. “No alliance would be important enough for Nico to do something like that.”

I still wasn’t over that whole situation. I wanted to believe my dad would have come to his senses if I hadn’t gotten myself kidnapped. If I lost complete faith in him, where would that leave me?

“Yet you still compare Nico to my dad. How come?”

“I believe they started out in the same place at a time when this world needed men like them. Regimes were changing, and they both proved themselves at a young age. Nico became useful to the Convetti family, and your father climbed the ranks with the Biancoli family.”

“I have uncles and cousins in that family.”

“Who now report to your father. But it wasn’t always like that. Nico stayed loyal to his organization, and when the time was right, he took over peacefully and with respect.”

“And my father?”

“A lot of blood was shed in that war.” Ricardo patted my shoulder. “You’re too young to remember.”

“So, Nico is a man of honor and my father is a traitor?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” I closed my eyes. “My whole life isn’t at all what I thought it was. I knew my father was a dangerous man, but I never questioned what was happening. It wasn’t my place.”

“I’m sure he sheltered you as much as possible.” He shrugged. “If I had children, I wouldn’t want them to know the stuff that I’ve had to do in the name of my job.”

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