Page 57 of Sinful Attraction

“No problem, sweetheart. I didn’t want to subject you to any of that.”

I smile shakily and, once we’re buckled in, steer us out into traffic.

I drive with incredible care. I take every poorly paved backstreet and uncomfortably tight turn possible between the hotel and Michael’s parents’ home, keeping tight control and maintaining a responsible speed. And yet every turn and jostle gets me a squeak of pure terror from the back of the van as if I’m inches from driving us off a cliff.

I’ve never been to Michael’s family home before. Even before our families became rivals, I’ve never been invited over. Finding outthat my father is a creep explains a lot of that. But as we walk in with a trembling, pale Brian Cleary walking ahead of us, I can’t help but feel like I’m walking into enemy territory.

We get curious looks as we walk in. One of the guards is muttering on his cell phone. Michael sees him and sighs. “Well, Dad knows we’re here now.”

I try not to get too scared when he says that, but I know the truth: He’s here uninvited, with the daughter of an enemy and a captive whose testimony was the only excuse we had to be here. And that hinges on whether Michael’s father would even hear it.

One of the guards, a lean man with a heavy five o’clock shadow, walks up to Michael. “Sir, you know you’ve been banned from the premises.”

“Tell my father I have one of the thieves in my hands right now for him to question.”

The guard looks between me and Cleary and notices the latter is pale and sweating. He nods after a moment and moves away to speak into his phone. When he returns, he has a solemn look on his face.

“He’ll see you.”

Within a minute, we are standing in his father’s elegant office, across the desk from a solemn, scowling man who bears a strong resemblance to Michael. Cleary starts shivering when he sees our host, who looks him up and down dubiously.

“I said not to come back until you found the money.”

His voice is quiet and cold, and I hear echoes of Michael’s earlier voice in it—the one that scared me and turned me on at the same time. This is where he’s got it from.

“This man is the thief’s accomplice. He can tell us how it was done, who was involved, and where the money went. And as for the money itself, only the thief can access and return it.”

“So, where’s the thief?” His father’s eyebrow goes up, and I see Michael tense slightly. “And while we’re on the subject, why the hell is Castellucci’s daughter with you?”

“Arya wrote the program, and she’s been working with me to find out who did this.” Michael squares his shoulders as his father stares between us. “She’s also my woman.”

His father splutters in astonishment for a few moments before saying, “You accepted a job to steal from her heist, from me, when you were—”

“When I was in love with her, yes. It’s why I asked you to reconsider.”

He shakes his head incredulously and points to two of his guards. “Take this meat sack out of here; I have family business to tend to.”

The guards drag a terrified-looking Cleary out of the room, and I don’t know whether to be relieved or even more worried. Michael is fudging the timeline of our relationship with his father. I don’t know why he’s doing it, but I’m going to play along.

“I wasn’t intending to test your loyalty that harshly,” he admits, and I blink in shock and something like sadness. My own father would never have expressed regret over his actions, no matter how much they hurt me.

“Well, it’s the truth. I never mentioned it because I didn’t know how you’d take it.” Michael looks at me, and I nod and turn my gaze to his father, who is staring at me thoughtfully.

“But what about your family?” he asks me directly.

My throat seizes up, and Michael reaches over and squeezes my hand.

“I’m not really sure I’m going to have one for much longer,” I hear myself say softly. “It’s not just being with Michael, and it’s not just the heist.”

He sits back, readjusting his reading glasses on his nose. “What is it, then?”

“You already know how he treats women outside our family, in public,” I say. His face darkens, and he nods. I go on. “Imagine how he treats women he has power over, in private.”

His eyebrows go up, and then he sighs and nods. “Seems like I’ve caused trouble for one of the few Castelluccis that didn’t deserve it,” he rasps, watching my face for my response.

“Well, I’m not happy to be out a great big pile of money, but Michael and I are working on fixing that as well.”

He considers us both. “This is unusual, Michael, and I’m guessing you’re sticking to your blaming your sister for the money being missing.”

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