Page 3 of Unlawful Seduction

She raked her shaking hand through her hair. “I was at a bachelorette party at the Wildfire Casino. I noticed Gio. Henoticed me. We flirted. He took me to a room at the resort. It was magical.”

Seeing the admiration in her eyes continued to fuel the rage. Gio could be extremely charming when he wanted to be.

I took a gulp of the bourbon, realizing she’d done everything in her power to make a decent home for her and her little boy. Gio had millions. He could easily take care of both even with his impending marriage to Valenti’s daughter.

What a piece of shit.

Well, fuck. My thoughts drifted to my mother. She’d been an amazing woman until she hadn’t. But she’d taught me right from wrong. She’d told me that women were to be treasured. Maybe that’s because my fuck hole of a father had treated her so badly.

“I’m not going to kill you,” I told her. I was a bad man and would go to hell, but I wasn’t going to end two lives that deserved a chance at living in a much better situation. I had a tough decision to make and I knew it was the end of my working relationship with the Valentis, but maybe it was a sign that it was time to get out.

Whether or not Lucian had any clue about the situation would determine how I’d handle it from here. First things first.

Maybe this was my last chance at returning to the decent human being I’d been a long time before. Fuck. As part of my duties with the Valenti organization, I regularly handled collections. Reminding a man who owed a significant debt to Lucian that the interest rates were compounding on a daily basis had been my first chore of the evening. It always amazed me how they suddenly found money.

I pulled a thick envelope from my jacket pocket, placing it on the table. “Tessa, you need to listen to me because I’m only going to say this once. There’s over thirty thousand dollars in the envelope. You’re going to pack up what you can and what will fit in my truck. Take everything that’s important to you, but not enough to draw but so much attention to yourself that you’re running. I’m going to take you to the train station. I’ll purchase tickets for you and your boy to anywhere you want to go that’s far away from here. You’ll go there and create a new life for both of you using a different name. I know it’ll be rough, but the alternative is worse.”

With her mouth open, she peered down at the envelope then back up to me. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you have a beautiful son and he needs his mother. Don’t fight me on this. This will be your one chance at being around to watch your son grow up. Understood?”

She was still extremely nervous and she should be. She obviously knew enough about Gio to realize she’d gotten mixed up with the wrong man, but sadly, far too late to alter the choices she’d made. I knew nothing about her or her background and in truth, I didn’t give a shit. What I could tell was that she’d been placed in a horrible position through no fault of her own.

I also knew she’d die to protect her son.

That spoke to something inside the man I’d lost.

“Do I have time to feed my baby? That way he’ll probably fall asleep and won’t ask too many questions. I’m sure you don’t want any questions.”

The fear in her eyes was palpable. Sighing, I checked my watch. I still had unfinished business tonight, but even I couldn’t deny a hungry child. “Go ahead. Make it quick.”

If she did anything stupid, I’d be forced to return to the orders I’d been given. I hoped for her sake she was a smart girl. If another enforcer had been sent, she’d already have a bullet in her head, the kid on the way to being sold off to the highest bidder. Obviously Gio didn’t give a fuck about his own child.

As I sat and waited, Jake bounded into the room again with a book in his hand.

“Mommy!”

“I’m making dinner, honey. Just go back to your room.” Tessa was doing her best not to draw any attention to the fact that something was wrong.

“But I want someone to wead to me. Pwease?” The kid looked at me hopefully as he shifted back and forth from one foot to another.

“Jake. Don’t bother the nice man.”

“It’s okay. I can read to him.” Jake heard me and made himself comfortable, climbing onto my lap. The moment was awkward, but offered a rare and possibly single look into the lives of loving families.

Since I’d hooked up with the Valentis, I’d broken all ties to the people who’d raised me.

Tessa looked at me, a single tear sliding down her cheek. I nodded to try to offer some sense of comfort. As if that was possible.

“Okay, Jake. Let’s see what we have. Oh, one of my favorites.”

I read to the kid, curious why I’d felt a soft spot. I couldn’t answer the question even as Jake laughed at the way I read a page.

Tessa continued to turn around to ensure I wasn’t hurting her boy. She even did something surprising.

She made me dinner as well.

It was a thanks for sparing her life and should be a humbling experience, but I wasn’t the kind of man who could ever change.

---