Page 86 of Cruel Secrets

“Yeah.” I pull my shoulders back, ready to take the next punch I know is coming. There’s no way it’s not going to after finding out I’m Bianca’s father.

It could mean having to leave the family and go out on my own with Gia, which would be horrible, but as long as I had them, I would be happy. Aiden could take his family bullshit and shove it up his ass for all I care.

This is the same family that turned me into a monster. Dad taught me to kill when I was a child and he trained me to be his assassin when needed. Then I became head enforcer, still killing whoever he pointed at, but I had other men beneath me to point as well.

And as much as I may like the rush of taking down an enemy and getting a job done, I like the rush of being a father more.

“Aiden, if you make me choose, I’m going to become a bigger threat to you than Noah could ever be, and that’s a promise.”

Aiden seems to grow larger as he crosses his arms and stares me down. “What the hell do you mean by your family? She’s nothing but a girlfriend who is likely using you and once this is all over, you’re going to see that you should’ve listened to me.”

I tuck my hands into my pockets, not bothered by him. At least, I’m pretending to not be bothered by him.

It only infuriates him more, the vein in his neck looking like it’s close to exploding as it throbs, his face turning red.

“What the fuck are you keeping from me, Royce?”

“Gia and I had a child when we were together before.”

“A child.” Aiden’s gaze is distant, his hands tight at his sides as he paces around the room. He stalks like an animal that’s been kept in its cage for its entire life and is just waiting for the chance to get free.

He may slaughter us all.

“Yes. We dated for a year. I found out who she was, and then my daughter was born,” I say, keeping my tone as even as possible.

I don’t want to make this worse than it already is, but there’s no telling how Aiden is going to react.

He keeps pacing. I don’t know how we’re going to explain to Gia’s friend that my brother wore holes through her glossy hardwood floors, but it seems like we’ll have to.

Aiden turns and stops, the room falling so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Gia is tense beside me, looking like a cobra that’s poised to strike. I have no doubt that if Aiden so much as mentions Bianca in the wrong way, Gia is going to go through his throat and there’ll be nothing left of him when she’s done.

He spins and lunges at me, going for the throat as I dodge to the side. Gia scrambles out of the way as a lamp goes sailing to the floor, shattering into a hundred tiny glittering pieces.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Ellie’s voice rises above the sound of a ceramic pot breaking as I dodge another attack from Aiden.

My foot catches on the rug, and I trip, turning quick and landing hard on my shoulder.

Aiden is on top of me the second I hit the ground, his hand wrapped around my throat. “What the fuck were you thinking? Not only do you spend your nights dicking down a Rinaldo, but now you’re telling me you have a child with her? After everything their family has done to ours?”

I cough, grabbing his wrist and trying to loosen the fingers currently pressing into either side of my trachea.

Sean rounds on Aiden, kicking him hard in the ribs and throwing him to the ground beside me. “This isn’t how the two of you are going to handle business. Especially not when there is a child in the house.”

“You’re both idiots,” Ellie says, crossing her arms, a thin line appearing between her eyebrows. “So what if Royce had a child with her? You married me off to the man who murdered our father.”

Sean throws his hands up in the air, but there’s a teasing smile on his face as he looks at Ellie. “And here I thought we were finally moving on from that.”

I get to my feet at the same time Aiden does. “I was in love with Gia, and we had a child together, whether you like it or not. You’re going to have to learn to deal with this.”

“I don’t have to learn to deal with shit.” Aiden lunges for me again, but his free shots are done.

With a twist of my hips, I send my fist sailing into the side of his face, his nose crunching beneath the impact.

Blood drips down his face as he looks at me, his breathing ragged and his entire body tense. “You’re making a mistake.”

“No.” I glance at Gia and she’s staring on in horror.

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