Page 43 of Devious Secrets

I’m locked in his gaze. It’s like a weight pulling me down and I’m too tired to struggle against it.

He’ll keep me here until I tell him. Maybe he will lock me in here; maybe he’ll hang me from that hook and do horrible things to me.

If he finds out about Mira, he could send his henchmen to find her, and it could be her hanging from the hook. He can use her against Marco. Or he could hand her over to Marco in exchange for some territory deal.

I wish I understood his world better, then I could prepare for all possible scenarios and play this game better. All I know is he’s not some knight in shining armor. He’s all power and dominance. He wears danger in the same manner most men wear aftershave.

“Mira owes the money,” I finally say. “My roommate.”

“Then why are you making payments to him? Where is she?”

“She’s out of town.” I take a small breath. “She sends me money, and I pay Marco.”

He searches my face, like he’s not sure if he should believe me or not.

“There’s more. What is it?” he questions, his eyes roaming over my face and neck. “Why are you covering for her?”

All I can do is hope the high collar of my sweater will cover any physical tells. I’m not lying, but I’m not giving him everything. I may not know how to play these games as well as he does, but I know enough to keep a few cards close to my chest.

“Because she’s my family,” I explain in terms he can understand. “I would do anything to keep her safe, to help her when she needs it. And she’d do the same for me.”

He’s a big player in the mafia; words like family and loyalty mean something to him. Even if words like legal and morality don’t.

His jaw tightens. “You put yourself in the middle of a mess that wasn’t yours and made it your own.”

“Wouldn’t you do the same for your brothers?” I turn the tables on him.

“Where is Mira now?”

I swallow. Good question. I wish I could answer him.

“Megan?” His voice gets hard. “Where is she?”

“She’s safe,” I say confidently. “So long as the payments keep being made, she’ll stay safe. Marco says he can find her if he wants to. You guys seem to have a lot of resources behind you.”

His left eyebrow arches.

“Don’t put me in the same group as that bastard.” He’s offended?

The man has me pinned to a wall in his torture chamber!

“Alexander, I have to go home. I have to find some way to get Marco to give me an extension, and I have to beg for my job back if I’ve lost it.” I pause. “Because of you!”

He shakes his head.

“Yes, you! If you would have just left me alone, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“I’m not leaving you alone, and I’m sure as hell not letting you meet up with Marco to discuss anything.” He pushes off the wall and takes two steps back. “I’ll take care of Marco.”

“Take care of him how?” Not that the world would be worse off if Marco wasn’t in it, but I don’t want to be responsible for a bunch of gangsters opening fire on each other in the streets. Too many innocent people could get hurt.

“That’s not your concern.”

“Then I’ll owe the money to you?”

It’s just a number in a new ledger, if I let him do this. I’m not any freer. Mira won’t be any safer. If she would just get in touch with me, we could figure out what to do next.

“There’s a bigger problem at hand,” he says.

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