Page 14 of Tormented Oath

"I was in Thailand when it happened," he continues, his voice dropping even lower. "Living my dream of hostels and adventure, just like you said." His laugh is bitter. "Tomasso called me at four in the morning. By noon, I was on a plane home."

"To take over," I murmur, understanding flooding through me. The wild, free-spirited boy I knew, suddenly chained to a legacy he had never wanted.

"To survive." His eyes meet mine, and the pain in them steals my breath. "To protect what was left of my family. My mother...she hasn't been the same since. And Angela..."

"Your sister?" I remember her as a tiny thing, always trailing after Stefano with worship in her eyes.

"She got sick right after. Leukemia. The doctors say she's in remission now, but keeping her alive wasn’t easy or cheap..." He takes a long sip of wine. "Let's just say I needed resources. Power. The ability to get her the best care money could buy."

My chest feels tight. The Fiori family didn’t mention any of this—his sister's illness, his mother's grief. They just painted him as another cruel don. But looking at him now, I see how the weight of responsibility crushed the free spirit I once knew.

"So you became what your father always wanted," I say, unable to keep the sadness from my voice.

His hand shoots out, catching my wrist again.

"I became what I needed to be." His thumb traces my pulse point, sending shivers down my spine. "What about you, Ava? Did you become what your parents wanted?"

The question hits too close to home. Here I am, running another con, just like they taught me. "My parents are dead," I say flatly.

His grip tightens fractionally. "I know."

When I look up sharply, his eyes are intense, possessive. "Did you think I wasn't keeping tabs on you? That I wasn't looking for you?"

The admission makes my heart race. All these years, while I was running, he was searching. The thought makes my insides melt.

"Why?" I whisper, though I'm not sure I want to know the answer.

"You know why." His other hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from my face. "I told you once that I'd follow you to the ends of the earth. Did you think I was lying?"

I can't breathe. Can't think. Not with him looking at me like that, touching me like that. Not with the weight of everything between us pressing down on me.

And definitely not with the guilt of my mission sitting like lead in my stomach.

How can I betray him now, knowing what he's survived, knowing he was only trying to protect his family?

But then I think of Tony, waiting in our dingy motel room, drinking himself into oblivion. My own family needs protection, too.

I just wish it didn't feel like I was selling my soul to do it.

"So, what about you?" Stefano's voice pulls me from my dark thoughts. "What's your dream now? Still planning to change the world, one philosophy book at a time?"

I laugh, and it comes out more genuine than I expected. "Not exactly." I trace the rim of my wineglass, feeling his eyes follow the movement. "Would you believe me if I said Montana?"

"Montana?" His eyebrow arches. "The girl who used to quote Nietzsche wants to be a cowgirl?"

"A ranch owner, actually." I let myself indulge in the fantasy that keeps me going on the darkest nights. "Wide open spaces. Horses. Maybe some cattle. Somewhere so far from Chicago that no one's ever heard the D'Amato name."

His expression shifts, something dark flashing across his face. "Running again?"

"Starting over," I correct, but we both hear the lie. "There's something appealing about simplicity, don't you think? No family obligations, no looking over your shoulder..." I gesture around at the opulent restaurant, at his expensive suit, at everything here that screams power and control. "No complications."

"Complications?" Suddenly, the space between us feels charged, dangerous. "Is that what I am to you?"

My heart hammers against my ribs. "You're the definition of complicated, Stefano."

"And yet, here you are."

"Here I am," I whisper, hating how breathless I sound. The wine must be getting to me, because I add, "Maybe I missed complicated."

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