Page 199 of The Billionaire's Secret
"Wait," he mutters.
I keep my fingers poised over the keypad.
He sits up straight, places the fingertips of his hands together. "Nina," he says, his voice shorn of all emotion, "I did it for her."
"For Nina?" I frown, "Explain."
"I promised Nina that her friend would be taken care of, and I thought you would do that, but you’re an idiot—”
I growl.
He holds up his hands in supplication, “The point is, you weren’t taking care of her, and I needed to make sure that you did. That’s what triggered the idea of Victoria's kidnapping..." He shrugs, "You went through a similar experience," he meets my gaze—the fucker actually looks me in the eye—and says, "and you needed something drastic to—I don’t know—make you realize that you were fucking things up."
My vision tunnels; the blood pounds in my temples. Only when my fist connects with the side of his face do I realize that I have closed the distance between us. His head snaps back and blood erupts from his mouth.
"That's for putting Victoria's life in danger, you bastard."
He chuckles, wipes the blood from his face and looks around the room, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.
The fuck?I raise my fist again.
Weston grabs my shoulder. "Let him be."
"No," I growl. "You heard what he said. Asshole's fucking with me."
"He's illustrating how emotions can make you lose your cool to the point that they trip you up," Weston cautions.
"Weston's right," Sinner adds.
"The fuck I care about that?" I snarl.
"Fucker's methods are unconventional," Weston agrees, "but damn , if it didn't work, right?"
Gigi makes a sound somewhere between a cry and a laugh. "He got through to you, Saint. I was never in any danger, and besides," she steps forward, "he did it for Nina."
I straighten, make to swing at Antonio again, but Gigi grabs my arm. "Please, Saint, he put his life at risk for Nina, and that has to mean something."
Fuck, if that negates how he'd threatened Gigi's life, but if she says... Well, then... I draw in a breath. "This Nina," I say, trying to piece things together, "she's important to you?"
"I already told you she is." His dark gaze grows inscrutable. "It's why I'll take this deal with you."
"So, you’re agreeing to spy on the Mafia and help us track down who was responsible for the kidnapping when we were kids?"
He nods, "It won’t be easy, but I have some ideas."
"Life’s not easy," I glower.
"If something goes wrong..." he glances at the other two, then at me, "If they discover I’ve turned on them, I need you to promise get Nina out."
Victoria squeezes my hand.
"For my wife," I growl, "I’ll do it for her."
He jerks his chin, "Guess we have an agreement then."
"What about the USB you appropriated?"
"The Mafia wants it back." He tucks his elbows into his side.
