Page 44 of Unwilling Vow (Mafia Marriages 4)

16

Olivia

Jace closes the distance between us.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I did not expect to sneak across the hall and get caught.

What do I tell him?

What excuse can I use to get my ass out of hot water?

He asked me a question, demanding to know what I was doing, and I’ve yet to answer.

There is no good answer that he’s going to like to hear. I feel like a deer in the middle of the highway with oncoming traffic.

I’m frozen, and he’s about to plow into me.

I’m so dead.

“Think carefully what you intend to say,” Jace warns.

He’s pissed. It’s not just his tone indicating that he’s mad as hell. It’s the vein bulging in his neck, and his face is bright red.

“I’m sorry,” I stammer.

“For?” He’s waiting for an explanation, but there isn’t one that I want to give. At least not one that is honest. He’ll hate me, fire me, and I don’t even know what would happen regarding his child that I’m carrying and our arrangement.

Ineedthat money.

It’s my way out of this debt to Caruso.

My only way out.

“I shouldn’t have gone snooping.” It’s not a lie, but is it enough?

He flinches, and his gaze tightens. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

My mouth is dry. I shuffle my feet, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. I’m not sure what I was looking for, only that Caruso wanted me to copy files onto a flash drive, which is tucked into my palm.

I’m trying to be casual about my hands tucked into fists.

“The documents in your office, you own shell corporations?” I shouldn’t be asking, but I’m curious now that I’ve looked. It’s like opening Pandora’s box. I can’t put the damn lid back on quick enough.

“I own many organizations and several corporations,” Jace says. “What is your question?”

“Are they all legal companies?”

He scoffs at my question. “If they weren’t, don’t you think the FBI would come knocking on my door? I’m in the public spotlight, Ms. Summers,” Jace says, referring to me by my last name. It’s cold, impersonal. That’s probably the point. He’s distancing himself from me.

Is it because I hurt him? Betrayed his trust? Or another reason?

He strides closer, stepping well within my personal space. Jace grabs my wrist and brings my hand up to his face, prying open my digits.

He steals the flash drive from my grip. “I’ll be taking this,” he says.

I open my mouth, but I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry would probably be a decent start, but the apology doesn’t surface. I’m both embarrassed and ashamed of my behavior, but my actions aren’t who I am or what I stand for. I’ve only acted in such a manner because I have no other choice.

---