Page 93 of Unwilling Vow (Mafia Marriages 4)

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Olivia

Astrid is sound asleep.

Her tiny arms and legs kick every so often while in slumber. I stand over her crib, watching her movements. She’s perfect.

“Step away from the crib,” Jace commands as he enters through the nursery door.

Markus and Vincent stand at the entrance to Jace’s bedroom. Vincent’s hand is on his holster at his hip. Behind Jace are Matteo and Ryder.

“What is going on?” I whisper, glancing from the other men back to Jace.

He’s holding several sheets of paper, printouts of something that has him rattled.

“Did Luka threaten you?” I ask. I wouldn’t put it past the mobster after he showed up earlier today at my apartment.

Jace scoffs under his breath and grabs me by the arm, dragging me forcefully out of the nursery.

“Where are we going?” I ask, shrugging out of his grasp.

He’s strong, his grip tight as he leads me down the hallway.

“I should put you in the basement prison.” His voice holds no hint of mercy or kindness. “But I won’t.” He drags me down to his office and slams the door shut. Through the frosted glass, I can see men standing on the opposite side.

But we’re alone.

The slight crackle of the baby monitor echoes through the room when Astrid whimpers in sleep.

“I don’t know what you think you heard,” I say, glancing from the baby monitor to him.

Did I say something that I shouldn’t have about Luka’s threats? I can’t even remember what I said two minutes earlier. My brain is in a fog. Fear grips me.

He tosses the pages of documents, printouts of some type of documentation all across his oak desk.

“Quit lying to me,” he steps closer, invading my personal space. His stone gaze pierces through me. “How long have you been working with Luka? Since the beginning?”

He already knew that Luka threatened me and forced my hand to get information on the flash drive.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, not understanding his anger toward me. “I don’t work for Luka or with him. He’s a monster.”

“Is that right? You only take money from him. Five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of money,” Jace says. He points at the pages on the desk, tapping on the sheet of paper as proof.

“It’s not true. The only money I’ve received is from you.”

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve seen the statement, the transactions, the paper trail. You even have two plane tickets to the Maldives for tomorrow night.”

What is he talking about? Luka didn’t even tell me about the plane tickets. “It has to be a setup,” I say, rationalizing what he’s seen. “I didn’t take money from Caruso.”

“Right, it just happened to land in your account. Don’t you get it, Olivia? He owns you. Taking money from the mafia, it doesn’t come without hoops to jump through, and a thousand strings attached.”

I fold my arms across my chest defensively. “I haven’t looked at my checking account today. Luka did it to set me up. He wants me to take Astrid and flee the country.”

“So, you admit to making plans and kidnapping my daughter?”

“What? Of course not! I didn’t book any plane tickets, and I certainly don’t recognize the payment. If the money is really in the account, then he’s to blame.”

Could this all be a complete misunderstanding?

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