Page 41 of A Forbidden Love (Fraser Crime Syndicate 3)

Declan Easton is a mob boss of the Easton crime family. If Sariah isn’t his, then her mother was with someone else—something practically unheard of in our world. Women don’t have the luxury of a side piece, not like the men. She played a dangerous game.

“How long have you known?”

She smiles, but it doesn’t reflect in her eyes. “Long enough to be tired of hiding it from my family.” Her words warm me. I see her as family too. I reach out instinctively and take her hand in mine, squeezing it.

“What do you need?”

“I want to find my real father, but there’s not a lot to go on. My mother kept her secrets clutched close to her chest.”

“I’ll help however I can,” I assure her.

This time, her smile is genuine. “I know you will, but that’s not why I told you. You deserve to have the truth from me.”

I mull over her words, trying to think of how I can do something. “Where have you got up to with it all?”

“I’ve done enough digging to know my father was also in the criminal underbelly of London, and that people are scared to give me more than that.” She huffs out a breath. “I want to find him, but if I don’t, it won’t be the end of the world either. I don’t know if he was ever aware of my existence, but if he was, he left me and my mum with a monster. I don’t know how I feel about that if that is the case.”

“Your mum might not have said anything to him,” I say, playing devil’s advocate. “I imagine it was dangerous for her to have an affair when she was married to Declan. I wouldn’t have told a soul if I were her.”

“Exceptionally dangerous,” she agrees. “Which makes it hard to discover any details. No one seems to know anything. I’ve poked around as much as I can without revealing the truth, but I think that time has passed. I need to dig deeper and that means people are going to find out. Gossip in this city spreads like wildfire.”

“I don’t imagine Declan will want that.”

“He wants me to keep this a secret. He doesn’t want anyone to know that I’m not his. He thinks it will make him look weak, but there’s no way for me to keep searching without putting it out there that he’s not my father.”

Unease ripples through me. “Will there be blowback?”

“I don’t know, and that’s why I have to move carefully.”

“Thank you for trusting me with this secret. I won’t tell a soul,” I promise.

“If I had married Jeremiah, I would never be in this position. Your brother is supportive of me doing whatever I need to. Don’t settle for less,” she says.

I think about Ryan and if he would support me in something like this. He would. That’s how I know he’s the right man for me.

“How did you know Luke was the one?”

Her lips tilt upwards as she grabs the tray of cupcakes and puts them into the oven. “I don’t know. I just knew. There was a feeling whenever I was with him. This intensity. I couldn’t imagine not being around him either. When we were separated, I wanted to be with him. He makes my heartrate quicken. He makes me feel safe and loved.”

Those are all the same feelings I have with Ryan. I can’t imagine not being around him. I know my brothers will be pissed when they discover what we’ve been doing, but its not their life.

It’s mine.

I want him.

I want Ryan, and I think he wants me.

We continue to talk about safer subjects—Zeke’s stepdaughters and the fact Luke’s birthday is soon. The cakes come out of the oven smelling divine. While we wait for them to cool so she can frost them, I find my eyes drifting towards the control room, where Ryan is waiting for me to finish. It’s hard having him so close and not being able to touch him. I hate it. I wish we were back in our apartment, that he was buried between my legs. He wanted me to be sure about having sex with him, but I am.

It’s the only choice in my life I’ve been allowed to make, and I’ve never been more certain of anything. He is it for me. He’s the one who makes my heartrate quicken. He’s the person I miss when we’re not sitting in the same room.

“I should get going,” I say, standing from the stool.

“Take some cupcakes with you,” Sariah says. “For you and Malone.”

She quickly frosts a few cakes and puts them on a plate for me. I round the counter and embrace her. Sariah holds me tight. “We’ll figure this out,” she promises.

“I know.”

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