Page 273 of Merciless Desires

In the parking garage, I held the passenger door open for her, peering around the dim space for anyone out of place. When she was seated, I closed the door carefully and rounded the car, glaring into the darkness.

I paid for the parking, pulled onto the freeway, and shifted my gaze between the road in front of us and any cars behind mine.

Taking her here without security had been stupid, but leaving her mamma there without any was a complete disaster.

I called Genovesi and arranged for a shift of no less than four men keeping watch over Marcella’s mamma, and even that didn’t seem to affect her mood like I hoped it would.

Slipping through traffic and finally getting a break away, I downshifted and brushed my knuckles intentionally along Marcella’s outer thigh, frowning when she tilted away.

“I’d like to talk about what’s on your mind, amorina.”

“How long have you known about me?”

“Hmm?” I glanced over at her and was met with a lethal glare.

She repeated her question slowly, but it still didn’t make sense. Why was this what was on her mind?

I had been aware of Marcella Moretti since her papà had joined the organization. He vowed his allegiance to my papà before Marcella was born, and before he had even met her mamma.

I had known of Marcella her entire life. I knew of her existence at the very least, but…was she asking about my interest in her?

“It’s not that hard of a question, Matteo.” My name was like acid on her tongue.

“I’ve known about you your entire life, amorina. Your papà has worked for us for thirty years. He talked about you and your sisters often. His one true weakness was his girls.”

“So you used that against him?”

I eased my foot off the gas and looked over at her. “What…”

“Don’t play stupid, Matteo. Papà told me why he came to you needing help,” Marcella hissed.

Moretti’s one true weakness was his girls.

“Then you’re aware that your papà had been spending beyond his means and asked to meet with me specifically to discuss how he could work off that debt?”

“He was paying for mamma’s medical bills. Her funeral, even.”

I grimaced. Moretti hadn’t thought to mention that when he came running to me looking for help. That wouldn’t have changed my stance on everything. He had something I needed, and I could make his debt disappear and give him enough to live comfortably. Now he was getting too comfortable.

Marcella deserved to hear this from me, and I had been a coward not to tell her the details of the exchange to her face.

“What do you want to know?” I asked slowly.

“Did you…” She paused and shook her head, seeming to rethink her question. “How was I brought up? Why was I dragged into this?”

I stiffened. I had to choose my words carefully. This could either add insight into the exchange or ruin it entirely.

“To take over for my papà, his one request was that I marry.”

She sucked in a shallow gasp. I peered back over at her, frowning when I saw the hurt across her gorgeous face that quickly morphed to pure hatred.

Everything we had created crumbled in an instant.

“You didn’t want me. You needed a wife.”

“No, amorina…”

“Don’t call me that!” she hollered and levelled me with a glare filled with malice. “This entire time, I thought Papà willingly gave me up as some form of payment. I made him the enemy when all along, it was you.”

---