Page 64 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

I fake sympathy, frowning and narrowing my eyes. “That’s really sad. How is he?”

“Huh?”

“How is Rodriguez?”

“Since I haven’t heard anything different, I suppose he’s still unconscious.”

“Do you think he’ll wake?”

She shakes her head. “I doubt it. Earlier, the doctors said he could be brain dead, but that is all I know.”

I break some eggs in a pan, sprinkle on a pinch of salt. “Poor guy.”

Jane shoots a suspicious glance at me. “You know, for someone who hates Rodriguez's guts, you’re sounding way too sympathetic.”

My lips twitch. She caught me there. “It would be rude of me not to at least pretend to feel sorry for him.”

She scoffs. “Marcus, did you…”

“Would you like a cup of coffee while I make us something to eat?” I ask, cutting her off. If she completes that question then I would have no choice but to lie to her, and that doesn’t sit well with me.

Telling her the truth about Rodriguez isn’t an option either. Jane may have disliked him, but she is still a cop. A good cop at that and she wouldn’t want her colleagues getting hurt.

“No, but thanks for offering. I can’t sleep if I have coffee at night. Anyway, Taylor feeds me enough of it every day at work.”

I finish making our energy-boosting snack—scrambled eggs on toast. I dish and take the plates to the island, grab a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and pour each of us a glass.

Jane grabs a fork, a smile on her face. “Thank you. This looks almost too good to eat.”

I drop on a stood next to her. “Don’t exaggerate, you’re embarrassing me.”

She takes a bite out of her eggs and groans. “Shit. I can’t tell if this tastes so good or if I was just very hungry.”

I take a bite of mine. “It just tastes really good. I’m a good chef.”

“Sure you are,” she agrees with a giggle before she bites down on a piece of toast.

“What’s going to happen now that Rodriguez is down? Will you be put back on the case?”

She lifts her glass of orange juice and brings the rim up to her lips. “Can’t say. That would depend on what Chief Smith decides on Monday.”

I can help with that.

But I don’t say it to her. She doesn’t need to know about the strings I’m pulling behind the scenes. We finish up our food and I’m doing the dishes when I remember my meeting with Dominic last night.

“You haven’t told me anything about your family.”

She wraps her arm around me from behind and rests her head on my back. “What about my family?”

I shrug. “You’ve never spoken about your parents.”

“Oh, that.” Her grip loosens and she steps back. I drop the plate I’m holding, dry my hands with a towel and spin around to face her.

Jane lowers her gaze and hesitates for a moment. “They’re dead.” She inhales several deep breaths and raises her eyes to meet mine. “I’m telling you this only because I trust you. My mother died when she gave birth to my sister. My father was…murdered.”

My heart shudders painfully. “Oh?”

“He was a cop,” she answered, her voice cracking. “He was shot while investigating some bad guys. I don’t know the full story, but I joined the police force to find out why he had to die like that.”

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