Page 23 of Savage Betrayal

But the devotion she unveiled earlier, the soft affection and demure charm, is now gone, replaced by an iron wall of protection I can just make out in her deep brown eyes. As much as I would like to think that things could be so easy, there’s clearly a chasm of distance between us.

Not that I can blame her after what I’ve done.

8

TIA

“Ready?” Father asks, his presence suddenly looming beside me as Leo and I stand near the front door of the Moretti home.

“Yes.” Slipping my fingers from Leo’s grasp, I give him one last measured smile, then I follow my parents outside onto the front steps of the grandiose home.

Soon to be my home, I suppose.

That thought hits me for the first time, and as we step into the black Escalade that will carry us home, I glance back at the imposing structure. The first night I saw it, I’d been in awe of its beauty. But tonight, it looks like a haunted mansion that might star in some horror novel. The sharp spires pierce the night sky, and the grotesque gargoyle faces sneer down at me, daring me to try and run.

I won’t.

I refuse to be intimidated.

And after tonight, I actually think I might have a chance of doing something more than just endure a life of misery to protect my family.

Because tonight, I discovered Leo’s aspiration.

A smile threatens to lift the corner of my lips as I settle onto the seat of the SUV and buckle in. Then I turn to look out the window into the inky sky beyond. I can’t wait to get home and think over exactly how I want to go about what I found.

I stumbled upon it while in the midst of trying to follow my parents’ instructions and win over my betrothed—for the sake of my family and my unborn child. But I wasn’t about to let Leo forget about why tonight was necessary.

I know I shouldn’t have, and for the most part, I actually managed to behave, but I couldn’t help the few slights I sent his way. I just… reminded him about the baby he put inside me. Subtly. While in a roomful of people who aren’t supposed to know. I was careful, of course, to make sure no one actually overhead me.

But once I saw it got under his skin—far better than my more juvenile and caustic remark at the start of the evening—I just couldn’t help myself. I fight to keep the smile off my face as I recall Leo’s growled warning that I should hold my tongue.

He really has no idea what he’s in for.

I did come into tonight intending to put aside my personal disdain for the Moretti heir. To find a way to bridge the gap between us. I would have done my best to achieve that goal to protect the people I love. But what I got out of our engagement party was worth so much more than Leo’s approval.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about him, it’s that he’s a man of ambition.

And more than anyone else in that room tonight, Leo wants to win the approval of Mayor Romney. So, to prove I can be useful to him, I stepped up. I helped garner some good will between him and the mayor—something Leo appeared in desperate need of.

I succeeded, of course.

But it also gave me an idea.

Perhaps this marriage won’t be the end for me. If I can truly win Leo over, if I can gain his trust, then I might just learn how to destroy his family from within. Because any vulnerability can be exploited if I understand the motivation underneath.

But why would Leo care so much if the mayor liked him? Why does he need the man’s approval? And why is he struggling so hard to get it?

All questions I need to answer before I can start tugging at that loose thread. But at least I have a lead, something to help motivate me down that aisle. And thankfully, I’m more than willing to spend some time charming the mayor and his wife while I figure out the answers to my questions. Because they seem positively lovely.

And right about now, I could use all the friends I can get.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Mother says, a slight smile gracing her lips as my father rests his head back and closes his eyes.

“I think Leo and his father are almost as eager to make this situation work as we are,” I confess.

“Don Moretti, yes, though I’m less confident about your betrothed.” My mother’s sharp eyes match mine, waiting for my assessment.

“He’s a psychopath. Of course, it would be harder to read him. But I made myself indispensable tonight, so you have nothing to worry about. He’ll marry me. Besides, like you said before, this baby all but guarantees the alliance.”

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