Page 109 of Mila: The Godfather

What should I say? What’s the appropriate response here?

“He is very kind.” I tell her and I mean it. Riagan has treated me with kindness and respect, and for that he will always have a special place in my heart, regardless of what the future holds for us.

“To you and the people he cares about, yes. Others?” I stare at her face for longer than I’m comfortable with. “Not so much.” She stops talking for a second and then continues. “You needn’t worry. He really is a good guy to the people he loves.”

Love.

My eyes grow big, and my blood pressure spikes the moment the word slips from her mouth.

“He doesn’t love me.”

Maeve lifts a white bag and hands it to me. “I beg to differ.”

“What is this?”

“Open it and find out.”

I do.

Opening the white bag, I pull out a cap. A plain white one. Huh. Searching the bag for more, I find a small sticky note with writing on it. Turning it, it reads:

Just in case. — R

Just in case things become too much today and the world starts to cave in. He gave me a cap so I can feel less anxious.

These are the little things that make me fight off any doubt I might have. Riagan is not a saint. He has done and seen things that would give me nightmares, yet I’ve never felt unsafe with him. He has never made me feel like I shouldn’t trust him. Not once in all the moments we’ve shared.

He might look like the villain in a fairytale, but his heart? There’s nothing cruel or evil about it.

It’s beautiful, just like he is.

Click.

The flash of a camera makes me look up to find Maeve smiling widely with her phone in her hands after taking a photo of me.

“Why did you do that?” I ask curiously. Here I thought I was an odd duck. I think maybe this girl is even odder.

Maeve puts the phone down. “I bet once the boss annihilates the threat to your life, your sisters would love to see how beautiful you looked on your wedding day.” That is… sweet. Very sweet of her, actually.

“Do you know my sisters too?” I step forward, looking at her eyes for a few seconds, then at the five diamond earrings in various sizes on her ears.

“Know them? No. But I do know of them.” She explains.

“How?”

“Well, one of your sisters is banging the most powerful man in the country while the other is making waves as the first female boss in Detroit history. They’re pretty rad.”

Smiling, I say. “They are. They’ve always been pretty amazing. Even before the president and the title of boss.”

“You’re amazing, too.”

Heat creeps into my cheeks, and I look away from her and down at the baseball cap in my hands. “You don’t know me.” I blurt out truthfully.

“What the boss has told me about you and what I’ve discovered online is pretty amazing.”

“Discover? What do you mean?”

“I’m one of this country’s best hackers, babe. I can find anything about anyone.” She steps back with a grin on her face. “You should share it with him, you know. The things you do are incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it.” I think I detect a hint of awe in her voice.

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