Page 23 of Blood on Ice

“Really? You wouldn’t miss me?”

“I told you, if I’d known you were a Marchesi, I wouldn’t have come here.”

“If you’d met with my brother, you would have never known.” His fist tightened as he said it. Did the idea of me meeting his brother make him angry? Why? Did he think I’d like his brother better than him? Was he just as gorgeous?

Jesus, it was bad enough I was horny for one of them. I didn’t need to start fantasizing about having them both. “You wouldn’t have known I’d borrowed money either.”

“I would’ve seen your name on the list of clients, and Val would have gone to our father for an amount like this.”

I’d intended to give the fake name I’d given for the appointment, but I realized that was stupid. They could easily use an image of me to find out who I was. I wouldn’t have been able to hide.

“This is a terrible idea.” I started to stand up again, and he shook his head.

“Put your ass back in that seat.” He turned the paper he’d been filling out so it was right side up for me and pointed to a line at the bottom. “Sign it.”

“I need to read it first.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

He looked as trustworthy as a cat with a mouse. “Absolutely not.”

“That’s wise. But the terms are as you stated.”

I sucked in my breath when I saw the interest rate. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I never kid about business. Are those worse terms than you were offered in Vegas? You are a bit of a risk, you know.”

They weren’t worse that the last loan. They’d lured me in with lower interest at first. “I’m not a risk. You know I have the money.”

“I know you make a solid paycheck. If you don’t blow the money on something else, you can give it to us, but your track record is not so good.”

He was right, but his doubts made me angry anyway. “I’m going to pay the debt. I know I fucked up, but I didn’t work so hard to get where I am to blow it. I’ve got it together now.”

His smile softened. “I believe you.”

“Then let’s talk about this interest rate.”

He shook his head. “No, that’s the standard way we operate. As long as you make regular payments, we won’t have a problem, will we?”

I hated the fact that my hand was shaking as I gripped the pen. “I need time to read this.”

“Fine.” He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk again.

“You’re just going to sit there and watch me?”

“What else would you like me to do? I’m not going leave you alone here for long. I might leave long enough to get you a snack if you’ve changed your mind.”

My stomach was in a knot. There was no way in hell I could eat anything, and the thought of swallowing a bitter cup of coffee made me gag. “Why don’t you go get yourself some coffee?”

He shook his head. “I’d rather watch you.”

I felt his eyes on me as I read over the terms. I didn’t understand all the legal jargon. I mostly paid attention to the numbers he’d filled in. I would have to hope there wasn’t something in here that was fucking me over even more than the outrageous interest rate.

What was I doing? Maybe I should send a partial payment back to Vegas and hope it was enough to keep them off my back for a few months.

I looked up at Vito. There was heat in his eyes as he watched me, and before I could speak, I had to swallow to get some moisture in my mouth. “I think I should handle this problem on my own.”

He shook his head. “Sign it, Zeke. Let me help you.”

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