Page 34 of Dangerous Games of Trust

“Maddox, can you walk us out,” I ask him, needing to make sure he’s okay.

He looks at Alessandro, and the two of them share a look, then he follows me out the door. This is all so awkward, but that’s on me. Who in their right mind thought sleeping with four powerful men was a good idea. Not me. But somehow, here we are. Me falling for all of them more and more by the day, and the rift between the Morettis and the D’Amicos dividing further.

Chapter 17

A strange silence hungin the air between me and Geovani on our way back to his apartment. Something shifted between us tonight, something I don’t understand at all. But when we got home, Geovani didn’t go straight to his office like I thought he would. Instead, he followed me into our room and climbed into bed beside me, holding me all night. He didn’t say he was scared he could have lost me to the other boys or what he feared would happen when that truck came barreling through the wall at The Precinct, but he didn’t need to. I could feel it all.

He likes to be in control. Last night, he lost it. It rocked him to the core. When I woke up, he was still lost in a heavy sleep, so I crept out of the room in search of something to eat, thankful that for once he’s sleeping, and for another thing, I get a morning off from the gym. My poor tired body couldn’t handle another one of his brutal sessions.

As I savor my coffee and indulge in a slice of fresh sourdough with jam and butter, I am treated to a breathtaking view of the city landscape. I haven’t had much time to myself to enjoy itbefore now. There might only be four of us living here, but there is always something going on. Knowing he’s always watching me makes it hard to switch off and just relax.

Marco and Dani stroll out of the gym, with Marco’s sweaty arm casually resting on her shoulders. But she doesn’t seem to mind, she looks completely smitten with him. I find myself feeling a little jealous of them. Their relationship seems so simple compared to the mess I find myself in.

“The boss having a sleep-in?” Dani smirks.

“Last night was a lot,” I mutter, still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened myself.

She rises onto her tiptoes and plants a kiss on Marco’s lips. “I’m going for a shower,” she tells him before taking off up the stairs to their room. My brother moves into the room with me.

“Do you know who Bianca is?” I ask, hoping for some answers. That name has stuck in my head all night. She seems important to Geovani and Alessandro.

Nervously, he shifts his gaze toward the stairs and then back to me. “You need to have a discussion with Geovani about her. I can’t tell you anything, Sis.”

The sound of my teeth grinding fills the silence. I’m getting sick of that kind of answer. They all stick together, keeping me in the dark. “Uhm,” I grumble, pulling my legs up under me and staring out the window again. Sometimes I wonder why I bother opening my mouth. She’s someone important, that much is obvious by how quickly he shut me down about her.

I hear Marco move toward me then sit on the wood coffee table with a creak. “It’s his story to tell,” he explains more softly. “But you should definitely ask him about her.”

I give him a once-over, making it clear I’m not impressed he’s brushing me off, even if he’s trying to be nice about it. This small amount of time we have this morning with Geovani asleep is all I’ll get to ask this burning question and get an honest answer.

“Lana,” he says my name with exasperation. I shift my attention back to him, wishing I could have my big brother back. The one I really knew, or I thought I did. “What happened last night? Did you get to see the Morettis?”

“Yeah, I saw them.” A heavy sigh escapes from my lips. “Filled them in on all the family tree stuff Elisa worked out. They were shaken up about it, and then everything turned to chaos. I thought you said that bar was safe.”

His brow creases with deep worry lines. “It should have been. Why, what happened?” He sits up a little straighter.

“We were in the middle of our chat when a truck blasted through the wall of the private room we had been allocated. Someone knew exactly where we were. How do you suppose that happened?” My eyes narrow in on him, not accusing him of anything, but something’s not right, and I want to get to the bottom of it before we all get caught up in madness like that again.

Baffled, he runs his fingers through his long hair. My heart hurts for everything we have both lost. I know my papa sold me to Carlo, but he was always so good to me, so protective when I was younger. I just can’t understand how he could have just stopped caring about his little girl. My mind shifts to my ma, and I see her lifeless body lying on our bathroom floor. I know Marco told me he let her slip away, let her addiction take over, but I don’t believe that either. There is something we’re both missing, I’m sure of it. “Marco, who told you about what happened to our ma?”

Marco stands, walking over to the window staring out at the casino absentmindedly, the silence between us deafening. “Enzo.”

My chest feels like it’s going to explode. “And you just believed him?” I gasp out. “What if everything we know to be true is all some bullshit made up by Enzo to control you.”

He stares back at me, and I see the lost little boy who’s still trapped inside. He’s had the same thoughts, I can tell. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

I stand in a rush, pacing, way too much erratic energy filling me. I fucking knew it. That story was made up by Enzo to control my brother. All this time I have been blaming my papa, and it wasn’t him at all. Something way more sinister was going on, and I would bet Enzo had something to do with it even back then. I fucking hate that man. “What were you doing in Italy when he sent you there?”

He watches me stride back and forth wringing my hands. “Making sure all our contacts knew our family businesses were in good hands with the Morettis. Alessandro was running the car dealership back here. And all we had to do was wait for the two of you to be married so the families would be joined. Enzo would keep me on, filling the gap our papa left behind.” His haunted eyes meet mine, and I know what he’s fucking saying.

“And by car dealership, you mean trafficking drugs for Enzo?”

He nods. “I would do whatever Enzo wanted me to.”

My heart races out of control, imagining what Marco has done at the hands of that man. “You killed our papa because he told you to,” I cry.

“Our papa traded you to Carlo, he died because he signed a deal with the fucking devil himself. I did that to save you. I understand if you hate me for it, but I will never apologize for protecting you when our papa was too useless to. Never forget, Enzo might have been dishing out the orders, but our papa still chose to force this world on us. He was no fucking saint, Lana.”

His words hurt, even though I know how true they are. “What made you side with Geovani?” I whisper.

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