Page 6 of Dangerous Games of Trust

I look her over in fresh light. She’s not some bimbo who works in a dingy diner. A laugh escapes me. Of course she’s not. “Here to help me?” I mutter, glancing back to Maddox. His face is impassive, but I want to know what he makes of all this bullshit.What is his role here? But as usual, he doesn’t give a lot away, leaving me with more questions than answers.

“Yeah, girl, we’re going to get your life back. I’m a whiz with computers. Who do you think sorted out your fake identity last time? I can do it again if that’s what you want.” She wiggles her eyebrows, trying to entice me.

“Is this a game to you?” I snap, feeling disgusted. This is my fucking life.

“No, it’s not. I was just trying to lighten the mood, girl. Sorry,” she sasses back, and I know I’ve hit a nerve. She sulks back to her place on the sofa with Marco.

I find my brother’s eyes, waiting for him to tell me this is all some big joke; how could Dani be working alongside Geovani? But his face is deadly serious, and I know it’s not. “So, you weren’t some poor server?” I ask, appalled that another person lied to me.

“Sorry, girl, I was doing that job to watch over you. Boss’s orders.” She winks at Geovani, and his lips turn up in a sly smile. He’s not even going to deny he paid her as a spy to watch over me. He’s even shadier than the Moretti brothers, and that’s saying something.

I can see they’re close. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Actually, I know. I don’t fucking like it. What, were they having cute coffee catchups to compare notes on me? Was she telling him all the things I said about my hot trainer? Oh my God, all the things I told her about him. My cheeks heat at the thought, totally mortified. I was crushing on him majorly, and she was my closest friend. She knew it all except for the fact we slept together, but he had probably already filled her in on that. I’m a fucking idiot. The two of them were in it together all along. So much makes sense, how I landed that job so conveniently from a girl who I thought I just bumped into at the grocery store. Daniwas sent to find me and make sure I took that job alongside her so he could watch over me all along.

I turn to Geovani. “Carlo, you said it was him I was supposed to marry in that contract. You’re not here to force me to marry him?” The words cause bile to rise in my throat again. I cover my mouth, hoping it won’t escape this time.

“Fuck no, Red. You’re free. No one in this room will force you to marry anyone.” His words say one thing, but the way he shifts his eyes toward Maddox says another. I don’t like it. It feels like they’re all having silent conversations about me while I’m sitting right here.

“But your pa…” I question, knowing how scary he is. It’s not all as simple as Geovani is making it out to be, there is no way it could be.

“No one has seen him since the night he attempted to take you.”

He’s not in this place. That’s something. “But he’s out there somewhere.” I suck in deep measured breaths, because I know I’m about to have a fucking panic attack. I quickly stand and move over to the picture window, looking out over the city. Sinners’ Paradise, the Morettis’ casino, is in full view of this place. It’s an eyesore of a building. Opulent and showy just like the Morettis, covered in gold, with a sign so big you couldn’t miss it from space. I wonder if Enzo’s in there right now plotting my brother’s and my demise.

I’m curious to know if the other boys are lurking nearby, eagerly anticipating Maddox’s return to hear all about my activities. Alessandro would be furious by now that things didn’t go his way, and Ricky, well, I’m still mad with him for chaining me up against my will yesterday and not helping me to get out of there. He deserves to feel shitty today. I thought he cared about me, but when push came to shove, he chose the family over me.

“I have Carlo under control, he won’t be a threat for long.”

I am acutely aware everyone is watching me, waiting for me to take action or speak up, but I don’t care. I need time to process what they’re saying. To make sense of this. They can all fucking wait for me for once. “So, if I wanted, I could just walk right out the front door and none of you would bat an eyelid?” I mutter, not facing them. I can’t face them. Any of them. They have all betrayed me at one time or another, and now I don’t know who I can trust.

“We would strongly advise against it,” Maddox’s voice comes from right behind me. He lightly touches my shoulder, making me flinch in response, not expecting him to be so close. “You and your brother made some enemies yesterday. Probably best to lie low until Alessandro gets Enzo under control and Geovani finds Carlo, but we won’t force you to stay if you choose to leave.” He says the last part through clenched teeth, making it very obvious how he really feels about it.

“Lana, until we take back our family legacy, we have to be careful. You understand what I mean, right? You’re not going to do anything silly.” My brother backs Maddox up, coming to stand by his side, his massive arms crossed tightly over his chest. I can hear the concern in his voice. He knows our lives are on the line here.

“How stupid do you think I am? Of course I understand how serious this all is. That fucking family just had me locked up. I was about to be forced to marry one of them. What I don’t understand is, why still now, none of you will come out and actually tell me what the fuck is going on and what happened last night? Is it because you all think I’m too stupid to understand?”

Geovani has moved now to join the two of them. My attention flicks between the three of them, a building rage tightening every muscle in my body.

“Stop treating me like a useless fucking child and let me be a part of whatever this is. I may not have grown up in this world,but I’m starting to understand it, and I know for far too long, Enzo has held way too much power over all of you. It’s time to stop it.”

Marco’s hand comes to my back, making me stiffen. “Lana…”

“Don’t you fucking dare Lana me, patting me like a fucking kitten having a hissy fit. I’m deadly serious, Marco. I want details. Every last fucking thing our papa was up to. What you’ve been doing all this time and how screwed you really are now. What in the living hell was last night?” I seethe, every word I utter getting louder and angrier by the second. I’m done with playing nice. These assholes can’t control me anymore.

He stares back at me, his eyes narrowing, but his lips don’t move. I know he’s not going to tell me shit.

With a stomp of my foot, I turn and stride from the room, stomping all the way back up the stairs before slamming the door to the room I slept in last night. Fuck this shit. Fuck it all. I need a plan; I need fucking internet access. If they won’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to fucking find out myself, because there is no way I’m going to let them all push me around anymore.

The door flies open, and Maddox stands in the doorway. “Your brother sacrificed a lot to save you from a life owned by the Morettis,” comes his stern voice. I’ve pissed him off, but I don’t give a flying fuck.

I rotate my body to meet Maddox’s gaze, looking up at him, his hazel eyes haunted in a new way. What’s his part in all of this? “I get that. But Alessandro can track me. Won’t he work out where I am pretty damn quickly and come take me back anyway?”

He motions to my arm where the fresh bandage is wrapped tightly around. “I removed the tracking device,” he grunts out, like it pained him to do it.

My stomach churns thinking about how he did that, but maybe I don’t want to know, so I don’t ask. He took it out so theycouldn’t find me. He did it all for me. I want to ask him why he’s helping me, but part of me is too scared to know the real reason. Because deep down in my heart I know it already.

I walk to him slowly. “So, what, you’re willing to turn on your brothers?” I ask, my voice low. Something inside of me that still believes in fairy tales and hopes for a hero to come save me, ignites in a flutter. Maddox could be my dark twisted hero. I would be up for that fantasy.

As his eyes meet mine, I can see a deep darkness consuming them. There is so much more at play here, I can tell. “Not them. Only Enzo.”

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