Page 81 of Dangerous Deception

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ADELINA

“What do you mean, I can’tleave? I want to go home.”

“Addie, this is your home.” My father once again tries to take my hand, but something about the oppressive wall of guards between me and the door makes my anxiety spike higher and sharper than it has since that night in that shitty motel.

“Papà, I’m going home. To my actual home.”

“Addie—”

“Let me pass!” Jerking my hand out of his grip, I step up to one of the guards but he mirrors my movements and sidesteps with me. “Move!” Trying to shove past him proves useless within seconds and my pulse begins to race. “Caterina! Caterina!!”

“Caterina has been taken care of,” says my father, his voice soft as he returns to the table.

The prickling nerves down my spine flare worse. A chill steals across my shoulders and an unexpected sickness twists in my gut as I slowly turn to face him.

“Papà… what have you done?”

“I thought you would be grateful.” He sits with a relaxed sigh and returns to his meal.

“Grateful?”

“Having someone stalk you twenty-four, seven is hardly comfortable, is it?”

“She wasn’tstalkingme, she was protecting me. She’s my friend, Papà. What have you done to her?” The cold chill seeps deeper into my body, spreading through my chest like I’ve just swallowed a chunk of ice. “Tell me you didn’t hurt her.”

“I had her takencareof. That’s all you need to know,” he replies. “Now sit. Eat.”

“I’m not fucking hungry.”

His eyes snap to me. “Don’t you bring that foul language into my house.”

“You’re acting like this and the only thing that gets any kind of reaction out of you is myswearing?” I can barely contain my shock. The walls feel closer, and an itch develops in my hands. An urge to run. To get out of here before I find myself as trapped as I was in that motel.

“I raised you better,” he replies.

“Papà, how you raised me accounts to nothing when I’m a grown woman.”

“A grown woman who, if I may say, makes the most stupid decisions I’ve ever witnessed. Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps how I raised you is irrelevant because it clearly wasn’t well enough.”

I approach the table, trying to find a comfortable space between the guards and my own father. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking aboutthat.” He points aggressively at my stomach with his fork.

I immediately cover my abdomen with one hand. “The baby?”

“I know you had to let that terrible man touch you, but to let him impregnate you? It’s disgusting to think about. The only good thing that will come out ofthatis what we can do with it.”

My heart races so fast that it’s a blur of sensation in my chest, with odd, powerful beats slamming occasionally into my ribs. The floor sways, and I grab the back of the nearest chair for support. “I don’t understand. I thought you were happy for me?”

“You did misunderstand.” He shovels food into his mouth as if we’re having normal dinner conversation. “I will help you get rid of it, don’t worry, but having you carry it for a little longer works in our favor.”

“What?”

“Look around you, Adelina. Did you forget everything I taught you about Raffaele before the two of you got hitched? His rampages through every Italian family that ever looked at him funny. The businesses he stole. The women and children he slaughtered to ensure there’d be no one left to challenge him? Our city was becoming his bloodied playground and I was tired of waiting to see if we were next.”

I think of the children at the vineyard, snuck to safety under Raffaele’s watch. I think of the people he’s quietly helped and how every person he’s killed was a terrible, terrible person. On the outside, it does look like a mindless rampage, but I know better now. I see how deeply he cares for his people. I see the pain he carries and the responsibility to protect and aid those who can’t fight for themselves.

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