Page 15 of Cruel Secrets

A broad smile crosses his face. “I know. I thought that band was shit too, but your mom always liked them.”

If it’s possible for a heart to explode, mine does.

And at the same time, I feel terrible that he’s able to comfort her.

I know this is just the first time and the next time it might not be so easy, but there’s a small part of me that wishes it was harder for him.

Instead of dwelling on it, I nestle back in the seat and close my eyes, knowing it’s going to be a long drive one way or another.

* * *

The car stopsin front of a house with black siding and windowpanes. The door is a maple-toned wood that stands out against the dark. Soft lights shine on either side of the door as we walk up the path from the driveway to the house.

I glare daggers into Royce’s back as he carries Bianca into the house, but to my surprise, he sets her car seat down in the living room instead of opening up a secret door and descending into some basement with holding cells.

His family is rumored to have multiple holding facilities spread all over New York, but this doesn’t look like one of them.

I would’ve thought that if I was going to be a hostage, I would’ve been kept in a cell somewhere. Maybe Bianca would’ve gotten better accommodations.

What I wasn’t expecting was to be taken to a house.

A nice house at that, with warm-toned hardwood floors and buttery soft suede furniture. Neutrals flow throughout the house, making it look nothing like the modern apartment we used to spend time in.

“What are we doing here?” I ask, needing an answer for why I’m not in some cell somewhere.

Royce shrugs and turns to get the rest of the things from the car. “It’s one of the safe houses I own. Good location. Nobody around to hear you scream.”

A shudder rolls through my body, heat gathering low in my core. “Yeah, I get that, but there aren’t any bars on the windows. No men with guns standing by the doors.”

He crosses his arms, muscles flexing slightly and sending a spark of heat through my body. “I can get those here if you’re going to be a problem.”

“I’m not going to be.”

“Well then, I don’t think I have to worry about bars and guards for now. You fuck up, though, and they’ll be here within minutes.”

I don’t know what’s going on or why I’m here, but there’s a look in his eyes that tells me I’m better off not knowing exactly what happened.

My gaze drops to Bianca as she murmurs in her sleep, her head turning to one side. “What are you going to do to me?”

Royce strokes a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know.”

The words are sharp shards slipped beneath my fingernails, forcing their way to the bone. A shiver runs up my spine, the heady scent of his cologne only making my head spin faster. Bianca snuggles closer to me in her sleep, but there’s little comfort in her warmth.

Royce doesn’t know what he’s going to do to me—and somehow, that makes this worse.

CHAPTERFIVE

ROYCE

Tires crunchagainst the gravel in the driveway as I rush to the door, hauling on my boots as fast as I can. It isn’t the sound of his arrival that has my heart racing—it was the woman standing in my kitchen warming up a bottle for our child.

A child I’m not supposed to have.

If Aiden walks through that door, if he sees Gia or Bianca, then this is all over. While there is no hiding this forever, I can hide it for now.

Allowing Aiden to find out before I’m ready to tell him costs me more than just the careful control I’m keeping over my secret.

I’d lose my family.

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