Page 69 of I Would Beg For You

There’s no way out for me. At some point, the important people in my organization would have to be drawn into the confidence, so why not now?

Yet, I know why not. There’s a crucial revelation I don’t want to disclose. But I’ll have to.

I gulp down the whisky and tap the glass down hard on the desk. “I’m seeing Naomi Smith.”

“What?” Luciano stares at me with wide eyes, then he downs his glass in one gulp, too. “Fuck me.”

I sigh. “I know you’ll say it’s a bad idea—”

“It’s a terrible idea!”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I know who her father is. Yes, I know she’s much younger than me. Yes, I know—”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? What if he comes to know about it? He already has it in for us. For you!”

His recriminations are making me lose my patience. “And I’m going to take him down.”

“How?”

“I’ve already started.”

“By fucking his daughter?”

“Shut your mouth.”

He frowns. “You like her.”

I want to look away. Victor is the sensitive one in our family, but Luciano always saw things. When I was fourteen, I was concerned about finding out what lay hidden in a girl’s panties. At the same age, he was going straight for the heart of the girl he’d end up marrying.

“You’re even falling in love with her,” he continues.

If his tone hadn’t been soft and almost reverent, I would’ve scoffed. But I can’t. Frustration builds up inside me, and I run my hands over my face.

“I don’t know if I’m that far gone,” I tell him.

The etching of a smile plays on his lips. “You’re on the way.”

“Somehow, you’d know this, wouldn’t you, Dr. Love?”

“We’re resorting to name-calling now, huh?” He gives me a chin nod when I stay silent. “And how does she feel?”

I shrug. The memory of our last kiss in the apartment in Tribeca flitters in, and I can’t shake the feeling something’s wrong. We’ve hardly texted, let alone called or seen each other since then. I know she tends to get busy when the campaign hits the road, needing to be at her father’s side for his appearances. Anya sends me updates when I can’t bear the feeling of not knowing how Naomi’s doing. It’s comforting, in a way. I know someone is looking out for her. And as far as I’ve ascertained, Thad Billings has disappeared off the face of the Earth.

“Val?” Luciano asks.

I blink out of my thoughts, pushing the concern aside. “We’re taking it slow.”

His frown says he knows I didn’t answer his question, but he nods.

“She’s a good person,” he says.

I nod. “She is.”

“And you’re doing this for her? It does look like going after her father is also going against the current to win her over.”

“She’s not safe with him.”

He sits up straighter. “Tell me.”

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