Page 92 of With This Kiss
“Since the moment you stepped foot inside the bar. I knew all the high-ranking officials of the Caparelli Famiglia.”
“I’m not part of that.”
I had no skin in the game, and I never had any interest in being involved. The reason I stayed with my family was becauseI was born into it. No matter how much I wanted to leave, there would always be a part of me that felt loyal to it. It wasn’t something I could say about Caine. And how my heart hurt because of that.
“You don’t think I would do the same thorough research on Davide Caparelli and his family?”
I swallowed, feeling even more foolish. Of course he would. Of course he would have known who I was all along. Just like how Caine would have recognized Reign and Kingston just walking past them on the street. Why had I thought I could remain anonymous?
He smiled a little, his eyes brightening with amusement. “It didn’t help that you used your real name.”
I scowled at that. “Jamie is a pretty common name.”
“Not in this city.”
I looked down at my lap. “Then why did you let me approach you?”
His fingers moved along the outside of my thigh. “I wanted to see what your game was. And you’re cute. It wasn’t any hardship to play along.”
I scoffed, not looking at him. I didn’t think I could keep up the tough façade if I looked at him. I wouldn’t know which emotion to let win—my shame or my fear of him.
I wasn’t really scared of him, was I? I shook my head slightly from the thought. “And have you figured it out?”
He shook his head, drawing my attention back to his eyes. “What are you trying to get out of this?”
I took in a deep breath and said without hesitation, “I want Kingston dead.”
20
REIGN
While I managed to not show my surprise over her answer, fuck if that wasn’t the case.
She wanted Kingston dead?
What had Kingston done to her?
While my brother could be cold and callous on a good day, he never shared our father’s inclination to hurt women. Or children, for that matter.
He wouldn’t have hurt Jamie in any way… would he?
My fists clenched from the thought. I would fucking kill him if he had hurt Jamie.
I grabbed her hand and waited for her to look at me. It didn’t go unnoticed that she had been avoiding my eyes since we got inside the apartment. “Did he do something to you? How did you even meet him?”
“I…” She shook her head, her throat moving up and down as she swallowed. “I’ve never met him.”
I frowned. “Then why do you want him dead?”
“Because of Etta.”
It took me a second to place where I had heard that name. “Your friend? The one who committed suicide a few months ago?”
She flinched as I said it. I leaned in closer to her and brought her hand up to my lips, gently kissing the back of it in apology for my bluntness. Her brows pulled together as confusion clouded her eyes. Slowly, she pulled her hand away, as if she didn’t know what to think.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “She died a few months back.”
I could hear the heartbreak in her voice. I knew this must have impacted her greatly, but she had been so good at hiding it from everyone. Even me. Perhaps I hadn’t been paying enough attention to all her wants and needs as I thought I had.
