Page 20 of My Italian Stepbrother

He gestures for me to follow him into his office and I do. It’s small and dimly lit. There’s one window with tightly closed blinds where small rays of sunlight peak through.

“What made you decide to call me?” he asks after taking a sip of his coffee.

“Like I said yesterday, there’s a lot I don’t know. I’ve only known Benito a short time, and he’s not exactly forthcoming about his past.”

He takes a deep breath, steeples his fingers, and looks at me for a moment, pulling his lips into a tight line.

“You have a strong stomach?” He tilts his head and raises his brow.

I open my mouth to clarify what he means, but he pulls a folder out of his briefcase before I can. My heart sinks in my chest. I don’t know if I want to find out what he meant.

“Your brother is suspected of committing a lot of crimes, Miss Stevens.” He opens the briefcase and rifles through it to pull out a file. He peers at me and lowers his voice. “A lot of violent crimes.”

He lays a folder with the name ‘Benito Bareli’ printed on it in front of me. I gulp and reach for it with shaky hands. When I open it, the first thing I see is his full criminal history. His first arrest was when he was twenty for drug possession; he got out early on good behavior. His second arrest was for armed battery, and again, he got out early on good behavior.

The trend continues all the way to his arrest four years ago, where it’s noted that he got out early on good behavior. I turn the page and gasp when I see a crime scene photo from his murder conviction.

Lewis stares at me while I look at it with horror all over my face. There’s blood everywhere, and the man in the picture has been beaten to death. I must have physically turned green with how quickly Lewis hands me a waste bin. I grab it as bile rises in my throat, and I vomit.

He grabs the folder and puts it back in his briefcase before standing and getting me a small plastic cup of water from the cooler. Lewis hands it to me, and I drink it down quickly.

Benito didthat? Tears well in my eyes, and I blink them away. I can’t believe he’s capable of such a brutal crime, but then again, I know so little about him he could be capable of anything.

He did that, and I’ve been sleeping with him. My skin crawls, and I feel my stomach churning more. I swallow more water to try and quell it.

“How sure are you that he's responsible for that?” I ask, desperately hoping there’s even a shred of uncertainty and Benito could be innocent.

“We’re positive. His DNA is all over the victim,” Lewis replies quietly.

I sit back in my chair and grip the armrests, taking deep breaths in and out to try and regain my composure. I knew coming here wasn’t going to be easy. Why would a PI approach me with information if it wasn’t something bad? I wasn’t expecting this, though.

The worst part of this entire situation is that I’d have to go back home after this and pretend like I didn’t see that photo. Like I don’t know about Benito’s criminal history and all the bribes his father has made to keep him out of jail. I know he’s going to try to fuck me again, and with my attraction to him, I might just let him without second thoughts.

But I can’t make it obvious that I know about any of this.

“I’m not on this case because of your brother,” Lewis says after a moment and I look at him with confusion. “Your brother, Enio, all those men who come and go from your house. They’re a danger to society, and I’m trying to get them all put away for good.”

“I don’t have any information to give you,” I admit, lowering my eyes to my hands to avoid looking at him.

He nods and rubs a hand across his forehead. “Well, if things change, you know where to find me.”

I gladly take that as my cue to leave and quickly exit his small office. Once I’m back in the car, I completely lose control and bang my hands against the steering wheel while tears stream from my eyes.

15

BENITO

Irub my eyes and blink several times to make sure I’m not seeing things. I’ve been thinking about Brie the entire time I’ve been following this PI, but the last thing I expect is to see her walking out of his office.

How could she do this? What does she even know about us to tell him? My own family, the woman I love, is giving information to this guy.

I completely lose focus on what I’m here for, and all I can think about is Brie walking out of his office casually like she didn’t just stick a knife in my back.

When I remember her sneaking out of my father’s office, I stiffen, sweat dotting my forehead. What did she find in there that she just told this man?

Did she use me for information? I think back to when I caught her, and I realize I had gotten so carried away in my sexual frustration that I lost sight of why I was punishing her to begin with. She never did tell me what she was really doing in my father’s office.

I stop watching the PI and keep my eyes on Brie. She gets back in her car but only stays inside and doesn’t drive away for a few minutes. What the hell is she doing in there?

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