Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 163540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 818(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 818(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
“Morning,” I whisper.
“Mmm,” she moans. “You’re alive.”
I smirk.
“Were you trying to kill yourself yesterday?”
I kiss her neck as I feel my arousal begin to creep in.
“I thought you were going to die of alcohol poisoning,” she says.
“Sorry.” I hate that she saw me like that. “I don’t know what happened.”
She rolls toward me and leans up on her elbow. She’s all mussed up and looks so beautiful.
“Can we finish our conversation now?” she asks.
I frown. “What conversation?”
“You told me everything, Rico.”
I stare at her as panic begins to scream through my system. “About what?”
“I know about the crimes you’re involved in. I know about the Ferrara family business.”
My face falls. I’m rendered speechless.
I wouldn’t have told her. No way I would have told her.
“I know that you think you’re going to die soon.”
I open my mouth to say something, but there are no words. I roll onto my back as I put my forearm over my face. Fuck. I can’t even look her in the eye.
She’s leaving.
We lie in silence for a while.
“I’m sorry about my behavior last night. I’m appalled that you saw me like that. I’ll have Lorenzo pick your things up and return them to Milan for you,” I say as I climb out of bed in a rush.
She sits up. “Can we talk about this?”
“No.”
“I want to know what I’m dealing with here.”
“It’s more than you can handle, Olivia.” I pull my boxers up in a rush. “Trust me.” I storm from the room and downstairs as my heart goes into panic mode.
She’s leaving.
I hit the shutters, and the sound of them rising echoes around me. Light begins to slowly flood the house. I flick on my coffee machine and close my eyes as I mentally prepare myself for her exit. My heart’s racing. I’m sucking in deep breathes to try and calm myself down.
Warm arms come around me from behind. “Rici,” she whispers, and she kisses my back.
I close my eyes. The thought of her knowing what I am is too much.
Disappointing her is my worst nightmare.
“Just go,” I sigh. “It will be less painful if we just get this over and done with.”
“Just talk to me.”
“And tell you what?” I cry.
“I’m not judging you,” she says calmly.
“Aren’t you, Olivia?” I spit and turn to her. “’Because it sure fucking feels like it.”
“You grew up in this life…” she asks.
“Yes… and no.”
Her eyes hold mine. “What does that mean?”
I exhale heavily. “I found out about everything when my father died.”
She frowns. “Up until then you thought Ferrara was a reputable family business?”
“It is a reputable business,” I snap. “There are just some unsavory aspects of it, I’m going to clean it up… but it takes fucking time.”
“Like what?”
I shake my head in disgust. “I’m not discussing this, Olivia. Leave it.”
“Like what, Enrico. Tell me what unsavory means.”
“Brothels, strip clubs, illegal gambling.” I shrug. “Shit like that.”
“Drugs?”
“No. That was the first thing I stopped.”
Our eyes are locked.
“Murder?” she whispers. “Do you kill people?”
I roll my eyes. “This isn’t the fucking Godfather, Olivia. In the past, yes, but not anymore. We run reputable businesses in seedy places. That’s it.”
“I’m just so confused by this all.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “That makes two of us.”
She steps forward. “Why do you think you’re going to die?”
“I don’t!” I snap. “I was fucking blind drunk. Why would you listen to anything I said?”
“Because for the first time since we’ve been together, last night, you were actually making sense.” She puts her hand on my chest. “I knew something was off. Too many things don’t add up, and I knew with the amount of security you have…” Her voice trails off.
I clench my jaw as I watch her. She deserves the truth, I know she’s going to leave me anyway. I may as well tell her.
“For centuries, the Ferrara family have run Italy. They’ve done some pretty fucking appalling things. I didn’t know anything about it. I still know nothing. My father’s staff are limping me through it all until I learn enough to completely take over.”
She frowns. “Why were you so upset yesterday? What happened to make you like that?”
I stare at the floor for a moment, disgusted by what’s come to light. “I found out my father had a comare for thirty years. It turns out everything he told me was a lie and… I didn’t know him at all.”
“Comare?” She frowns.
“Another woman. Another family. They had a son.”
Her face falls.
“Even my mother knew.”
She stares at me, horrified.
“My brothers and I were the only ones who didn’t. I’m humiliated.”
Her face falls as she stares at me. “Oh, baby.” She wraps her arms around me, and I close my eyes at the comfort, even if it will be short lived. I need to get on with it. I step back from her.