4
Karina
It’d be a lie to say that I’d never thought about that party, seeing Aurielo again, or introducing him to his son.
But not like this.
“Alessandro Rinaldi, as in the head of the Rinaldi crime family? You work for the mafia?” I can’t hide the terror that forces me into a cold sweat.
I can never let him know that he has a son, that Ashton is his child.
“You will marry me, Karina, and I will protect you.” Aurielo steps closer toward me.
I keep a safe distance, as safe as I can, considering the circumstances. I’m practically walking in circles around a bloody guy slumped in a chair with Aurielo closing in on me.
Is the man bound to the chair dead?
I don’t see him breathing. I want to reach out, check his pulse, help the man, but I can’t do that while defending myself.
“I don’t need your protection,” I scoff.
Yeah, I could have used that the night we slept together.
But then Ashton wouldn’t have been born, and I love my son more than anything in the world. I’d lay my life on the line for him.
“If you want to live, you’ll marry me and become part of the Rinaldi family.”
I press my lips tight together.
I want to live. I want to see my little boy again, but marrying the monster standing just a few feet away, it’s the last thing that I want to do.
He’s forcing me to marry him.
“And if I say no?”
“Then I’ll have to follow the don’s orders. I’m giving you an alternative to death.”
I’m not afraid of dying, but I am terrified that he’ll discover he has a son. Surely my sister won’t know what happened, and if the savage watches my funeral or worse attends the event, I can’t protect Ashton if I’m dead.