“To get away from you, Jace.” She stares down at me. The girl isn’t cut out for blood. She’d be safer, sent away, forced to live far from Los Angeles.
But there are other mafia families across the country. Any number of them could seize on the opportunity to take her, abduct, and torture her to get to me.
“You’re a murderer!” Maia’s nostrils flare with the accusation. “And a monster! How many men have you killed, Jace? Papa would be ashamed by the bloodshed, the deaths piling up.”
I’m silent, considering my options. Maia is a loose end, and an unraveled thread that, if pulled on, could destroy everything.
She must be stopped.
My silence must be aggravating to her. Her accusations grow even wilder. “Did you murder Papa too?”
“That’s enough!” I bellow and reach for her shirt, grabbing her by the lapels, pulling her close.
The middle button on her blouse pops, and it reveals a wire.
Who the hell is she working for?
The Feds?
“I was feeling generous, offering Olivia a place to stay,” I say.
I don’t need to admit there’s a selfish part of me also making sure that she doesn’t betray me. I have surveillance in the halls, on the building, and will know if she has any visitors who are trouble.
“Can we drop the subject?” I’m not asking. I’m telling him it’s done and that we need to move on to other matters.
“Fine. What do you need me to do?” Matteo asks.
“Contact the surrogacy agency and let them know that we’re going in another direction.”
“You don’t want to wait until after you’ve signed the paperwork? The lawyer called the office this morning and will have the papers ready by four this afternoon.”
“Good.” I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Are you sure about this?” Matteo asks.
“Hiring a surrogate or Olivia?” I suspect he has reservations about how I’ve handled this arrangement, and I don’t blame him. It’s not the least bit typical. But since when do I ever do anything by the books?
From the beginning, I made it clear to him that I wanted a girl who I could get to know in person, not on paper. Honesty and integrity are shown and not something that can be jotted down like accolades on a resume.
“It’s the girl.”
I sit at my desk. “Do you have something on her?” I expect that he’s run a background check on her behind my back.
He’s looking out for me and for what’s in my best interest.
“She has some pretty staggering medical bills,” Matteo says.
He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t ask.
“Anyone without medical insurance can easily become broke,” I say. It’s the system. I’ve seen it countless times.
Honestly, I don’t want to know if he found anything else.
Unless she wants to tell me, I don’t need to go digging for dirt. Everyone has baggage. I have enough skeletons in the closet.
Her past is none of my business.
As long as she’s healthy and the doctor agrees that she is a good candidate for surrogacy, whatever debts she has are in the past.