“As far as I know, both him and Christian have been looking for you for at least a decade, if not longer. Your mom changed her name, and when she died, no one knew who you were or who your father was. You were a Jane Doe for a while, being passed around from foster home to foster home. Then someone decided to give you a name. I don’t know everything, but I do know that whatever Matteo is up to is bad. I have to get you away from him.”
“Xander said the same thing…”
“What do you mean, Xander said the same thing?” Zane’s expression becomes intuitive.
“Xander told me not to trust Matteo. Which I mean, coming from another mobster family doesn’t really mean much of anything, but given that he could’ve hurt me while I was being held captive and he didn’t, kind of speaks volumes to me.”
My eyes catch on the tightness of Zane’s jaw. “They’re both criminals, who would kill you the second you became useless to them.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust Xander?”
“Fuck, no. Why do you trust him?” The defensive tone he’s giving me makes it hard for me to want to answer him honestly.
“I don’t… I guess… Maybe a little.” I shrug. “I mean, he didn’t have to treat me the way he did. The room he kept me in was clean and quiet, and none of his men messed with me. He brought me clothes and made sure I was fed well. Although, I’m not supposed to tell anyone any of those things. Plus, I really liked his wife.”
“You met his wife?” Zane looks at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“Yeah, she came and hung out with me. Kept me company, so I wasn’t so alone.”
For a moment, it seems I’ve rendered Zane speechless. He just looks at me with wide eyes, his expression flat.
“Wow…I’m kinda shocked. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad he treated you well, but nothing you said is something Xander would do. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did this by design. Trying to keep you on his good side for some reason, but that would mean he knew who you were. Which puts you in danger and on his radar.”
“Ugh, I don’t know. All of this is too much. My brain needs a rest. All I know is that I don’t want anything to do with Matteo, even if he is my father. I don’t know him, and I don’t want to get to know him either.”
“And you shouldn’t. Matteo might be your father, but I don’t think that means much to a man like him, especially when he just found you. I don’t know what he has planned, but I won’t let him hurt you. Someone like him always has an agenda, and no matter what he says, you’re not safe here.”
Hearing him say exactly what I’ve been thinking this whole time, only solidifies what we need to do. We have to escape, but how if Zane is stuck under my new-found father’s thumb?
Sitting up, I move a little closer to him. I can feel his come dripping out of me and onto my thighs with the movement. Gripping him by the jaw, I gently turn his face to mine. “I’m not leaving without you, Zane.”
His dark gaze looks like it’s a million miles away when it finally meets mine. “I was afraid you’d say that…”
9
By the time morning comes, I’m in no better mood than I was when I went to sleep. The only thing I have to smile about is the fact that I have Dove in my arms when I wake up. Aside from that, I hate this place, and I hate that I’m stuck working for Matteo.
An insistent knock echoes against the wooden door.
“Tell it to go away,” Dove grumbles into my chest.
“I wish I could,” I reply and roll out of bed. I’m in nothing but my boxers, but I don’t care. I’d open the door if I was buck ass naked.
The knocking continues even as I walk to the door. Fondly, I remember a time when I killed men for lesser things. My hands itch to do some damage to whoever is on the other side of that door. Then again, the fact that I have Dove back should give me even more of an incentive not to do something stupid. Killing one of Matteo’s men or him would start a full-on war, and without anyone on my side, I’d be as good as dead, and so would Dove.
As soon as I open the door, I want to close it.
“Good morning. Matteo is requesting you have breakfast with him,” Karl sneers from just outside the doorway, his beady eyes try and see into the room, but I use my body as a shield to block him.