Her cheeks flush red, but it’s the murderous look in her eyes that turn me on. “We’re done here.”
I catch her arm again as she tries to turn away, using her momentum to propel her towards the backseat. “I don’t think we are,” I tell her lightly, holding the door open for her.
Her eyes flick between her guards and me, clearly trying to calculate what her odds would be of getting them to beat me up. Unluckily enough for her, I outrank her in every way—especially if Callahan has made it known how much he wants this alliance with the Italians. She must realize this because, with a huff, she finally slides in. I nod towards her security detail, waiting until they get into their own car before getting in after her. Niccolo checks to see if her guards are behind us before pulling away from the curb.
“Where are you taking me?” Cara asks curiously, eyeing Niccolo.
“Home,” I answer, shrugging. “That’s where you wanted to go, right?”
“Right.” She looks away.
“Cara, I know you might not want to talk about it, but I’m here for you. Really. You might not trust me, and I get we’re from two different backgrounds, but I do understand what you’re going through.”
She snorts. “Do you? I highly doubt that.” Her eyes catch mine, hard as steel. “You’re a man, Killian. In this world, you will always have more. More safety. More assurance. More control. You have no idea what this is like for me, so don’t even try to pretend to.”
“The Russians—”
“Wanted to send a message to my father. That’s all,” she snaps. “I have nothing to do with them, and I have no idea why my father owes them money.”
“Wait—what?” I frown. “Your father owes them money? For what?”
Her jaw clenches as if she’s realized she’s made a mistake. “Like I said, I have no fucking idea. So your little interrogation won’t get you anywhere.”
Except…it already has. She’s already told me something I didn’t know. I knew Callahan’s businesses were failing, especially out on the West Coast. However, I didn’t realize that he’d owed money to the Russians. The Bratva dealings were sometimes unsavory. Sure, ours were too. Weapons, drugs, the works. But the Bratva were less worried about quality than they were with the money. They had no qualms working with the worst of the worst. At least we had some standards, some type of moral code that prevented us from selling nukes to potential terrorists.
The difference between the Russians and us was this—they’d sell to anyone with the right amount of money. We actually made sure those weapons were more for defense in order to keep our city and territories safe.
“What do you think your father was doing?” I try to get her to look at me so I can see the truth in her eyes, but she turns towards the window instead. “Guns? Drugs? Something else?”
“I don’t know, Killian.” From her tone of voice, she sounds just as irritated about not knowing as I do. Which makes sense. Cara’s been trying to show her father that she can be involved in the family business. Business school. Balancing his books. If her father purposely left her out of this, it has to bother her.
“Well, maybe that’s something we should figure out together,” I say, deadly calm. “Especially if your family’s debts will become ours soon enough. I need to know these things…or I don’t see this working out.” The threat is clear enough. I can tell she understands by the way her fingers curl in her lap.
As much as I hate threatening her, I can’t allow Callahan to potentially put my family in danger. Whatever he did, we have to know about it. Being blindsided and manipulated into a marriage alliance while Callahan withholds information…that would be bad for everyone. But especially for him. And his daughter.
“Killian.” Cara bites her lower lip, hesitating. “I’m sure my father wasn’t keeping this from your family for any sinister reason. Knowing him, he probably thought he could deal with it on his own. That everything would be settled by the time we…solidified the agreement.”
“And what would he do if he couldn’t deal with it on his own?” I bite out. “Let us figure it out by ourselves? Surprise us?” I can feel myself getting angrier by the second. Just the thought of her family betraying mine…
“The debt might not be anything too bad….” She trails off, and I know she isn’t as confident in that answer as she wants to be. “He would have told me,” she says finally.
“Really? Like how he told you about his businesses going under before he tried to sell you off to me?” I sneer. “I don’t think you’re in his confidence as much as you’d like to be,tesorina.”
She flinches, but I ignore her. My phone goes off, vibrating in my pocket. Taking it out, I check the caller I.D. It’s not a number I recognize, and I’m not about to answer it.
“Wait.” Cara stops me before I can slip my phone back into my pocket. “That’s Owen’s number.”
“Your father’s general?” I swipe the screen open, answering the call. “Hello?”
“Mr. Scarano?” A heavy Irish accent comes up on the other line. “I was told Ms. Ryan is with you?” He sounds anxious. Worried.
“She is.” I glance at Cara. She leans in closer, trying to listen in. “Is everything alright?”
“No, lad. It isn’t.”
29
CARA