I snorted. “They aren’t hurting. I spent a little time digging last night. Even if we dismantle the ring, they have other sources that fatten their accounts. Aside from that, I’m all for taking them down, which is why I’m considering marrying Mia.”
“It concerns me that she found you there. It’s not a well-known destination for us by anyone outside our family.” The distinct sound of the coffee machine told me Marco was in the kitchen.
“I’ll find out how she accomplished that.”
“You’re seriously considering this alliance?” Marco drew out his question. “The only way out of marriage is death.”
“Hers. Yes. I’ve thought about that. It’s worth the sacrifice to dismantle the trafficking ring.”
“Fine. I’ll leave the final decision to you. If she’s with us, she can divulge a lot about the three New York families. But on the other hand, she could be working with one or more of them to try to take our family down from the inside.”
“That crossed my mind too. I’ll keep you posted.” I disconnected the call then let myself back into the house. I heard the bathroom door open in the guest room. She would be out momentarily.
I looked out the sliders to see Geo hovering and motioned him inside. With a gun strapped to his hip, two in a shoulder holster, and a black baseball cap, he appeared just as threatening as he was.
The sliders opened enough for his large frame to pass through. He stopped about a foot from where I was, near the island. “Hey, boss.”
“Any problems?”
He frowned. “We increased the perimeter rotation, but security is still glitchy at best. It should be repaired in a few hours.”
I nodded, not too worried. Until Mia, there hadn’t been an issue here for as long as I’d been coming with my family. “Thanks for the update.”
He left as quietly as he’d come. I grabbed a bowl of precut fruit from the fridge and set it out, aware that Mia most likely heard our conversation. I was leaning against the counter when she emerged from the hallway, wearing white capris and a black scoop-neck shirt with the same gold necklace I’d noticed last night.
Downing my last sip of coffee, I said nothing as she took a seat across from me at the island. I was furious. She was right that we owed her—not marriage, necessarily, but a favor for tipping Summer off to the danger she was in. And though Mia had used it as a negotiation tactic, it hadn’t held the weight that the other bomb she’d dropped on me had.
She curled her hands around the mug of coffee I’d placed in front of her. Neither of us said a word as she took her first sip. When she set the cup down, my patience had worn thin.
“There are too many unknowns between us for me even to consider a marriage with you.” I bent so that my forearms rested on the island then leaned toward her. “You have one hour to come clean with what that nightmare was about, why you screamed Ricco’s name, and the real reason behind running from your family.”
From over the rim of her mug, she watched me. After drinking half of the coffee, she set it down, crossed her arms, then leaned on the island, mimicking my pose. She briefly pressed her lips together before huffing out a breath. “That’s fair, so long as I have your word that this marriage will go through. That you will protect me.”
“Tell me everything. Then I’ll give you my answer.”
She squinted, clearly not trusting me. “In a blood oath.”
I couldn’t have stopped the grin if I’d tried.Well played. “The oath will include your agreement to tell me everything, not to keep any pertinent information regarding the New York Mafia families from me, and not to divulge any secrets you may learn from the Five Families.”
Her nod wasn’t enough of a response, but I would get her promise on both points if I put my future on the line by tying it to hers. “Tell me.”
“The nightmare is irrelevant.”
I took in the stubborn tilt of her chin, wondering if it was worth pushing the point. “Then clue me in to what is important.”
“Taking down the trafficking ring.”
“I’m well aware of that.” I worked to keep my tone level and calm, in complete opposition to the frustration I was feeling. “You have to give me more. Otherwise, I’m washing my hands of this situation right here and now.”
Her hand came down with a loud crack on the marble countertop. “I’m giving you a freaking map to take down my family’s sex trafficking ring!”
“And you could be a plant that the New York Mafia is using to take down the Five Families! Why did you scream Ricco’s name?”
“It was a nightmare,” she gritted out from between clenched teeth.
“What did Ricco do?” I used to do the same to Sofia when I wanted answers to something. I’d stay calm but relentlessly ask annoying questions, regardless of her response. Eventually, she would scream the information I wanted. While Sofia could endure torture without giving up even a hint of what was sought, that approach often broke through her barriers. I wasn’t threatening, intimidating, or trying to harm her. The relentless line of questioning usually worked.
“He’s my stepbrother. What didn’t he do during the years we were in the same household?” She shifted her balled fists so they were in her lap and out of my line of sight.