Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jake

I know I fucked it up.

I did not learn what I was after in terms of information, but that isn't even what's bothering me.

Today, I watched a beautiful woman start to come alive under my fingertips, and then I scared her right back into her shell.

Fuck.

I hate that I scared her. Hate that I hurt her.

I don't know what's happening to me. I've spent a decade dreaming of revenge on Toni Carcetti.

I've plotted, and planned, and punched my way into this position. And Antonia Carcetti, my sweet, innocent temptress, is dismantling my dreams and reshaping my intentions one blue-eyed glance at a time.

How do I explain to her that lately, I could feel myself slipping into the abyss that I'm sure consumed my brother. I'd stopped caring about life. I'd wondered what it might be like to let the darkness take me.

That's why I'm getting out .

Nia's right about what her family will do to her if they find her. But if I claim her, I'm never leaving this life. I'd have to stay to keep her safe.

But the thing is…when I'm with her, the world is far brighter.

I want to trace her curves far more than I want to hurt anyone, including her father.

I enter the bedroom to find her under the covers of her bed, the blankets pulled up over her head.

Fuck.

Not even bothering to dress, I pivot and head out to the kitchen, making her a cup of coffee that I carry back into the room.

Beneath the blankets, she's softly crying.

"Sweetheart," I croon, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I've brought you that coffee."

"All right," she says, not coming out.

"Come have a sip. It will make you feel better." I reach down to touch her but stop, not sure if I'll make things better or worse.

"I don't think coffee solves this problem," she answers, but she stirs under the covers.

"It'll help." I rest my elbows on my knees, using my index finger to rub that spot between my eyebrows.

I know what I want from Nia. What's become less clear is the consequences of taking information from her. I'm trying to find my path forward. Which way keeps me from following in my brother's footsteps? Helps my nephews? Betraying Nia or protecting her?

I'm starting to feel as stripped bare as she is. "New story," I murmur my eyes still closed.

I hear the covers rustle.

"Three years before my brother died, my father just disappeared. At that point, he was in his sixties and not really part of the business anymore. He was never found. One day there, the next day…poof."

She gasps and I open my eyes to find her just peeking out from the covers, her red-rimmed blue eyes staring at mine. I reach over and stroke my thumb over her cheek.

"What happened to him? "

"Don't know," I shrug. "We have no idea if it was an old vendetta, a random act, an accident, or a decision to just leave."

"How did you feel?"

I don't talk about my feelings. Ever. But this is about trust and giving to get, and I know I have to tell her the truth. The moment I started pushing my agenda, she shut down. "Our relationship was complicated, but he was my father. I hate not knowing…"

"I can imagine."

"And that's the thing about this morally bereft life. Eventually, it swallows us all, I think." I don't tell her I'm trying to get out. But before I do leave Vegas and all its trappings behind, I'll do the job I know my nephews don't have the darkness to complete. My heart speeds up in my chest and I rub at my breastbone.

"You think it will swallow Toni too?"

The fact that she's talking about Toni is perfect. And I get far more information out of her for sharing about myself, but I feel the bonds between us tightening. "Sooner rather than later."

I need to remember why I'm fighting, and she needs to know it too. If Nia is going to help me, she's going to volunteer what she knows, I'm not going to extract it.

"He always seemed invincible to me."

"No man is invincible. Three years after my father disappeared, my brother was gunned down."

She nips at her lip, her hand sliding up my biceps in a clear sign of comfort. I meet her eyes then, wanting her to understand. "And Mason, he came to us with a plan to make us legitimate. No more guns, no more violence. It wasn't that simple, but we've mostly lived it. And I honestly thought it might save us. Me and my nephews."

She stares at me.

"And then," I whisper, leaning closer. "Vendetti bombed Mason's building while Charlotte was inside."

Nia gasps, and I slide my fingers into her damp hair at the base of her neck.

"And little Anthony put a gun to Kim's head."

Her eyes go wide. "And that's when the rules changed. Because Kim and Charlotte, they are our family now. Our women. And we are their soldiers."

She nods like she understands. I lean close enough that my forehead comes to hers. She doesn't pull away. If anything she leans into me, our breath mingling. "And when a woman joins our family, she gets the full weight of our protection."

I kiss her lips and she doesn't skirt away. Nia needs to feel protected. Safe. Who can blame her? But that's how I win her. I don't even question why I want to win. Is it my war or her betterment?

Instead, I kiss her again. "I offered to marry you, sweetheart. If you accept, you get the entire Kincaid family as your soldiers. Understand?"

She nods, this tiny movement.

I draw in a deep breath. I'm so close…so close to attaining what I've wanted all this time. But I can't even think about it now. The fresh scent of soap and the soft slide of Nia's skin fill my senses. Am I hurting her? Making her real promises? It's all twisted together.

"And I promise you. We are not criminals. Not like your father. We run a legitimate real estate empire. Yes, we work with families like yours. Mostly, Mason loans them money to keep them in check. The one exception to our legitimate life is…"

But it's Nia who answers. "When the people you love are threatened."

I run my fingers through her hair. "That's right."

"Why do you want to know if Toni is my father?"

My teeth grit together. She isn't ready for the truth. Her being a witness against her father puts a price on her head that I'm not sure I can protect her from. She's already in so deep…

My offer of protection is mostly fake. It makes my fingers tighten in her hair, my stomach twist into dissatisfied knots. I want to make it real. I do. But first, I need the information I came for and then I can figure out if I can keep her safe.

"How hard is he going to fight for you?" I ask, my fist clenching into my side as I wait for the information I was always here to collect .

She shrugs. "Hard. He'll come for me because I belong to him, because he has plans for me."

I sit up, staring down at her. What kind of plans? I clamp my jaw together to keep from asking.

Because I'm back to caring more about Nia than about my family's plot to remove Toni forever. And also, I had no idea that Nia had a purpose in the family. I took her because she has information. How bad is this? How much have I hurt her. And my family? Is this going to blow back on them? A brick settles in my stomach.

"But if you're asking if he cares for me, I doubt it. I'm just a tool." She fingers a lock of her own hair, which is drying, the blond becoming increasingly apparent.

"He's not your father." I don't ask. She doesn't have to say anything.

She shakes her head. "No. It was a tennis coach, I think. I've seen one picture. Blond hair, blue eyes." She shrugs.

I'm trying to decide how I determine the plan that Toni has for Nia. But before I ask, she takes another sip of her coffee.

"I know you offered to marry me, Jake, for my protection. But it isn't good enough, no matter how much money your family has. Not unless you'd be willing to forgive the debts my father owes, and I know you won't."

I stare at her, trying to make sense of those words. How would Nia bring in enough money to get her father out of debt?

A niggle of understanding snakes down my spine and a rage begins to build in my chest. The piece of shit wouldn't…

"If you told me you could make me disappear, like witness protection, that would be different. But I doubt you can."

"Why would you think I couldn't?"

"I should have said, I doubt you will . Because all I can I figure is that I'm here to act as bait."

I keep my face expressionless, but inwardly, I grimace. It's not far from the truth.

She looks away, setting her cup on the nightstand between the beds. "Toni is no man to underestimate. He'll kill me and he'll kill you too if he finds us. "

She wraps her arms around herself as I slip off the bed, resting on my haunches so that our faces are level. Does she understand that if I do what she asks, I'd be losing the witness I need?

I'd be giving up my future, the one where I get out of this life and maybe the future of my nephews. They need me to do what they can't. Shamelessly use an innocent woman who is the one person who is still alive who can prove Toni Carcetti is a murderer.

I'm facing a decision that means her or the safety of my family. "So if I let you go, for example, Toni does what with you?"

"He marries me to some mob boss in Italy."

Fuck. My hand is on her hip before I can stop it, like I'm going to physically hold her away from Toni.

"And if you protect me, then I'm assuming your plan is ruined."

I don't answer. She hasn't asked me what my plan is, not that I'd tell her. But Nia has always been intelligent, and she's realized, without knowing my plan, that we are at an impasse.

I have to choose her, my family, or come up with a new plan. I stare into those big blue eyes as she nips at the shell-pink full lips.

"So, Daddy? What's it going to be?"