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Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 23.1
“Would you take a breath and let me—”“No,” I snap, though I regret it when his eyes bulge. He’s breathing hard, barely controlling himself, and all it took was being questioned. Something as simple as that, and he’s ready to explode in rage.Backing away toward the door, I make up my mind. “I’m signing the lease on that apartment tomorrow. This was all a mistake.”“Caterina.” He throws his hands into the air, hands I’m afraid of again. He was stalking me. “What? You thought I was going to let you live just anywhere? If you’re this determined to live on your own, I could afford a much nicer place in a guarded building. I followed you from work, big deal. You can’t expect me to sit back and let you march into trouble.”This isn’t the first time I’ve imagined living in a cage, is it? I didn’t realize how right I was.Now, I see it all. “You’re just as bad as my father. Trying to control every part of my life.” It’s hard to breathe once the full weight of this sits on my chest. I’ve exch
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 24
GianniWhen I think I understand this girl, she leaves me wondering what the hell I was thinking, getting involved with her. The back and forth, up and down—it’s enough to make me want to throw her out on her ass and forget I ever set eyes on her.“Please, don’t hurt me,” she whispers, cowering like a trapped fox when the hounds have closed in.How dare she? She thinks I’ll let this go? Pretend this was only a misunderstanding? I’ve killed men for insulting me less than she has. Practically spitting in my fucking face after everything I’ve been willing to sacrifice.How does she repay me? Running from me in my own home. Forcing me to chase her down.And after all that, she thought a locked door would stop me from getting to her? Have we met? Does she not know me? As if I would let her get away. As if I wouldn’t stop at anything to make sure I have her forever.“You can’t run from me.” I’m panting, grinding my teeth, hungry for the sound of her apologies. To make her hurt.At the same
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 25
CaterinaOf all things, why would I dream about getting stung by a bee?That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I wake up. My ass is sore all over, but there’s a different sort of stinging, too. I must be imagining it.I don’t know where I am right away, and I’m afraid to open my eyes. Why am I afraid? There’s dread weighing on me, tapping the back of my mind when I’m still half asleep.Warning me.It doesn’t take long to figure out why once it all comes back. I don’t even remember falling asleep. Somehow, I did, and now here I am. Naked and in bed, but not the one in Tatiana’s room. This room has a masculine smell to it, and I recognize it right away.He brought me to his room. And he’s next to me. I hear him typing away on his laptop. His spicy, masculine scent fills the air.Right away, my heart flips, and I feel all hot and clammy. I don’t have any reason to, really—he’s working quietly, not bothering me. I’m sure he thinks I’m still asleep. And although he undressed me whi
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 25.1
I can do this.I’m going to do this.I only wish I didn’t feel like I have to look over my shoulder the whole time, like Gianni’s going to jump out from behind a trash can or something. I can’t trust him not to follow me around. And he expects me to give up almost everything.I can’t do that. I won’t. Even if it means I can’t be with him.The way it has all morning, the thought makes me feel sick. Why does he have to be the way he is? There’s a difference between being sexy and commanding and telling me what I can and cannot do. He might have relented for now, but I’m understanding the way he thinks. He’ll find another way to control me.Now I’m supposed to learn to live without him. I hate him for putting me through this.But not enough to walk into the building and up to the apartment I plan on leasing. I was just fine getting here and walking up to the front stoop, but this is as far as my feet want to carry me. It’s just a lease. I can do this—no, I need to do this.But what happen
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 26
Gianni“Boss?”The sound of Roger calling for me out in the hall is what breaks the resolve I’ve barely been able to hang onto once five-thirty came and went. That was more than a half hour ago, and there’s still no sign of her.She lied to me. She fucking lied to my face when she said she’d come home after work. I’d get a phone call if there was traffic or some emergency. Unless she was trying to avoid me.Which means that’s exactly what she’s trying to do. She’s too responsible for this to be anything but deliberate.I’m already halfway to the door before I bellow in reply. “What the hell do you want?”He was on his way across the hall and now falls back a step. “I had a handful of contracts for you to look over. The new shipments?” He extends a handful of folders.Folders I ignore. “I don’t have time for this shit right now.” The damn things could be written in Sanskrit, and I wouldn’t notice. I can’t care about anything but Caterina. Why isn’t she here? Why hasn’t she called?Did
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 26.1
“I’m sorry.”She squeezes my hand, groaning, and the sound threatens to break what’s left of my heart. Seeing her like this—the IV in her arm, the bruising and scrapes along the left side of her face, her arm, her leg—is almost worse torture than when I forced myself to stay away from her.There’s nothing I can do to take the pain away. I’m helpless, and I’ve never been a man who handles helplessness well.“What are you apologizing for?” When she licks her dry lips, I pick up the Styrofoam cup of water from the wheeled table next to the bed and guide the straw to her mouth.She takes a sip and tries to smile, but it looks more like a grimace. “For not calling sooner. I was so out of it, and they had my purse. They didn’t give it back to me until I came up from getting all those tests done. I don’t even know what half of them were.”I could kick myself to death. There I was, cursing her, prepared to tie her to my bed and leave her there until she rotted. While she was alone here at the
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 27
CaterinaWhat day is it?That’s the first question that comes to mind when I open my eyes, but then it usually is. It’s bad enough when I take a nap in the middle of the afternoon and wake up without the slightest clue of what time or day it is. Adding painkillers to the mix makes it impossible to keep track of time.When I check my phone, the date reflects back at me like a neon sign.Four days.It’s been four days since the car hit me. Four days of in and out of consciousness while random shows play on the big TV mounted on the wall across from the foot of the bed.Sometimes, I wake up, and it’s night, and Gianni is next to me. All it takes is a soft grunt or a sigh, and he’s beside me, asking if I’m okay, if I need anything, or if he can make me more comfortable. He can’t be sleeping well. I warned him last night that if he doesn’t start sleeping for real, he’ll end up in the hospital.Just thinking about waking up with a bright light shining in my eyes and the paramedics loading me
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 28
GianniCome on. Make the right choice. Give me the go-ahead.This is a big step. I wish there was a way to make her understand what it means for me to leave this in her hands.Control is my thing. Before I met her, it was the one sure thing that would always get me off. Knowing I called the shots, that I held lives in my hand. Everything happens according to my schedule—when I’m damn good and ready.Then along comes this girl, and everything I thought I knew about myself went out the window the moment I stopped thinking of her as a child and saw her as the woman she is. It’s times like this, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting with bated breath for her to make up her mind, that I almost wish we’d never met.But that would be a mistake, like cutting off my nose to spite my face.In the end, this is for her sake. A small sacrifice on my part, so she’ll feel like she has the room to make choices for herself. I know how important that is to her. And if it means making sure she does
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Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 98
When I try to send a text in response, it goes undelivered. The number comes up as ID Blocked. No surprise.“I'm wondering if we should have brought more men,” he grunts, swerving around a slow-moving minivan. A glimpse at the passenger side mirror reveals the car behind us, matching our speed, following Roger's every move.“Between the five of us, if we can't handle it, then we have bigger problems.”“What if this is all a way of drawing us out? Whoever is behind this would know I'd come on the run.”“Do you want to take that chance?” He glances away from the road to stare at me for a moment. “We can always call for more backup.”“By the time they get there, what point would it make?” We're already halfway there as it is. “I don't want to wait for them.”Besides, this doesn't feel like an attack is imminent. It feels more like the attack has already taken place, I'm afraid. I don’t want to think about what we might discover when we arrive. Don't let it be Caterina. Don't let it be Ta
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 97
GIANNI“You can tell summer's winding down.”I look up from the spreadsheet Roger insisted we compile—always organized, which I suppose I should be grateful for even if a Friday evening spent poring over spreadsheets isn’t my idea of a good time. “What do you mean?”“It's already starting to get dark, and it's barely past seven o'clock.”Sure enough, a look out the window confirms this. “I wonder how long the girls will be out.”“You know how it gets sometimes. Crack open a bottle of wine or two, and time melts.”“I don't think they'll be doing that tonight.” When he lifts an eyebrow, I break the news I've been waiting all week to share. “This stays between us, but Caterina is pregnant.”Now both brows lift. “Oh. I... congratulations?”I can't help but grin. “Yes, congratulations are in order.”“And she's happy about it?”“You know. Things are still complicated.” I'm trying to be kind toward Charles for her sake, but I can't pretend his bias against me isn't a real pain in the ass at
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 96
Something snaps inside my head. No, no, this isn’t happening. Not to me. Not to my baby.Every self-defense lesson Dad ever taught me comes rushing back. I can’t breathe in if I want to stay conscious, so I hold my breath while stomping a foot against his instep with all my might. He grunts in pain but doesn’t release me. In my frenzy, I reach out, sinking my nails into any flesh I can touch, then I drive an elbow into his ribs.“You bitch,” he growls before slamming me headfirst into the trunk of my car. Everything goes dark and foggy. My body slumps when I lose control of it, and I can’t help but breathe in.My baby. My baby…I don’t lose consciousness, though. Not completely. It’s more like being sedated; my brain still works. I hear everything, but I can’t make my body move. I’m floating in a dream-like state, but this is all very real. A living nightmare.“Get moving,” one of the men snarls, shoving me into the car. I can’t open my eyes. My head is pounding.Tatiana’s body slumps
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 95
CATERINA“Hey, what are you looking at?”My heart just about jumps out of my chest as I quickly close my browser before turning in my chair to find Stephanie standing at the entrance of my cubicle. The way she lifts an eyebrow while folding her arms reminds me too much of my best friend—it hurts, since we haven’t spoken all week.I touch a hand to my chest, laughing. “You're like a ghost, I swear. How are you so quiet?”“Maybe you were too busy looking at naughty things to notice me coming up behind you.”“Naughty things?” The idea makes me giggle, because she couldn't be further from the truth. It was dirty things that got me pregnant in the first place. Now, I am reading advice columns and googling baby names when I should be working.“Nobody closes their browser that fast if they aren’t looking at something they shouldn't be.”“Sorry to disappoint you, but I was reading junk on Reddit.” At least it's a believable lie. “I don't want to get caught screwing around.”“Who cares?” she s
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 94
The look of heartbreak on Caterina’s face makes me want to order a hit on Amalia at this very moment. “That you’d want me to get an abortion if you found out because you didn’t want any more children. That the last thing you wanted was to be tied down again.” The anguish in her voice slices me down to the bone.I’ll kill her. It’s as simple as that.How long have I told myself I must spare her pathetic life because she’s Tatiana’s mother? She’s never been a mother to her, anyway. I could have done Tatiana and the world a favor by getting rid of her, but I didn’t. Now it doesn’t seem to matter if she’s alive or dead.“For one thing,” I speak carefully so I don’t spook her, “Amalia does not have the first clue on how I would feel about anything. She doesn’t know me. You should know by now that she wants me to be miserable, which means making everyone around me miserable by association. Plus, she’s herself, so I’m sure it must make her jealous, knowing you’re going to have my child—a chi
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 93
GIANNI“Patience,” Roger advises, his eyes constantly moving as he scans the area around us while we stand beneath the covered stoop in front of his cottage. “Just because I haven't found anything yet doesn't mean I won't.”“It isn't you I'm frustrated with,” I grunt, trying not to appear suspicious. There are no fewer than five guards within my line of sight, and I can't help but wonder if it's one of them.The traitor.“It's barely been two days since I installed the software,” he reminds me. “Give it some time.”“I get it, but until then, I have to pretend I trust everyone equally, and that’s frustrating as hell when you know one of your men is sharing information he shouldn’t be.”“There is another solution. It’s faster, if that’s what you’re looking for. You could just fire everybody and start over.”He recoils under the sharp glare I shoot at him. I know he wasn’t serious, but I’m not in a joking mood. “I can't afford to lose my entire team at a time like this. Not with a new de
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 92
“Not really.” Tatiana looks me up and down. “Are you feeling okay? You look a little green.”Once we move closer to the register, the feeling gets worse. Only once the girl behind the counter reaches for Tatiana’s clothes do I realize it’s Tatiana’s perfume that sets me off. The stronger the smell, the sweatier and more nauseated I get.“I’ll meet you outside.” Nothing in the world matters more than getting out of this store. The glass doors are my sole goal, and I walk toward them as calmly as possible, even as my insides start churning. Stupid me, thinking if I never got sick like this before now, I’d be one of the lucky ones who never had to go through it.I burst through the double doors to the outside, sucking deep breaths into my lungs. The sunshine is so bright, glaring off the concrete, but there’s an awning over the wide front window, and I take shelter beneath it. A few minutes pass, and the nausea seems to pass with every breath I take. Shit. Suddenly it occurs to me that I
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 91
CATERINA“How come you're not trying on any clothes?”Damn it. I was hoping I’d get away with it.We’ve been shopping for the past half hour, and only now has she thought to ask why I haven’t picked out anything. I was kind of hoping she wouldn't pay attention. She's having a good time trying on skirts and dresses and jeans. Now she’s frowning at me from the three-way mirror outside her dressing room stall. “Why aren’t you shopping, too?”I’m sure the response: I don't know how much longer I'll fit into anything. It would be a waste of money to buy anything in my size when I don’t have the first idea of how pregnancy will affect my body... wouldn’t go over well.“I feel bloated,” I groan, rubbing my stomach. “It's just not a good day.”“I'm sorry. Would you prefer we go back home?”I like that she thinks of it as home for both of us. “No, I’m fine. I just know I would hate myself in everything I tried on.”“You always look great, if that helps.”“Thanks. And you look hot in that dress
Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 90
“There he is, going around with all these suspicions without solid proof. I'm finally starting to understand how he must feel.” That, and how Caterina seems determined to look after me—the way she does with him.“Speaking of which, have you reviewed the list of names I compiled?”If my head doesn't fucking explode, it will be a miracle. I walked into this room feeling good, energized, confident. All it takes is a catch-up session to remember how overwhelming the past few weeks have been. Caterina or no Caterina, I've got enough on my plate to make any man want to throw in the towel.I made her a promise. I’m going to find out who killed her mother. I only hope she isn’t in a hurry, since at least a dozen possible culprits could’ve had reason to send a message to Charles.“I scanned the names,” I confirm. “And I'd like to set up meetings. Only this is touchy, so we can't make too much noise, or word might spread that I'm digging.”“You realize one of those names was Salvatore Costello.
