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Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil 81
GIANNIWhat was that noise?My eyes fly open, my heart racing out of my chest. There was a noise somewhere in the house. Unless I dreamed it—I didn't even know I had fallen asleep.Passed out is more like it. Sitting in my chair, alone, where I ended up after I cleaned the mess on the floor. The thought of Caterina returning to the house and seeing that mess haunted me. I couldn’t just leave it, yet I also refused to have anyone else do it.And it was a brief respite from the blame I heaped on myself once the worst of my drunken stupidity passed. I should’ve been there for my daughter. I should have been the sort of father she could come to when Christopher first started hurting her–since I doubt it started in Europe. I should’ve been there for her in these past weeks, insisting we find her a therapist, all of it.Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my priorities. I’ve had the rest of the night to sit here and hate myself for it before passing out.My heartbeat slows once I’m awa
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“No, it wasn't.” I run my thumb over her bottom lip, teasing the softest sigh from her. “I would walk through fire for you. I would burn the world to ash, lie, cheat, steal, kill. I’d do anything for you. Anything you ask, it's yours. I will find a way.”“I think I’m scared.”“Of what?” All I can imagine is the sort of fear Charles put in her head.Instead, she manages to surprise me. “I'm worried that eventually, things are going to get real.”“And you mean to tell me they aren't real now?”“Of course they are, but what happens after all of this? When the fun wears off? Will you still want me when I'm not... you know, forbidden fruit?” A soft laugh escapes her, like it's all a joke, but even in my inebriated state, I feel her uncertainty—the hard, frightening edge.“I’m a lot of things, Caterina,” I start, while linking my arms around her back to pull her against my chest. “I’ve made mistakes, God knows, but I’m not stupid and definitely not naïve. Things change, people change, and t
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CATERINAAt first, I don't know what’s happening when I feel light pressure against my temple. Once, twice. Ugh, something keeps touching me. I try to shrug it off, since all I want to do is sleep. My body is limp with exhaustion, and I'm so comfortable. It feels like the bed has molded itself around me. I burrow deeper against it, hoping for sleep to grip back onto me and pull me under.It's the soft, deep chuckle in my ear that brings me back to the present. My lips turn up at the sides as Gianni pulls me close, making me the little spoon to his bigger one. His strong arms wrap tightly around me, and I bask in the warmth of his body heat. Now I really don't want to get up, ever. Never. I could happily spend the rest of my life wrapped up in him and these amazingly soft sheets.Too bad my anxious brain has other thoughts. “How are you feeling?” I whisper, just in case his head’s about to split open after all the drinking he did. I’m surprised he even has the energy to kiss me, which
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“However, my point stands.” He definitely slows down while he is soaping up my tits, and I'm not about to tell him to hurry up when it feels this good. We really don't have time for things to go any further, though, not if I want to make it home, to get myself ready for work.“There are still too many complications.” I sigh. He lets out a low growl and I place my hands on top of his, stopping him from washing me further. I stare into his eyes, needing him to understand that I mean what I'm about to say. “I know it makes you unhappy to hear this, and It makes me unhappy too. Nonetheless, it's not the right time. It would still feel wrong. I know it’s what we both want. That we’re adults, but there’s too much in the way.”“I know.” He wears a sad smile and shrugs before continuing to clean me. “Can you blame a man for trying, especially when the woman he wants looks like you?”“I’d think you were in need of a doctor if you didn’t try to use sex to get me to agree to something.” I smirk.
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GIANNIThere is nothing quite like the morning after a fight. Especially when the sight of the person you fought with brings everything back into perspective in bright, brilliant color. I only wanted to savor those last few minutes with her, but Roger's exquisite sense of timing fucked the whole thing up. It's enough to make me grind my molars as I march down the stairs. No doubt he wants a continuation of last night's bullshit. Little does he know how disinterested I am in what he thinks about my parenting skills.Instead of waiting for me in the office or his own, he stands outside my office door. His body language screams tension: head down, cracking his knuckles, practically vibrating with nervous energy. He may even be talking to himself under his breath.He looks up upon hearing me coming and clears his throat. “I thought you might want to clean up what you left in here last night.”“What the hell are you talking about?” I shove the door open and walk into the room to confirm I
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“I wouldn’t put words into her mouth, though it seems that way.” Jeff’s sputtering comes as no surprise.“That doesn’t sound like him. He was crazy about her.”My hand clenches the receiver, tight. Crazy. What a fitting choice of words. “Who’s to say what happened once he met new friends while they were traveling? Tatiana seemed satisfied to let things go. I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, and I’m afraid questioning her on this would only reopen old wounds. From the way she made it sound, though, he was enjoying himself out.”“He was supposed to fly home, damn it.”“Do you have confirmation he returned?” Roger looks over his shoulder at me curiously. I have no doubt he covered up all traces of that prick, but it’s the sort of question I’d ask if I was nothing but an innocent third party.“No,” he mutters. “I swear, if he gets caught up with a group of Eurotrash kids, I’ll lose my goddamn mind.”I force a chuckle while envisioning the miserable, bleeding wreck I left behind
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CATERINA“You know, you don't need to do this.”I turn away from the stove, wooden spoon in hand. “And you don't need to say that again. I've already told you I want to make dinner.”“I'm not your responsibility. As much as I love your cooking.” Dad shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, shrugging. “I'm the one bumming around without a job. I should be making dinner so it'll be on the table when you get home from work.”“How do I put this delicately?” I can't, and there's no holding in the laughter that bubbles up at the idea. “You make a mean bowl of cereal. But otherwise…”“Hey! I've gotten better with time,” he cuts me off.“I'll have to take your word for it.”“Very funny.” He goes to the fridge and pulls out a head of lettuce. “Do you think I'm incapable of making a salad?”“I guess we can give it a try. I mean, what could go wrong?” He rolls his eyes, but his sheepish grin goes a long way toward loosening what was left of the anxiety I've been fighting all day. I feared
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This is killing me. I'm going to die here and now. All I can see when I look at them is their son on top of me, holding me down on the bed, the crazy look in his eyes, and all the insane things he was saying. About how we were meant to be, about how Gianni ruined me.Before he held a knife to your throat. He was going to rape you. He could have killed you.I need to remember that before I break down in front of these poor people and tell them everything their son did. Hell, it's not like it would help them. Finding out their son went insane before he died.“Here. Let's sit you down.” In the back of my mind, it occurs to me that Dad now has a reason to take care of me. And I let him do it without question, my head spinning, my stomach tightening to the point of pain. I think I’m going to vomit.“We're sorry to come in and announce it this way,” Josh says.“Do you two need to sit down? Sarah, can I get you some water?”Sarah scowls despite Dad's kindness. “What I need is to know what ha
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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
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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
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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
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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.
