Dangerous Addiction: A Dark Bratva Romance, page 21
“Daddy. Slide with me!” Jasmine insisted and all I could do was smile. She acted as if she’d never had a fever in the first place. She stood on the top of the colorful slide, her face beaming as if she’d found a secret hiding place.
“Daddy won’t fit, baby girl. Why don’t you come to me? I’ll catch you instead.” I moved to the end of the plastic platform, my muscles remaining tense after no sleep and constant worry. After Jasmine gave me one of her famous pouting looks, she slumped down on the slide, raising her arms and giggling as she headed in my direction. As I scooped her into my arms, hugging her tightly, I swung her around in a full circle. “That’s my girl, but it’s time to go.”
“Oh, Daddy. Just one more?” she pleaded.
“Hmmm…”
“Why don’t I go down with her?” Walker asked, her expression warm.
“I would like to see that,” I answered, barely able to keep my extreme desire from giving me away.
“Come with me, Jasmine. Let’s show that old man of yours what girls can do.” Walker rolled her eyes as she reached for Jasmine’s hand. I was surprised when Jasmine accepted it without any hesitation. My baby girl had been so sheltered in her life that meeting strangers was difficult for her, yet she’d taken to Walker from the minute we’d picked her up from the parking lot.
I leaned against the bank of windows, watching as Walker carefully guided Jasmine up the set of stairs, making certain my little baby held onto the railing. Then Jasmine settled into her lap at the top, giggling the entire time.
“Whee!” Walker said, winking before pushing them away from the landing. As they slid down, I was overcome by the way the two of them interacted and by the sizzling sensations jetting through me. I wanted a family.
No, I needed to feel grounded for the first time in so damn long.
Walker couldn’t contain a grin as she rubbed Jasmine on the top of the head, guiding them both in my direction. “She’s such a little actress.”
“Yes, she is,” I said, laughing. “But we need to go.”
“Daddy? You’re mean.”
Jasmine had a way of making all the shadows disappear from my life, reminding me that every day was far too short.
However, that didn’t change anything. We were headed for New York. And we would find the answers we required.
“I know, baby girl, but Daddy has business to deal with.” After I said the words, Walker and I locked eyes, hers full of concern. Even though the woman standing in front of me should do everything in her power to get away from me, she walked closer and all I could think about was how much I wanted this woman in my life.
Permanently.
“Let’s roll!” I said, the phrase something I’d said on so many occasions when she was little, the inflection of my voice alone keeping Jasmine excited. She clapped her hands, waiting as patiently as a three-year-old could do as we tossed what was left of our breakfast into the trash.
As Walker secured her into the car seat, I studied the surrounding area, still fearful we’d been followed. I didn’t like the odds of what we were facing.
“We’re less than two hours away from my mother’s house,” Walker said a few seconds later.
“That’s good. Are you going to be okay with this?”
“Do I have a choice?”
I shook my head, still looking from one side of the road to the other. “No. There’s no other choice right now.”
“Then I’ll do what’s necessary. What if we do find out the truth? What about Jasmine’s safety?”
“I assure you that I’m not going to put either one of you in harm’s way. I’ll make certain you’re both safe. Then I’ll take care of what needs to happen.”
“By yourself?”
While I could hear the concern in her voice, she had no idea what I was willing to do at this point in order to keep her safe.
And to end this nightmare.
“I do what’s necessary.”
“That would make you a fool,” she hissed.
There were several things I wanted to say to her, but Jasmine’s chatter to one of her stuffed animals dragged my attention away. The entire situation was absurd, but given what Ivan had told me, I knew we were getting close to discovering the truth.
“You will follow my directions, Walker. Whatever happens, you’re the only one I can trust to protect Jasmine. Will you do that for me?”
While she shivered visibly, she nodded. “Of course I will. But don’t you dare get yourself killed.”
While I had no intentions of allowing that to happen, sometimes things didn’t go as planned.
“Let’s do this,” I said with no hesitation.
Walker
Learning bits and pieces about a portion of my family I never knew was disturbing as hell. There was no denying I was still anxious, my stomach churning. While I wanted to weed through the years of silence, I was also terrified of what I’d learn. I knew Maksim feared the Marciano family was going to try to overthrow Ivan, finalizing their act of revenge by killing everyone of importance, including the man I cared about far too much.
He’d shared with me everything about what he knew regarding Samuel, Jack, and a man I’d never met by the name of Gregor Chamberlain. I found it interesting that Samuel had been like my father, attempting to find another life outside of the mafia family they’d grown up in. I had to admit, I wanted to know everything about how my mother had met him and how long they were actually together. I needed the pieces of the jagged puzzle to fit, even though I was terrified about learning anything else.
Still, that’s all I could think about.
My mother still lived in the same small town I’d grown up in. Even though it was only a little over an hour away from New York City, it was worlds away from the Big Apple. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. People didn’t lock their doors at night or worry about horrible crimes. I’d grown up thinking it was suffocating. What I wouldn’t give to find a town just like it near Chicago.
As I directed Maksim down the small street toward my mother’s house, my nerves were about to get the better of me. While I’d asked him about warning her that she could be in danger, he’d insisted that allowing her the chance to run and hide wasn’t an option. He’d also assured me that her life wasn’t in any danger and that if it had been, she’d already be dead. When I saw her car was in the driveway, I almost issued a sigh of relief.
Almost.
The early morning hours had been just as surreal as the night before, his actions with Jasmine continuing to confuse the hell out of me. When he pulled into the driveway, I could tell he was still antsy, concerned someone had followed us.
“I’m going in first,” he said as he pushed his weapon into his pocket.
Just the sight of him performing the action was a reminder we were all in danger. I gave a quick look into the back seat, happy that Jasmine was oblivious to what was going on.
“No, you’re not. My mother doesn’t know you,” I chastised, already opening the passenger door.
“There could be someone inside. I won’t allow you to go in by yourself.”
“Stop it, Maksim. This is something you wanted to do so you need to allow me to handle it first.” I shot him a hard look before easing onto the concrete driveway. Jasmine’s small voice gave me another pang in my heart.
“What are we doing here, Daddy?” she asked, her little voice yet another reminder the man was out of his mind for risking her life.
“We’re visiting a friend of Walker’s,” he answered, his deep baritone more like a soft song whispered to his child.
“Yay! I like meeting people.”
I remained antsy as I closed the car door, finding it difficult to take steps toward the small house I’d grown up in. I even found myself hesitating before knocking on the door. The last time I’d been here, which had been months before, I’d simply walked inside. Now I felt like a stranger. My hands were perspiring as I waited for her to answer. When I heard footsteps, I backed away, tossing Maksim a quick look.
As the door opened, there wasn’t joyful surprise in seeing me standing on the doorstep.
There was apprehension and fear. She immediately took a step outside, noticing that I wasn’t alone.
“Why are you here?” she asked, the pulse on the side of her neck irregular.
I was shocked at her tone and her attitude, uncertain how to answer at first. “Is that a way to greet your daughter?” My mother had always been prim and proper, never leaving the house without makeup or a perfectly pressed outfit. I couldn’t remember a single time as a child she’d gone out of the house, even to the backyard, without looking stunning.
On this day, she looked haggard, and I could swear she’d aged by several years in a few short months.
“Who is that man?” she demanded, surprising me even more.
“A friend of mine. Can we come in?”
She hesitated and my gut told me at that very minute that she had a feeling why I’d returned. “Okay, but you can’t stay long.”
I held my tongue as I turned my head in Maksim’s direction, another round of creepy crawlies scuttling through me.
She backed away into the shadows almost immediately, folding her arms as if protecting herself. I waited until Maksim approached with Jasmine in his hold.
“Is everything okay?” he asked softly.
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you want me to wait outside?”
“No. I don’t know what’s going on, but I doubt we’ll have another chance to get to the truth.” I wasn’t certain my mother would tell us anything. I guided them inside, closing the door behind us. All the blinds were closed, which also wasn’t like her at all. “Maksim and Jasmine, this is my mother, Andrea.”
My mother barely acknowledged our presence until Jasmine pulled away from Maksim’s hand, taking deliberate steps in her direction and holding out her little hand. “If you’re a friend of Walker’s, then you’re a friend of mine.”
I couldn’t fight back a laugh from the little girl’s words, my mother also caught off guard, but it seemed some of her hard shell cracked and she leaned down, a smile crossing her face.
“Well, I think it’s an honor to meet such a beautiful little girl.” While my mother said the right words, I could tell she remained nervous as hell, darting quick glances in Maksim’s direction. Someone had terrified her. I knew her far too well.
Jasmine giggled as she shook my mother’s hand, then pulled away, moving toward the bookshelf in the living room. I’d forgotten several of my childhood books had been left there, maybe something my mother could hold onto.
“Can I look?” Jasmine asked.
“Of course you can, honey,” I answered, waiting until a book had been selected, the girl absorbed in the pictures before I inched closer to my mother. “We don’t have much time, Mom. For some reason, I think you know why we’re here.”
“No. I don’t, but you should go,” she answered, still as nervous as I’d ever seen her.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t belong here any longer.”
When she tried to turn away, I gripped her arm, keeping my voice low. “Do you have the letter I gave you?”
“What letter?” When she paled, I took a deep breath.
“You know exactly what letter I’m talking about. The one I tried to give you that came from Samuel’s attorney. You refused to look at it and I meant to take it with me, but I guess I dropped it.” I noticed a strange yet fleeting look in her eyes. “Wait a minute. You did take it. Didn’t you?”
She closed her eyes briefly, her hand shaking as she brushed her fingers through her hair. “You dropped it.”
Bullshit.
She’d wanted to read it after all.
“And you not only kept it, but you read the contents.” When she didn’t answer, I had to fight everything I had inside of me to keep from screeching. “Didn’t you?”
“You said so yourself, you were curious. So was I,” she finally answered.
“What did you find inside?”
“Nothing of importance.”
I closed my eyes, the dull throbbing in my temple increasing. “Mother. This is very important. Some things have happened, and I need that letter. Please get it for me.”
“Why?”
I’d never been rough with my mother in my life, but right now, I was as exasperated as I’d ever been. I pulled her into the doorway of the kitchen, far enough away from Jasmine’s ears that the little girl wouldn’t hear us. “I know about my father.”
“What do you mean you know?”
As Maksim came closer, she seemed more uncomfortable that when he’d entered her home. “His name is Antonio Marciano. Right?”
A look of real horror crossed her face. I’d never seen her appear so devastated in her life. She tried her best to pull away from me, her mouth twisting from the repulsion of what I’d said.
“I told you that you shouldn’t have interfered! I told you!” Her entire body was shaking, but I knew my mother’s anger. Her outburst wasn’t about fury but about fear.
Maksim exhaled from the doorway, a clear sign that he was getting antsy.
“Just say it. I need you to tell me that’s who my father was.”
She teared up, all the years of keeping the ugly secret finally taking its toll. As she lowered her head into her hands, I tried to remain patient. I could tell how much she was hurting, but I also knew we were running out of time. I didn’t need Maksim to tell me that.
“Please, tell me. You know I deserve to know.”
After sucking in her sobs, she lifted her head, brushing my long strands behind my shoulder like she always used to do. “You look so much like him, Rafaella.”
I was stunned she called me by that name, something I hadn’t heard since I was a little girl. “So it’s true.”
“Yes.”
“Then talk to me. Tell me about him. How did this happen?” I no longer cared that my tone was demanding.
“You don’t know this, but I grew up in Boston. That’s where I was living when I met your father. I didn’t know who he was, or I wouldn’t have gotten involved, but he was so charming and handsome. The man swept me off my feet with dozens of roses and gifts. How he loved to give me things. And restaurants. I’d never been to such incredible places in my life before him. I fell head over heels in love.” Her eyes had shone brightly when talking about him, but almost as soon as she’d lit up, her slight moment of happiness faded, her eyes full of nothing but haunted sadness.
“That sounds wonderful.” She’d never once told me about Boston, and she certainly didn’t have an accent. Given my grandparents were dead and she’d had no siblings, it had never occurred to me she’d lived anywhere else.
She lifted her head, sucking in her breath then tossing Maksim another look. I could swear she knew that he was the same kind of man, but she didn’t know him any better than she had my father. “It was all a lie. He was a murderer. He’d come into town to kill a man the very night he met me. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. He told me he had business and that he lived in New York City. That was the single truth. Everything else was a lie and I bought it because I thought I’d found the perfect man. I’d read about the murder in the papers, but it didn’t dawn on me because your father told me he was a salesman. Isn’t that ridiculous?” She laughed bitterly.
“How did you find out?”
“Someone had a copy of the New York Times at work and his picture was on the front page along with his father. There he was, the prince of the Marciano mafia family. I was sick, refusing to see him but your father wasn’t going to allow that to happen. I pretended like I didn’t care until he left to go back to New York. I left Boston the day after, never looking back. I changed my name because it was much easier then and went as far as the money that I’d saved would take me. I had friends here at the time who took me in. For a long time, I didn’t leave their house. You see, I’d found out I was pregnant and didn’t want to be alone. I was scared.”
“I’m surprised he never knew.”
“I don’t know if he looked, but I didn’t care.”
She laughed, brushing her fingers across her lips, obviously thinking about something. I shot Maksim a look and his imploring eyes begged me to get on with it. My God. That’s one reason Samuel gave me that condo.
“Mama, you need to listen to me. The letter is important. You were right about keeping me from going to Chicago. The gift was… Let’s just say it wasn’t without strings.”
“Goddamn it! I knew better. I knew it!” she wailed, fisting her small hands. “What happened? What did Samuel do to you?”
“So you know who Samuel is?”
“Of course I know,” she spat, recoiling almost the instant she did.
“Why didn’t you tell me that? Why? You allowed me to go to that city without all the information and…” I looked away, refusing to yell at her. She’d been through enough. I was a big girl.
“You’re right. I should have been honest with you years ago, but the truth is that I wasn’t ready to face the past. I didn’t honestly think you’d go. You’re a levelheaded girl. When someone gives you an expensive condo as a gift, I would have thought you would have laughed, not accepted. But you had the job of your dreams and it all seemed to make sense to you. I hoped that maybe Samuel was actually doing what your father would have wanted.”
“So you know Antonio is dead.”
My mother looked away again, another reflection of the past giving her a smile. “He got what he deserved in my opinion.”
“Mama. There are some bad people after me, maybe from my father’s family. I don’t know what they want but the letter is the only chance we have at finding out.”
“Ms. Sutherland. The letter really is important to us,” Maksim said in a caring and quiet tone.
She looked confused, uncertain of what to do.
“Please, Mama. Whatever is in that letter might answer so many questions. You already read it. You know that.”
“It’s from your father telling me that he knew all along about you and that he stayed away out of respect for me. What difference would it make now?”
