The Forbidden Secret (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Three

Evelina Bianchi

Two and a half days, and I had not said a single word to the man who had saved my life.

I knew I didn’t need to be so angry about the situation. I had gotten my daughter out of it, and I had never needed his help. But to see how oblivious he was to the situation—to see that he had no idea someone else looked after our daughter while I fought for my safety—struck a nerve.

Today—maybe tomorrow morning, if he decided to wait out the night—I could finally go get her. I would finally have my Beatrice in my arms for good.

I knew there was over a hundred thousand dollars in a bank account that I could access with my fake identity as soon as I arrived wherever I was going. I would be free.

I heard Zeke walking from the other room, and it shifted to the second half of the small apartment long enough for me to bolt into the bathroom and close the door, still imagining the life I would have in a few short days. The vision of holding my daughter and knowing that I could finally keep her filled my heart with hope.

I considered Maggie’s quickly swelling belly and the timeframe. She would be giving birth in a matter of weeks, and I had to have Beatrice by then. I had bought everything she could possibly need in caring for a child, and in exchange, she kept mine safe.

Knowing Maggie, though, I knew she would have helped even without compensation.

Hell, when Maggie had taken the role as my manager, she had gotten me into galleries alongside some of the most successful artists in the city. She had made a name for me—an alias I would continue using when I left. I could thank her for everything I had and was. She had been my rock through the hardest moments in my adult life, and I knew I needed to find a way to reach out to her. She needed to know what was happening.

So lost in thought, I didn’t consider the way I had rushed into the bathroom in nothing but a towel. I didn’t even consider how I planned on getting back to my room across the hall without running into Zeke until I turned off the water and stared at the door.

Shit.

I rose up on my toes and then fell back on my heels as I considered my next move. I pictured the pile of clean clothes I had left on the dresser right beside the bedroom door. I had meant to grab them, but I had been so lost in thought that it had slipped my mind.

I knew that Zeke had seen me naked in the past, but it was a different time and a much different situation.

I straightened as the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut crept through the apartment, and I didn’t give it a second thought before wrapping the towel around my wet body haphazardly and pulling the door open.

In my haste, I didn’t notice the towering body in my path until I barreled directly into him.

My towel slid through my fingertips as I reached to right myself. A large arm wrapped around my waist, catching me from a near-certain fall backward into the steaming bathroom.

It took me two seconds to process the situation.

Two seconds of gaping at Zeke Coleman before I realized two very important things.

One: Zeke had not left the apartment as I had believed.

Two: Zeke’s arm was wrapped around my bare, soaking-wet waist, holding me upright as I stared dumbly at him.

His smug voice had my fists balling. “I thought we were past the days of you throwing yourself into my arms, Princess.”

I pushed at his chest, but he held me firmly to him with a smug smile that sent my blood boiling.

“What’s wrong? You suddenly don’t like me holding your naked body?” he asked, his lips coming close to mine. Too close. If I moved even an inch forward, I could suck that lip piercing into my mouth and feel it brush across my tongue. “I remember the last time we were this close, and you had no complaints.”

I felt my chest rise and fall with the heat of his breath against my mouth and the reminder of the night we had shared together. He had been amazing in bed. More than amazing. He was the kind of man who left me yearning for him for weeks, and the callouses that brushed over my hip reminded me of that touch. The way his dark hair dangled over his forehead as he leaned into me closer.

That golden chain that came so close to brushing my skin…

I shoved at his chest again, and this time, he took a small step back. He stared down at my body, then back up again with hungry eyes.

“Asshole,” I mumbled under my breath, moving toward my room and slamming the door behind me.

“Jaimie is here to give an update if you want to join us,” he shouted through the bedroom door. “Clothing is always optional where I’m concerned.”

Maybe I should open the door and deck him.

He had the same swaggering confidence that had drawn me to him a year ago, but I knew the truth now. Now, I knew he wasn’t the kind of man to want commitment, and I wouldn’t dabble with that again—not with Beatrice in the picture.

I didn’t even consider hiding in my room like a coward. I didn’t need to be ashamed of his comments. I was allowed to sleep with whomever I pleased, and I did nothing wrong by spending an evening with him. It meant nothing, and he only proved it by leaving without looking back.

Sexual tension meant nothing.

I dressed quickly and strolled out of my room with my shoulders back.

Jaimie sat at the kitchen table and leaned back in her chair. “I never asked how you’re involved in this. Or who you are,” I said as I approached her.

I felt Zeke’s gaze fixed on me, but I ignored it as I sat beside Jaimie.

“You were preoccupied,” Jaimie replied.

“You work for the Rissi crime family, too?” I pressed.

“I’m a contractor. I work for whoever hires me, and your sister was very persistent about seeing you safe.” Jaimie examined me. “You remind me nothing of her, by the way.”

“My sisters and I all look alike.”

“You don’t act alike,” she retorted. “You don’t have the same chip on your shoulder.”

I wanted to ask what side of Aria she knew, but it didn’t matter—not with everything else at play here.

“Am I free to leave now?”

She glanced between Zeke and me with an unsettled look. “It wouldn’t be recommended.”

I stiffened. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Jaimie has uncovered some interesting information about the man who bought you, and it has… complicated matters.” Zeke leaned over the table, his expression grave. “We had anticipated that he would stop searching for you within a couple days. We had also planned on using some of Giovanni’s forces to see you safely to your location, but that will no longer be possible.”

“Giovanni has connections to Clide Newton that he can’t risk with this rescue mission,” Jaimie added, likely reading the confusion on my face. “He won’t throw you to the wolves, of course, but you will be stuck with only us as protection.”

I thought about what they had told me about the plan. About what was to be done after the three days we spent together. “I thought that after three days, you were just going to send me wherever I wanted to go?”

“Of course not.”

The frustration that bubbled in my chest felt near explosive as I looked between Jaimie and Zeke. I knew it would not end well if I tried to continue this conversation. They had saved me. They didn’t deserve my wrath.

At least Jaimie didn’t.

My frustrations weren’t limited to the fact that I was in this situation. I also could not fathom how there could be so many unknowns about my situation, especially when I had been in hiding for nearly three days, and Jaimie had spent the entire time gathering intel. Didn’t they think it was important to keep me updated? To tell me what their full plan was?

“Zeke failed to mention that I would have an escort,” I said, shooting daggers his way.

“Zeke’s communication skills are subpar at best,” Jaimie replied. Zeke’s smug smile turned into a scowl. “He’s more brute than brains.”

I bit my lip to keep from chuckling at the comment. “I’ve noticed.”

“What the fuck did I do to both of you?” he scolded.

“We had planned on sending you away after three days, giving the situation time to cool down. We were going to send guards with you as a precaution. But Clide seems to have deeper connections than we realized. Mr. Rissi is gathering information about the man, but Clide is a business associate. His influence runs deep, and Mr. Rissi would be in a lot of trouble if their ties were severed through disloyalty. Usually, he would have thrown his support at this particular situation, but with the threat of Alonzo, he can’t risk weakening his alliances.”

I considered the ongoing feud between my father and Giovanni Rissi.

Both were bosses of the Italian mafia; they had strained relations for years, only worsened by a recent family death that tore apart the sole marital alliance between our people. I kept my head as far out of the mafia world as possible, but I heard the rumors. I heard that the Rissis and the Bianchis were weeks away from a full feud despite my sister Aria trying to reform the alliance by marrying Giovanni Rissi’s nephew.

It did not matter, though.

I had planned on being gone before the situation came to a head.

I didn’t care that my father was a mob boss, nor did I care about the other bosses or associates. I had my own life and never planned to let my family’s situation become a nuisance. After my father had blatantly refused to let my sisters have lives of their own, I knew I would never talk to anyone about my pregnancy or aspirations.

“Can you stay on my protection detail?” I asked Jaimie.

“So keen on getting rid of me?” Zeke asked, leaning across the table.

I ignored him as Jaimie shook her head. “Zeke is newly employed by Mr. Rissi, and I have deep ties to him. I cannot be involved more than I am now.”

“You went with Zeke to get me out,” I reminded her.

“We didn’t know it was Clide when we got you out. We can’t take that kind of risk again unless it becomes absolutely necessary.”

I glanced at Zeke, cringing as I vividly recalled the feeling of his hands on my waist.

“We need to give it more time to cool down,” Jaimie repeated. “Is there a reason that you’d rather risk your own safety than give it a few more days?”

Yes, my daughter needs me. I need to get her out of here before Zeke learns about her.

“I can’t stay in the same house as him.”

I knew I was being dramatic. I knew that in the scheme of things, spending a few days with an ex-lover should be the least of my concerns. But when he looked at me like that—with a smug sense of satisfaction and amusement—I couldn’t keep the feeling of lust from the pit of my stomach.

More than that, I couldn’t decide if I truly hated him the way I should have.

Jaimie met my eyes and raised her brows. “Is your life worth that decision?”

I hated that she was right.