Chapter Twenty
MONIQUE
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Confused as hell, Monique watched Cas and Meka walk away.
“Shit,” Toya said after they were gone. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Neither did I,” Raz admitted. “I fucked up. But I really didn’t know.”
“There’s a lot we don’t know,” Monique added. “But I think we need to listen to Meka for now and leave her and Cas alone.”
“I need to talk to him about this,” Raz said.
“And we need to find out what’s going on with Meka,” Toya added.
Monique shook her head. “Let’s leave them alone for now. Raz, you can talk to him about this when he’s ready to talk. Did you not see his face? He’s haunted by those claims. And there’s no telling how he was treated when he was locked up. I can’t imagine what he’s feeling. You should wait until he’s ready. For now, I guess he has Meka. And there’s no way we can separate them right now, not while he’s going through this. Did you see the way he held her hand? And the way he looked at her?”
“I did,” Toya admitted. “Those two had to have known each other before tonight. There’s no way he told her about that woman and that case in the short time they were in his room.”
“That’s true,” Leo added, pulling a snicker from his pocket and opening it.
“You’ve had food this entire time? Give me half of that?” Toya demanded.
“Get your own.”
“I’m starving. Give me a piece.”
Frowning, Leo grabbed a napkin, broke the snicker in half, and handed Toya the piece that was in the napkin.
“Thanks,” Toya told the guard.
Leo’s frown deepened.
Facing Monique, Toya said, “Meka seems safe with him for now.”
Monique nodded as Toya bit into her snicker.
“Yeah, she does. Look, guys, it’s getting late. This whole thing has been draining. I just want to go to bed,” Monique said.
“Me too,” Toya told her after finishing her snicker. “Damn, I have to drive.”
“You can stay here tonight,” Raz offered. “I’ll have Leo get you a room set up.”
Toya side-eyed Raz. “If I stay here, will I get kidnapped? Because your rooms seem to come with complimentary kidnappings.”
Leo chuckled but stopped when he noticed the glare from Raz.
“You’ll be perfectly safe,” Orazio told Toya.
“Okay. I’ll stay. But I need room service to deliver some steak and potatoes to my room. And Monique is staying in my room with me.”
“I’ll have room service sent to your room. But I need to talk to Monique,” Raz said. “If she wants to join you in your room after our conversation, I won’t stop her.”
“That’s fair.” Toya stared at Monique. “You okay if I go lie down?”
Monique nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll call you later to see if you’re still up.”
Toya stood up when Leo did. Monique watched her friend follow the guard out of the restaurant.
“I’m sorry,” Raz apologized once he and Monique were alone.
“Me too,” Monique told him, causing him to frown.
“What are you sorry for?” Raz asked.
Monique swallowed. “Let’s go to your room to talk.”
Panic flared in his eyes. “You’re planning on ending what’s between us, aren’t you?” he asked.
“That depends.”
“On what?” Raz said, sounding nervous.
“On how you answer my questions.”
“What questions?”
“The questions I have about you and your family. And why the police were hoping Cas was guilty because they wanted dirt on the Cattaneo family. I want to discuss the rumors I’ve heard about the Cattaneos over the years, like how you’re a crime syndicate that runs drugs through your casinos. I want to discuss that. And whether we remain together or not will depend on your answers to my questions. Okay?”
Looking defeated, Raz leaned back in his seat.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
But Monique heard it. And she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like his answers to her questions.
***
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ORAZIO
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She hadn’t started asking him questions yet, and he was already dreading them. He was already trying to come up with half-truths to tell her. Would she believe those half-truths, or would she see through them?
And if she saw through them, would that make her despise him more? Frustrated, Raz ran his hand through his hair as he followed Monique onto the elevator. His mind and heart raced as they began their trip to his floor.
Standing next to him, Monique was silent. It was that silence that worried him. If she were yelling and cursing, he’d feel better. Her silence felt like the calm before the storm. She stared straight ahead, not sparing him a glance.
He could already feel the distance forming between them. Nothing had gone as planned tonight. Instead of making things better, he’d made them tremendously worse. Not only was Monique mad at him, but Cas was also upset with him.
They both had every right to be. He’d never be able to get the look on Cas’s face when he’d seen Bethany out of his head. He’d never seen his brother look like that before. He and Cas had been through things that would traumatize normal people.
Yet, they came out of those situations scarred but not broken. Tonight, his brother had looked broken. He’d looked haunted by the accusations that could’ve ruined his life. And though they hadn’t ruined his career, they had changed him.
And because of Raz, Cas experienced that horror all over again tonight. Fuck! Why the hell had he called that woman? If she’d had any decency in her, she would’ve turned down his offer.
Raz closed his eyes and reminded himself that he didn’t harm women, even lying ass women. He really hated that his brother was suffering this way while Bethany was out dating the senator’s son.
Her life hadn’t been impacted at all. Yet, his brother’s had. She’d lied through her fucking teeth, and nothing had been done to her. That didn’t sit well with Raz at all. Raz would have to talk to his father about this tomorrow.
Though they wouldn’t go after Bethany, they could go after her father’s businesses and the money she depended on. Attacking her money and social status would be a nightmare for her. It wouldn’t change what happened. Nothing could.
Neither would it lessen Cas’s pain. But right now, it was all Raz could do. And he had to do something for his brother. Doing nothing wasn’t in his DNA. The more he thought about it, the more some things started making sense.
Ever since they returned home from Italy, Cas had been a little different. He still smiled and joked a lot, but something had been off about him. He rarely left the casino unless he absolutely had to.
He partied less these days. In fact, Ras couldn’t remember the last time his brother had brought a random woman to his room. Not that he kept up with that kind of stuff. However, he made it a habit to review the security footage at least once a month.
More than a few times, he’d witnessed security escorting one of Cas’s lady friends from the hotel after a night of drinks. Cas rarely remembered their names the following day. That was before their trip to Italy to meet up with the DeLucas and rescue their family member.
Since Italy, his brother had ceased his partying. He’d ceased attending the social events that Raz had loathed and avoided. Now, Raz knew it was because of what happened with Bethany.
He hated that his brother hadn’t thought he could come to him with this issue. There had been no need for Cas to be embarrassed. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Rejecting a woman shouldn’t lead to a man being accused of abuse.
Just like rejecting a man shouldn’t lead to a woman being abused by that man. Everyone had a right to say no with no consequences. His brother was now suffering for something he hadn’t done.
And there was nothing Raz could do to ease his pain or help him clear his head. That fear and shame must’ve kept Cas from coming to Raz with this. But why had he stopped going out? Why had he stopped living his life the way he had before?
Fuck what the police and Beth’s friends thought. Cas had been cleared of all charges. So, why had he changed? Raz thought back to the security footage he’d watched since Italy. There was one thing he’d asked Cas about that he’d seen in the videos.
One thing that his brother didn’t usually do. Lately, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, his brother always dressed in workout clothes and left the casino. He left with a gym bag in hand. That wouldn’t have been suspicious if he hadn’t been heading to the gym at one in the morning.
Plus, they had a gym in the casino. When Raz asked Cas why he was going to the gym at one a.m., his brother laughed it off and said the view at the gym was great. To Raz, that meant there was a woman his brother had been pursuing at the gym during those hours and on those days.
Could that woman have been Meka? Was that where they’d met, the gym? Was that where he’d told her about Bethany? Was that where he’d shared with a stranger, something he hadn’t felt comfortable sharing with his own brother?
“Did you hear me, Raz?”
Monique’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Huh? Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you were okay?” Monique told him.
Was he okay? No. He was far from okay. But there was no point in burdening her with his problems.
Raz sighed. “I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”
“You seemed to have drifted away just now. Were you thinking about Cas?”
Raz nodded. “I’m trying to wrap my brain around all of this. But I can’t. I don’t know how to help him. I’m his big brother. No matter how angry he makes me or how irritated I get with him, I’m still supposed to protect him. I didn’t protect him this time. I made things worse. What kind of brother am I?”
“The kind that’s human,” Monique told him. “The kind that makes mistakes, owns up to them, and apologizes for them. You’re a good brother, Orazio. As soon as you realized what had happened, you owned up to your mistake and apologized. You didn’t do as she did and tried to make excuses. You’re a brother who cares. And maybe that’s why Cas couldn’t tell you what happened. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing you could do. He felt helpless and was trying to keep you from feeling that way, too.”
“But I’m his brother...”
“He’s your brother also. And just like you want to protect him, he also wants to protect you. That’s what family does. Well, most families. I wish my family was like that. I wish I had a brother who cared about me and wanted to protect me. A brother who would shield me from people who wanted to hurt me.”
He could hear the longing in her voice. There was a void in her life, a void he could fill. He could be her family. He wanted to be her family. He would be more than happy to shield her from the dangers of this world.
“You may not have a brother to protect you, but you have me,” Raz whispered. “You’ll always have me if you want me.”
“Raz, don’t...” Monique started, only to have him interrupt her.
Orazio moved to stand in front of Monique when the elevator dinged, and the doors began opening.
Facing her, he told her, “Listen, Rosa. I’m not perfect. My family isn’t perfect. In fact, we’re fucked up in many ways. So many ways. But we protect the ones we love. Everything you’ve heard about my family has some truth to it. That doesn’t mean you have to fear us. You definitely don’t have to fear me. There are worse people in the world than us.”
“I never said there wasn’t, I just...”
“We aren’t bad people,” Raz insisted as the doors tried to close.
Since he was blocking them, they reopened.
“You’re blocking the doors,” Monique pointed out. “We can continue this conversation in your suite.”
“Are you leaving me?” he asked, angry with the way his voice shook on that last word.
“Raz, let’s go inside.”
“Are you leaving me, Rosa?”
She stared up at the ceiling and sighed, clearly exasperated with him. It was that look that made the level of his panic increase. She was going to leave him. The proof was there in her posture and her expression. That was the look of a woman who didn’t want to be bothered.
“Rosa, I...”
Her glare landed on him. “Let’s go in the room and talk. Please, Orazio. I’m tired, and I want to sit down.”
He stepped out of the way but held his hand against the elevator so the doors wouldn’t close while she was exiting. Eyes forward, not meeting his gaze, she strode off the elevator and headed straight for the lounge area. He followed behind her.
His fucked up mind was already reverting back to his old ways as he tried to formulate a plan to make her stay with him. Perhaps Toya was right. Perhaps these rooms did come with complimentary kidnappings because Orazio was tempted to keep his Rosa there by any means necessary.
At least until she believed him when he said his family would never bring her harm. She sat down on the small recliner. Too riled up to be seated, he leaned against the wall across from her and folded his arms over his chest. A slight smile crossed over her face.
“You’re pouting like a spoiled brat,” she told him.
Raz frowned. “No one has ever called me a brat before.”
She cocked her head to the side. “And? What are you going to do about it?”
“If you were mine, I would spank you. Are you mine, Rosa?”
Her smile slowly disappeared. “I want to be yours, Raz. I really do.”
Hope filled him as he moved away from the wall and strode over to her. Pride gone out the window, he knelt in front of her.
“Then be mine, Rosa. Just be mine. I promise you don’t have to worry about anything else. I won’t let harm come to you. My family, my businesses, none of that will bring harm to you.”
“I want to believe you, Raz. I do. But...” She stared around the room, searching for the right words. Finally, she said, “I’m scared. And I’m wondering if I’m jumping out into the dating world too soon. I just got divorced, Raz. I had a husband. Now, I don’t. That’s a big change. Shouldn’t I take some time to adjust to this change?”
If she was anyone else, he’d tell her yes. But she wasn’t anyone else. She was his Rosa. Since he couldn’t say yes, he remained quiet.
“And you’re a big change for me, Raz. Your lifestyle, your personality, your career, all of this is new to me. You live in an entirely different world from me. I don’t know if I’m ready to step into that world yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to enter that world.”
“Then let me into your world, Rosa. I’ll come into your world.”
A sad smile crept across her face. “You can’t leave your world, Raz. Your family, this casino, needs you.”
“But I need you .”
“You just met me.”
“And you’re already more important to me than this damn casino.”
“Are you saying you’d give it up for me?”
“I’ll sign my shares over to my brothers if you want me to.”
“Yeah, right!”
“I’ll never lie to you, Rosa.”
She held his gaze for a long time before saying, “What if I asked you to do that? What if I asked you to leave it all behind? All the crime stuff. And don’t say there isn’t crime stuff. I’ve heard the rumors. If I asked you to leave it all behind and come into my world, would you do that? Would you really leave your world behind and join me in mine, Orazio Cattaneo? Think carefully before answering, Raz. I’m done with half-assed relationships. I’m done being an afterthought. I’m done coming last instead of being the most important person in my partner’s life. From now on, I want it all. No, I demand it all. I deserve it all. All or nothing. Can you give me your all, Orazio Cattaneo?”