Chapter 3
THREE
Marchello
Purging myself to Lissia didn’t help. I had never sought absolution before, so why would I expect it for the biggest sin I had ever committed?
“What do you mean you’re responsible?” Lissia asked.
Memories of her pained expression when I told her that Gian was dead and the way she trembled against my side when I held her at the cemetery clouded my mind.
I couldn’t allow my emotions to derail the loyalty I felt for my father.
“I won’t discuss this here.” I took her by the elbow and guided her down the hall. “We’re leaving.”
“No!” She yanked out of my hold.
“Lissia.” I gritted my teeth. “I will explain everything when we get home. But right now, you need to get in the car and go with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you admit what your family has done.” She placed her hand on her hip, expelling more defiance than I would have liked. “If your family didn’t do what Angelo has accused you of doing, then just say that and we can go.”
“It isn’t that simple,” I said as Milo and my father approached us.
“Marchello,” my father said. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes.” Lissia moved toward him. “I want to know who killed my father.”
“I see.” My father glared at me, probably disappointed that I had no control over the woman I was going to marry, before he turned back to Lissia. “I can answer your question, but I’ll do it on my terms, not yours.”
“What are your terms?” she asked.
“I don’t discuss my affairs in public.” He took a step toward her, forcing her to retreat and bump into me. “If you’re going to be part of my family, you need to show some respect.”
Don’t talk back to him.
“Marchello, I’ll meet you at the main house,” my father said.
His guard, who had been waiting in the background, opened the front door for him.
“I trust you’ll have the situation under control by then.” My father looked at Lissia. “And I trust you understand that you are the situation .”
She let out an exasperated breath.
When my father exited the house, the guests who had been observing us from the living room diverted their attention. They didn’t dare look into my eyes.
“Milo,” I said. “Lissia’s coat and bag are upstairs in her old room. Can you retrieve them and bring them back to the house for us?”
“No problem.” Milo ran his hand through his hair. “Do you need me to do anything else?”
“Let Rosalie know we left and that Lissia will call her later. Have Ricardo stay here and help with managing the staff for cleaning up.”
Lissia’s silence worried me, but not as much as the dread building in my gut over the inevitable family meeting we were about to attend. I wasn’t afraid of my father. But the reaction Lissia would have to learning who was responsible for her father’s fate gnawed at me.
I removed my jacket and draped it over Lissia’s shoulders. “Let’s go.”
Dom greeted us on the porch.“Are you ready?”
“Yes.” I guided Lissia down the steps as Dom went to get the car.
“I know it wasn’t you,” she whispered. “But you’ve known from the moment it happened who it was.”
“You’ll have all the answers when we get home.”
Whether you want them or not.
* * *
As we approached my father’s study, I stopped and turned Lissia to face me.
“If there was ever a time for you to listen, now would be it,” I said. “That’s not a warning. Just some advice.”
The sooner she learned my father didn’t have the patience I had when it came to her, the better off she would be.
Keeping with the theme of the car ride here, she didn’t say a word. She slipped my jacket off her shoulders.
“You need to listen to every word my father tells you.” I took the jacket from her and put it on, breathing in the strawberry aroma that lingered in the material. “Even if you don’t like what he’s saying.”
Milo joined us by the door and handed Lissia her bag he had taken from her old bedroom at her father’s house.
“Here you go, beautiful,” he said. “We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Milo pushed on the ajar door.
My father looked up from the papers in front of him. “Good. You’re all here.”
He stood as we entered the room, and he motioned for Lissia to sit on the leather couch across from his desk. When she did so without hesitation, I became unsettled.
Why is she being so cooperative? I know I’d told her to listen, but listening wasn’t one of Lissia’s best qualities. I’d expected at least a little resistance.
Milo’s shocked expression matched my feelings, but neither of us said anything.
My father joined Lissia on the couch, I stood behind her, and Milo took a seat at my father’s desk.
The dimly lit room projected shadows on the walls, creating an ominous setting as the aroma of leather and lemon furniture polish filled the air. Vivid memories of being summoned here when I was younger crossed my mind.
It wasn’t often that I disappointed my father—probably because I never wanted to let him down—but there were a few times when I had gotten out of line at school or had been in a fight.
He never reprimanded me for fighting, but if I wasn’t the one who started that fight, I sure as hell had to be the one who finished it. My father always had my back as long as the altercation was justified. He never allowed Milo or me to be the bully, but it was also never acceptable for us to be bullied.
As much as I hated what he was about to tell Lissia, the truth had to be revealed. My father had my back when he eliminated Gian. The same way I would have his. The Accettis protected their own.
“Lissia,” my father said. “I’m sorry that Angelo felt the need to approach you and spew such hate at your father’s funeral.”
“Is what he said true?” she asked. “Did you kill him? Were you avenging your sons?”
“Do you really want the answer to that question? Because I can’t answer that question without giving you more information that you aren’t prepared for.” My father motioned toward the black bottle of vodka sitting on his desk. “Milo, pour Lissia a glass.”
Milo did what he was told and filled Lissia’s glass with a larger portion than I would have, but she was probably going to need it after this conversation.
“I want the truth.” She accepted the vodka from my brother. “I need the truth.”
My father glanced at me, and I nodded. He would be able to tell her what she needed to hear much more efficiently than I ever could. He wouldn’t let his emotions distract him.
“I know you’re aware of the plan Danny Collins has for you.” My father’s jaw tensed. “I won’t allow that vile man to breathe much longer.”
“I appreciate that, but what does that have to do with my father?” she asked.
“You know why I’ve been away,” he said.
“You were helping the cartel look for Miguel.”
“My search turned up some disturbing news.” He loosened his tie. “Miguel was crucial in running a sex trafficking ring in my territory without my knowledge.”
I clenched my fist. The Accettis may have done plenty of illegal things, but sex trafficking wasn’t one of them. Knowing there was a bounty out to take Lissia captive so she would be sold to the highest bidder made me blind with rage.
Lissia sipped her drink. “His cartel didn’t know?”
“Miguel was working for someone else.” My father tapped his fingers on the couch.
I placed my hand on Lissia’s shoulder. She turned and gazed at me for a moment, and the sadness in her expression gutted me.
“You have to understand, I don’t freely discuss my business with just anyone, especially not with people outside of my organization,” my father said. “I need you to understand why I did what I did.”
Lissia gulped the vodka, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head when she removed her lips from the glass. My father’s knack for manipulating the situation to remain in control wasn’t lost on me.
He ran his hand along his jaw. “When a prominent member of another family found out his sister had been targeted for an auction, he acted on instinct and murdered Miguel. But if he would have come to me and told me what was going on, I would have protected him.”
“Instead,” Milo said, “he hid this information from us because he feared retaliation.”
My father stood and went to his desk.
I rested my hand on Lissia’s shoulder.
He pulled a file from the drawer and brought it back to the couch. “When Danny put out the word that you would be put up for auction next, I found someone on the inside who could get me the information I needed to find out who had the balls to coerce Miguel to run such an operation in my territory.”
She studied the file my father held “It’s Danny, right?”
“A low-level arms dealer doesn’t have the resources to act alone,” my father said.
“I still don’t understand what this has to do with my father. You found Miguel’s killer, and it led you to Danny. You’re home now. Your sons are alive. Why did you…” She chugged the rest of her drink. “You came to his house. Everyone knew you were responsible. I don’t understand. Are you saying my father is responsible for the trafficking?”
“Lissia.” I rounded the couch and sat next to her. “Let my father finish.”
“This file was given to me by a trusted source,” my father said. “These are text messages between your father and Collins. They were sent a few days ago.”
He handed me the file.
I quickly read the texts, and if Gian wasn’t already dead, I would have blown his brains out myself. I glanced at my father, and he nodded.
“These texts were sent the night we left your father’s house,” I said. “After you tried to call a truce.”
“What do they say?” She peered at the open folder. “What did he do?”
“He signed your death warrant.” I handed her the folder. “He told Danny to set up an auction and offer you to the highest bidder.”
“What? That can’t be…” She read the papers in front of her. “No.”
She dropped the glass she had been holding, and it shattered on the hardwood floor.
“Lissia.” I tried to take the folder, but she tugged it from me.
“He said whoever finds me gets a reward.” Her hands shook. “He told Danny to find the most brutal men to bid on me.”
“That’s fucked up,” Milo muttered.
“That’s enough.” I put my arm around her trembling frame as my father pried the folder from her fingers.
“Those texts were sent a few days before the transaction was made,” my father said.
“What transaction?” Lissia asked.
“A day before Thanksgiving, you were sold to a powerful, ruthless man from South America. He has remained anonymous, but I’ll keep looking for his name. Your father accepted the money a few hours before I intervened.”
Her body shook harder as she slumped against me.
“The bidder wired the money into your father’s account.” My dad tossed the file onto his desk. “Which means if Collins or any of his men get their hands on you, you will belong to this man.”
“I’ll never let that happen.” I held her tight, swallowing my rage. “I promise you.”
“Marchello is right,” my dad said. “You are under this family’s protection, but there are measures we’re going to have to take to keep you safe until I can undo this deal and bring down this operation.”
“You’ve already completed the first step.” Her voice was low and broken. “That’s why you came back. You didn’t just order that hit, did you?”
“You wanted to know if I avenged my sons.” My father stood in front of us, gazing down at her. He tilted her chin up. “I did what I had to do, but they weren’t the only ones I avenged that night. You have a lot to consider.”
She never took the path of least resistance. Her impulsive behavior wouldn’t allow it. But I would lock her in the bedroom until we resolved this situation if I had to.
“We can keep you safe.” My father stared into her frightened eyes. “Do you stand with us even though I’m responsible for the death of your father? Can you live among us knowing who we are? What we are capable of?”
She swallowed hard as tears streamed down her face. I hoped Gian rotted in hell for every horrible thing he had done to his daughter.
“I don’t need the answers to these questions.” My father released her from his hold. “But my son does.”
I stood and extended my hand for her. “I’m going to bring Lissia upstairs. She’s had a rough couple days.”
They were about to get even harder.
“Milo and I will take care of business,” my father said. “You take care of Lissia.”
Lissia took my hand, but when she stood, her knees buckled and she fell into me. I held her close, guiding her out of the study and to the main staircase.
When I scooped her into my arms, she didn’t fight me, and I carried her upstairs to the left wing of the massive estate. My father’s wing was in the center, and Milo’s and mine were on either side of his. We co-existed in the house as a family, but it was large enough for us to have our own space.
Now, more than ever, Lissia and I needed that privacy.
Once we entered my suite, I closed the door and set her on the couch in the sitting room. I knelt down in front of her and removed her shoes to rub her tired feet.
“Your father,” she said. “Shouldn’t he have sent someone to eliminate my father? I mean, he’s Nico Accetti. How did he just…”
“Walk up to your father on a busy street and assassinate him?”
She nodded.
“He’s a very determined man. When he wants something done, he gets it done.” I got up and took off my jacket. After draping it over the chair, I removed my gun from the back of my pants. “But you’re right, that’s not something he does on a regular basis.”
“You knew?”
“I had a feeling.” I took off my tie and unbuttoned my shirt. “I didn’t know about the transaction or your father being responsible for the auction until today. I thought Collins acted alone.”
“How could he do that to me?” She pushed her hair from her face. “I knew he was mad at me but… This can’t be happening.”
“You need to process all of this.” I sat next to her and took her hands in mine, glancing down at her engagement ring. “I’ll be right by your side.”
“Your father murdered mine. That’s a lot to process.”
“He explained why he did it.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No, it doesn’t, but we’re going to have to deal with that later.” I caressed her cheek. “My main priority is keeping you safe.”
“Am I safe here? Because my whole world has been blown apart. I don’t know who I am or where I’m headed.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I clenched my jaw and lifted her hand to point to her ring. “You know where you’re headed. You belong to me.”
When she didn’t reassure me that she would be my wife, something inside me snapped. After all we had been through, now she wanted to have doubts?
“The truth is harsh,” I said. “I get that. Your father was a prick, but now that you know the truth, you have to make a choice.”
“I can’t make any promises. Don’t push me.”
“I’m not pushing you. I’m protecting you.”
“I can’t do this right now.” She got off the couch and turned her back on me.
“You need to make a choice.” I tried to stay calm as I considered everything she had been through this week. “This is no time for your erratic behavior.”
I stood behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist and sliding my other hand to her throat. “Either marry me or walk away and take your chances.”