Chapter 12
ERIC
The slap cracked across my cheek, sharp and sudden. The sting was nothing compared to the look in her eyes. Betrayal mixed with fury that cut deeper than any slap.
"You're not who I thought you were at all," she said. "And you've explained enough."
My jaw tightened, but I couldn't let her walk away. Not like this. "No. I need you to know I wanted to be honest with you this time around. I had no intention of keeping secrets."
"Really? That's handy to say now, isn't it? You had plenty of times to tell me. You were a coward, Eric. Too scared to tell me the truth, too scared I'd leave you."
The accusation hit home because it was partially true.
I had been scared, terrified of seeing this exact look on her face.
"I was going to tell you everything after this meeting.
" My grip on her arm remained firm but careful.
"I was going to lay it all out and hope you'd still accept me.
Give what we have a proper chance. And yes, maybe I was a little scared. "
Something shifted in her expression. Surprise, maybe even understanding, before her walls slammed back up.
"You're a liar. I can never trust you."
In one movement, I backed her against the brick wall, needing her to hear me, to understand.
My hands braced on either side of her head, caging her in without touching.
I watched her pupils dilate, felt the subtle change in her breathing, and hated myself for the satisfaction that coursed through me at her body's response.
"You can trust me with your life," I said, meaning every word.
"I'd have to if your life involves the criminal underworld." Her chin lifted in that defiant way that made my chest ache. "But I don't trust you. You left me. Now you've lied to me. Got me into bed under false pretenses."
"I didn't." The sigh escaped before I could stop it. "I meant everything I said to you."
"How could you?" Her voice cracked, and I wanted to pull her against me, to comfort her the way I had no right to anymore. "I'm nobody to you. Just a woman you fucked and maybe liked once upon a time. For all I know, you were using me to get closer to the Donatis."
The accusation was like ice water. Using her? How?
"Why the hell would I think sleeping with one of their servers would be ideal for getting close to them?"
She studied my face, searching for deception. "Maybe you figured out I had connections."
"What connections?" Genuine confusion must have shown because something in her expression shifted. "You're a waitress at their club. That's it."
I watched her internal struggle, the way she was trying to decide whether to trust me or protect herself.
"Are you lying?" she asked quietly. "Do you truly not know?"
"Know what?"
"About Elena being Meredith's sister."
My blood went cold. "Who's Meredith?"
"Meredith. Leo's wife."
The pieces clicked together with sickening clarity. Elena, Ivy's best friend and adopted sister essentially, was connected to the Donati family. Not just connected. Family. Which meant my reconnecting with Ivy looked like the most calculated move imaginable.
"Fuck," I breathed. "Ivy, I swear to you, I had no idea."
"You really didn't know Elena was Leo's sister-in-law?"
"No, I didn't." I stepped back, my hands falling from the wall. The space between us felt like a chasm. "I knew Leo had a wife. I knew there were family connections I needed to be aware of. But I didn't know about Elena, about any of it."
I could see her wanting to believe me, the hope warring with her need to protect herself. It was written all over her face, and it was killing me.
The club door opened, and Sofia Donati stepped into the alley. Her dark eyes took in the scene with the kind of practiced assessment that reminded me exactly who I was dealing with.
"Let her go," Sofia said. Not a request.
I stepped back immediately, hands raised. The last thing I needed was to make this situation worse by appearing threatening to a member of the family I was trying to build an alliance with.
Sofia moved to Ivy's side, her hand gentle on Ivy's shoulder. "You okay?"
Ivy nodded, but I could see she wasn't. Could see the way she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.
Sofia turned her attention to me. "I think you should head back to your hotel."
"I'm concerned this could impact the family alliance," I said, hating how professional I sounded but needing them to understand the broader implications. "That Leo and Grayson may question my intentions now."
"They might," Sofia agreed. "But that's something we'll handle internally. Right now, you need to give Ivy some space."
Every instinct I had screamed against walking away from her. Against leaving things like this between us. My hands flexed at my sides with the effort it took not to reach for her again.
"I'm sorry," I said, looking directly at Ivy. "For all of it. I truly had no idea about your connection to the family."
She couldn't even look at me.
I held her gaze for another moment, memorizing her face, then nodded to Sofia and forced myself to walk toward the street. Each step felt like tearing something vital from my chest.
Behind me, I heard Sofia's gentle voice. "Something tells me we need to talk, don't we?"
"Maybe."
I kept walking, but Ivy's broken voice followed me into the night.
I sat in my hotel room, the city lights of Ironstone spreading below me like scattered diamonds. The meeting with the Donatis had gone well, better than expected. Leo had agreed to the alliance, understood the strategic advantages it would bring both families.
And then I'd seen Ivy.
My chest tightened at the memory of her face when she'd realized what I was. I pulled out my phone, staring at the contact labeled "Father" before pressing call, dreading what I had to report.
"Eric." His voice was crisp despite the late hour. "I assume you're calling with good news."
"The alliance is moving forward," I confirmed, though the words felt hollow. "Leo agreed to our terms. We'll have access to their western networks, their midwest contacts. In exchange, we provide our European connections and political leverage."
"Excellent. The council will be pleased."
I leaned back against the headboard, my stomach knotting. "There's a potential complication."
A pause. "What kind of complication?"
"Personal," I said carefully, hating how the word tasted. "A woman I was involved with years ago works at the club where we met. She's friends with Leo's sister-in-law."
The silence stretched long enough that I wondered if he'd hung up. "How close are they?"
"Close enough that this could look like I was using her to gain access to the family." The possibility made me sick. Everything I'd touched, everything I'd tried to protect, I'd managed to corrupt.
"Were you?"
"No." The word came out defensive. "I didn't even know about the connection until tonight."
"But you've renewed your involvement with her?"
I closed my eyes, seeing Ivy's face again, the exact moment trust had shattered into betrayal. "Yes."
"Then you need to decide what's more important," he said, and I could hear the disappointment already forming. "This woman or the alliance. Because if the Donatis think you're playing games, everything we've worked for will collapse."
"I know." But knowing didn't make it easier. Four years ago, I'd walked away to protect her. Now I'd dragged her right back into the nightmare I'd tried to shield her from.
"Do you?" His voice sharpened. "Because from where I'm sitting, it sounds like you're letting sentiment cloud your judgment. Again."
The subtle reference to Ivy, to my decision to leave her years ago, telling him how I hadn't wanted to, was not missed. He'd called it weakness then too.
"I'm handling it."
"See that you do. The family has invested significant resources into this expansion. Don't make me regret putting you in charge of it."
The line went dead.
I set the phone on the nightstand and closed my eyes. The alliance was secure, or at least it had been before my moment with Ivy. Now I'd have to prove to the Donatis that my relationship with Ivy wasn't some calculated move, that I hadn't spent four years planning this elaborate manipulation.
And I'd have to prove to Ivy that what we had was real, that every kiss, every whispered word, every moment of tenderness hadn't been a lie.
Both tasks felt impossible. I'd hurt her again, exactly what I'd sworn I'd never do.
My phone buzzed with a text. For a moment, desperate hope flared that it might be Ivy, but the name on the screen belonged to one of the guys I had keeping tabs on the Malatesta family.
Malatesta situation developing, potentially aware of new plans. No movement yet.
I typed back.
Keep monitoring.
The Malatestas were a separate problem, another thread that could unravel everything. Leo had been clear about the friction this alliance would cause with them, about the potential need to push them out entirely if they didn't fall in line. And now Ivy was caught in the crossfire of that too.
I'd dealt with territorial disputes before. Had negotiated, threatened, and when necessary, eliminated obstacles to my family's business interests. Violence was a tool I wielded well when diplomacy failed.
But this felt different. Because now Ivy was in the middle of it, whether she wanted to be or not. The thought of her becoming collateral damage in our war made my blood run cold.
I thought about her face in the alley, the way she'd looked at me when she realized what I was.
The betrayal in her eyes had gutted me more than any violence I'd experienced in my years with the family.
She would've looked at me the same way if I'd given her a chance when I'd left her the first time, and knowing I'd put it there again made me want to put my fist through the window.
At least this time I'd hurt her face-to-face, not over text. I wasn't sure which hurt more.
She'd trusted me, tentatively, cautiously. And I'd broken that trust by keeping things from her, just like before.
My phone buzzed again. This time it was a number I didn't recognize.
This is Sofia Savoca-Donati. We need to talk. Tomorrow, 10 AM, Café Nero on Fifth Street. Come alone.
My pulse quickened. Sofia reaching out directly meant she was either trying to assess me separately from Leo and Grayson, or she was about to deliver a warning on Ivy's behalf.
Probably both. The Donati were known for their protective instincts, and despite being a Savoca, I'd not underestimate her, and I'd just given Sofia every reason to see me as a threat.
I'll be there.
Standing, I moved to the window, my reflection a ghost against the glass.
Somewhere out there, Ivy was probably home by now, maybe curled up with Elena, telling her everything that had happened.
Would Elena advise her to cut ties completely?
To walk away from whatever mess I'd brought into her life?
She should. Any rational friend would tell Ivy to run as far and as fast as possible.
It's what a good friend would do. It's what I should do too.
But maybe, just maybe, Elena's ties into this world would give her enough pause to give me a chance. Elena was already tangled in this darker underbelly. But that was also vastly different to being romantically involved with a main family member.
I pressed my palm against the cool glass, feeling the weight of every choice that had led me here. I'd told Ivy I wouldn't disappear again, wouldn't walk away without explanation. The promise felt like lead in my chest.
I intended to keep it.
But I also couldn't force her to accept what I was. Couldn't make her understand that the man she'd known four years ago and the man standing in this hotel room were the same person. I just had more blood on my hands now. More secrets. More ways to destroy everything she touched.
The city stretched below me, indifferent to my problems, to the chaos I'd unleashed.
Somewhere in those streets, the Malatestas were plotting their response to the new alliance.
Somewhere, my father was reporting to the council about our progress, about my latest failure to keep business and personal separate.
And somewhere, Ivy was deciding whether I was worth the risk, or if she could even forgive me for dragging her into this world.
The thought of losing her a second time, of watching her walk away knowing it was my fault, made my chest feel like it was caving in.
I turned away from the window, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal. Tomorrow I'd meet with Sofia, navigate whatever test she had planned. Then I'd figure out how to convince the Donatis I wasn't playing them, that my feelings for Ivy weren't part of some elaborate con.
After that, if Ivy would still see me, I'd spend however long it took proving I was worth her trust. Even if it meant showing her parts of myself I'd spent years trying to keep hidden. Even if it meant admitting that every instinct I had was telling me to protect her by walking away.
My phone buzzed one more time.
Do what's right for the family, Eric.
I sighed at my father's text.
For now, I needed to focus on one catastrophe at a time.
And the biggest problem wasn't the Malatestas or the alliance or even my father's expectations. It was the growing certainty that I'd done exactly what I'd sworn I'd never do. I'd hurt Ivy again. Worse, I'd put her in danger.
I wasn't sure how to be the man Ivy deserved while still being the man my family needed.
The two versions of myself felt more incompatible than ever.
But for Ivy, I was willing to try. Even if trying meant watching everything I'd built crumble around me.
She was the fire that had fueled me all those years ago, the spark that had reignited me as soon as I'd seen her. Reminded me of what I truly wanted in this world. The one thing money and power couldn't get me.