28. Emzee
My hands were shaking with nerves.
The whole car ride over, Ford had held them firmly in his lap and that had made me feel better, but now, standing in the entryway of the Malones’ brownstone, knowing we were about to face his parents, I couldn’t stop them from trembling again.
Ford and I had agreed on a plan, but I had no idea if it was going to work.
We’d promised that we were in this together, but I was afraid of what would happen if we failed.
I was afraid what would happen to my brothers and sisters-in-law, to my niece and Brooklyn’s baby.
What would happen to my own tiny, new family.
My husband. My baby.
But I also knew that I was done letting the Malones make all the decisions for us.
I knew that we had to fight back, even if it scared me to death.
At least Ford was at my side.
He linked his fingers with mine and we headed to the dining room.
His parents were expecting him for dinner, alone—so I had a feeling they were going to throw a fit the moment they saw me with him.
I wasn’t wrong.
We walked into the room, and Mama Malone was up and out of her chair within seconds.
Father Malone even deigned to put his newspaper down.
“What is she doing here?” Ford’s mother sputtered.
She was speaking to Ford, but I was the one who answered.
“I have an announcement,” I told them.
“One you’ll want to hear.”
“Well.” Ford’s dad sighed, and he got up, too.
“I imagine we’ll have more privacy in the library.”
“Dad—” Ford started.
“Suits me,” I said brightly.
“Shall we?”
Honestly, I wasn’t interested in spending an entire meal—or any portion of one—with Ford’s parents.
And besides, Ford and I planned to leave as soon as this was through.
Once we were all seated, with the exception of Ford, who stood beside my chair, Mrs. Malone huffed, “Well? What the hell is going on?”
A bit smugly, I announced, “I have an ultimatum for you. Both of you.”
Ford’s parents sat back, clearly annoyed.
“Here’s the deal,” I went on.
“You can get my family out of trouble with the mob, or I can do it myself. Either way, Ford and I are staying together.”
I reached over and took my husband’s hand.
“That’s nonnegotiable,” Ford added.
Mrs. Malone was speechless, for once.
They both looked incredulous that I had the nerve to show up at their house and make demands.
Ford’s father was the first to respond.
“Why would we help you out if you stay with Ford?” he asked, clearly confused.
“You know that was the price of our assistance. No divorce, no assistance.”
I was nervous, but I lifted my chin, trying to be brave.
“Because if you don’t help us out, then you’ll be even further connected to the mob. Because I’ll have to give my shares of the modeling business to the Russians. It will replace the money they want from us, but it will also permanently tie them to my family.”
“How is that our problem?” Mrs. Malone asked sourly.
“Because as long as I’m with Ford?—”
“Which will be forever,” he interrupted, fixing his parents with a stare.
“—then that means your family is tied to mine,” I finished.
I let those words sink in before I continued, the senior Malones eyeing each other uncomfortably.
They were smart people—manipulative and sly, yes, but clever—and I was pretty sure they were connecting the dots on their own, but I was going to make sure they knew exactly what would happen if they didn’t agree to our terms.
“Right now the Zoric family and Danica Rose Management have very shiny PR. If someone finds out, years from now, that these payments to the mob have been happening, it will look like business as usual—that is, the kind of business that my father ran under the KZ Modeling name—was still going on.”
I fixed my stare at Father Malone.
“And everyone will assume that you knew all along.”
The plan wasn’t ideal—my family had gone clean and I didn’t want to force them into a partnership with the mob—but I was counting on the Malones to have a change of heart after they heard us out.
“There’s more,” Ford added.
His father gave him a look that could have peeled wallpaper.
I smiled sweetly.
Ford had told me that morning about his Hail Mary.
Because now that we’d figured out a way to be together no matter what, he’d felt his backup plan was something he could share.
The Malones were going to be furious once they heard it.
“I’ve been collecting information on you,” Ford continued.
“The documentation I have is somewhat sketchy, but it’s enough proof to turn you in.”
I saw the color in Ford’s father’s face drain away.
Mrs. Malone was clutching the arms of the chair she was sitting in as if she was afraid to let go.
“It’ll never hold up in court,” she said, but her voice was squeaky with panic.
Obviously, she understood the trouble they were in.
I wasn’t sure Ford’s father, with the stubborn set of his jaw, was thinking as clearly as she was.
Ford shrugged. “It doesn’t have to. At the very least, I could leak enough to make things look very scandalous. Enough to ruin your reputations for good.”
That seemed to snap his father out of his daze.
“You turn us in, you’re only hurting yourself,” he said, drawing himself up straighter in his chair.
“This whole empire I’ve built would be destroyed. All your inheritance, gone.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Ford said.
“I’ve built my own empire, completely separate from yours.”
He was proud of that, and he should have been.
He’d worked hard to separate himself from his family name and he would be fine if he had to walk away from MREH for good.
He had all the contacts and connections he’d need to start his own business.
Maybe even in New York.
That realization was clearly a blow to the Malones, but we weren’t done with them yet.
“There’s still one more thing,” I said.
Mrs. Malone shot daggers at me with her eyes.
But they barely landed, glancing off of me instead.
I’d gotten stronger in the time I’d been with Ford.
Her disapproval couldn’t touch me.
“If you decide not to help us out,” I continued, “then we’ll remain close enough to you to keep the mob ties a concern, but you will have absolutely nothing to do with our child.”
I put my hand over my belly, and Ford squeezed my shoulder.
“You’re pregnant?” Ford’s mother asked, her voice barely a whisper.
I held my breath, afraid I might have counted too much on Ford’s parents caring about his offspring.
It had been a gamble to think they would prioritize a grandchild over their money and reputation, especially since it had become clear that they didn’t prioritize Ford in that way.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “And yes, it is Ford’s.”
Mrs. Malone turned to her husband.
“We can’t cut off our only grandchild,” she said.
I felt Ford relax next to me, and I squeezed his hand, relieved beyond measure.
Ford’s father looked less convinced, but as usual, he also didn’t look like he was going to argue with his wife.
The senior Malones had some kind of silent conversation with their eyes, and then Mr. Malone turned his attention back on me and Ford.
“The Russians won’t be a problem for you anymore,” he said.
The minute Ford and I were in a car heading home, we both let out a whoop of joy.
Then he took me in his arms and kissed me until I could barely see straight.
“I wish I could have a glass of champagne,” I told him, even though I was feeling giddy enough that I didn’t really need alcohol.
“We should celebrate.”
“Oh, we will,” Ford said with a smirk.
“But the kind of celebrating I have in mind doesn’t require champagne.”
I blushed, knowing that the minute we got home, we would be in each other’s arms again.
And this would be our life together from now on.
We didn’t have to pretend, we didn’t have to hide, we didn’t have to keep secrets.
We leaned back against the seats, lost for a moment in our own little world, Ford’s arm around my shoulder, both of our hands against my stomach.
“Do you think the baby is what changed their mind?” I asked.
“Maybe. I think they realized they were fucked and the baby just gave them a reason to do the right thing. As much as they can do the right thing.”
“Do you think they’ll want to be in the baby’s life?”
The thought of possibly having to attend weekly dinners with Ford’s parents was one I didn’t like considering.
“We won’t be spending much time with them, especially if we decide to stay in New York,” Ford promised.
“But from now on, we get to decide how much we want them in our lives. Or in our baby’s life.”
“I like that,” I said.
“And the important thing is, you didn’t have to sell the business.”
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“Danica Rose gets to stay in the family. Exactly where it belongs.”
I relaxed even further into his arms, feeling a sense of relief that I hadn’t felt in months—that I hadn’t felt since Stefan first told me that the Bratva was after us.
“And,” I added, “I didn’t have to bring the mob back into my brothers’ lives.”
“Feels nice, doesn’t it?” Ford asked, pulling me closer.
“So nice,” I said, letting out a sigh.
It was true that we would always have the shadow of a connection to the underground through Ford’s parents, but it was worth it in the end.
Because we were finally free.
This was a whole new beginning for us, and I could hardly wait.