Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Apprehension swelledin Kaylie’s chest as she backed out of the small office ahead of Anthony. It had been surreal to watch a man put her daughter to bed. Everything about Anthony Olson screamed “dangerous,” but the more time she spent with him, the more she was seeing the softness under all the hard edges.
How could she resist a man who called her daughter princess and kissed her good night?
The intense feeling of dread and anxiety that had held her captive since Drew’s phone call hadn’t quite released, but watching Anthony with Lia helped a little. As did being here with him. The fact that he knew she was running from the Moreno family had caught her off guard, but she had suspected there was more to Anthony Olson than she knew.
But he clearly didn’t know the whole story. And now that Lia was asleep, her time to avoid telling him the truth was over. She just wished… Well, no use in wishing for something that couldn’t be.
She liked the way Anthony looked at her, like she was someone worthy of protecting. But when he knew her real story, surely that would end. He knew she was running from the Moreno family, but he had no idea that it was her own mistakes that had put her in that situation to begin with. Anthony didn’t know that she had essentially been the personal property of Paul Moreno himself. And Kaylie didn’t really want him to know. Just in case he stopped looking at her in the intense caring way he did now.
She tugged on her sweater, tucking it around her waist with one arm and plodding down the stairs. In the kitchen, she busied herself making tea.
While Anthony didn’t say a word, she could somehow feel him behind her in the kitchen. Patiently waiting. Somehow, she knew he’d wait as long as it took.
She pressed her hands into the counter, hanging her head between her shoulders. She stared at the beveled edge of the granite countertops. “I can’t do this.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
In a moment, he was there beside her. One shoulder pressed against his chest, and he wrapped an arm around the other. “So strong,” he murmured.
She shook her head in disagreement, a cynical laugh escaping before being choked by the burning in her throat. He pulled her into himself, and Kaylie let herself melt into the embrace for a moment, knowing it might be the last time Anthony was willing to share his strength and comfort with her.
She pulled back, creating space between them again. Her hands shook slightly as she ripped open the tea packets and poured hot water into the mugs.
“Paul Moreno is Lia’s father,” she finally admitted, not looking at Anthony. She kept her eyes on the steam rising from the sturdy clay mugs. She hadn’t told a single soul that piece of truth, with the exception of Drew.
Drew, who was likely dead. Or worse, being tortured for helping her. She pressed her eyes shut against the dark thoughts.
Anthony was silent for a moment. Kaylie felt like her heart was being tugged up the track of a roller coaster, tension cranking up second by second, as she waited for him to respond. Waited for him to judge her and push her away.
“He doesn’t deserve her.”
The words sent her over the cliff of the coaster, the rush of relief like a freefall. Her eyes flew to his and found them even darker than normal. The usual flecks of gold were absent. His jaw was tight and his brow was furrowed.
She looked back to the twin mugs of tea. “Let’s sit,” she suggested.
He took the mugs and led them to the family room.
Kaylie found she was getting used to Anthony’s relative silence. He was a man of few words. But every single word he spoke was meaningful. It was a refreshing change from the men in the Moreno family. All of them had been obsessed with exerting their power and demonstrating their importance by running their mouths, as though the more words they said, the more the family leadership would value them.
Even Paul himself had been infatuated with the sound of his own voice.
But Anthony said more with his stillness and silence than most men said with their mouths. He held himself with confidence and strength. He wasn’t trying to convince anyone of anything. He wasn’t even trying to convince her to tell him her secrets.
Which was why she was about to tell Anthony Olson everything.
Kaylie curled her feet under her legs and wrapped her hands around the comforting warmth of the mug.
She took a deep breath. “When I was eighteen, I aged out of foster care. I floated around a bit, trying to build a life without a clue what I was doing. I ended up homeless, out of a job, and clinging to any scrap of escape I could find. Which is how I ended up in one of Moreno’s clubs.”
She remembered the desperation she’d felt. It was foolish to spend her last thirty bucks on the cover charge and a couple drinks in the nightclub. But between a shower at the shelter and the sparkly top she’d found at the thrift store, she almost felt like a normal woman. Maybe even a college student, ignoring an upcoming test to let loose and party for the night.
And that was how Paul Moreno found her. They’d danced as strangers, then he’d led her from the crowded dance floor to the VIP area. His hand rested on the small of her back as he took her beyond the velvet rope.
In a moment, her world had shifted. Suddenly, people paid attention to her. When she was on Paul’s arm, she mattered. He paid for everything, and within a week, she was living in his mansion and the women’s shelter was a faint memory.
“I remember thinking that I was so lucky. That my prince charming had rescued me…” Kaylie glanced up at Anthony, a wry smile on her lips. “I couldn’t have been more wrong. Paul Moreno wasn’t a prince. He was the villain. He became more controlling. More… violent,” she admitted. “I walked right into the lion’s den, already pretty broken. But he destroyed what was left of me.”
Anthony’s eyes flashed with anger. “Tell me about Cecelia.”
Kaylie smiled reflexively at her daughter’s name. “She was… a surprise. I’d been with Paul for years, and I’d always been careful. From the beginning I knew that I couldn’t bring a baby into that world. And then I was pregnant.”
She shook her head. “For a while, I thought maybe I would tell him and we would be a real family. But one night…” Kaylie swallowed thickly. Images of nightmares flashed in her mind.
“It’s okay, fiamella. You don’t have to tell me.”
She brushed at the tears on her cheeks. “I made him angry. I don’t even remember how now. But I ran, and he pushed me down the stairs.” Anthony’s entire body went tense beside her, but Kaylie just stared at the mug in her hands. “I broke my wrist, but mostly, I was terrified for the baby.
“I decided I had to get away… There was someone—a friend. My old foster brother was Paul Moreno’s right-hand man. Paul had no idea of our history, Drew made sure of that. But he helped me escape. If Moreno gets too close, Drew tips me off and I move on. He called me today. Paul found out—” Her words cut off as a sob tore through her chest.
Anthony set the mug aside and pulled her onto his lap. She buried her face in his chest.
“I don’t even know if he’s still alive,” she forced out the words between cries. “It’s all my fault.”
“No. It’s not your fault.” Anthony ran his hands over her back as his soft murmurs of words she couldn’t make out soothed her emotions.
“I can’t let him find Lia,” she urged.
“We won’t,” Anthony said firmly, his chest rumbling under her cheek.
“I can’t ask you to get involved. They’re dangerous.”
Anthony’s large body shook slightly under her. She leaned back to look at him, incredulous. “Are you… laughing?”
His expression was gentle as he shrugged. “Thank you for telling me your story, fiamella. I think it’s time I told you mine.”
Kaylie’s eyes widened. She nodded and pulled herself away from where she’d been laying on his chest. It probably should have felt awkward. They’d crossed a boundary she’d been so careful to keep. But she still couldn’t let herself pretend this was more than it was.
She settled on the other side of the couch, grabbing her mug. She looked at him, waiting for him to share whatever he was going to. Understanding the man in front of her felt extremely important, and she had a feeling that whatever he chose to share would be something that most people didn’t get to know about Anthony.
“I grew up in Chicago,” he started. “My father is Mario Olson.” Kaylie didn’t recognize the name but kept listening. “When I was younger, he was the kingpin of the Chicago mob. As far as the world knows, he was betrayed by his consigliere and is serving a life sentence.”
Kaylie’s mouth fell open. There was no way the man next to her was born into the Chicago mob. He was everything she knew those men weren’t.
Anthony was honorable, kind, and good.
He grimaced. “I know. It’s awful,” he said, his eyes sliding to a spot behind her. He almost seemed to be talking to himself. “The things I did for him…” The anguish on his face made her want to cry for the little boy he’d been back then. “I’ll never be able to undo them. It’s who I am.” Quickly, he schooled his features into the stone-faced expression she’d grown so familiar with.
Kaylie felt the argument building in her chest. She wanted to shake him until he realized that the things he’d done didn’t define him. He wasn’t the scared young man he’d been back then.
“I left the minute I turned eighteen. I joined the military, moved up the ranks. Eventually left and joined up with my buddy Flint when he created Black Tower Security.” His eyes found hers. “We’re highly trained operatives, Kaylie. The best in the world. The President of the United States has us on speed dial.” His soft chuckle just added to the incredulity of the statement.
Her mind swirled with the implications of his confession. She instinctively believed everything he said about Black Tower and their skills. But reconciling the honorable Anthony Olson with the son of a mob leader wasn’t quite so easy. He’d gotten out and built a life for himself.
Just like she had. Except her past didn’t want to let go. And now she was dragging him back into the same kind of mess he’d left behind.
“I need you to believe me when I tell you that Moreno and his lackeys are no match for Black Tower. For me.” He leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I don’t expect you to trust someone with my background. I grew up destined to be exactly like the monster you ran away from. But I promise, Kaylie, we can keep you safe.”
His eyes bore into hers, waiting for a response.
“Why?” The question that had been plaguing her since Anthony’s very first kindness to her slipped out.
A wrinkle formed between his brow.
“Why would you do this for me?” she reiterated.
Anthony’s eyes shifted and he pulled back his hand. Kaylie immediately missed the warmth.
“It’s part of Black Tower’s mission,” he said, “to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”
Kaylie nodded as though she understood, but she didn’t. It was a perfectly acceptable answer. One that explained why Anthony was so confident that Black Tower would help. But she couldn’t deny that his answer left her feeling disappointed.
It was foolish, but part of her had wanted him to admit that he was protecting her for another reason. A more personal reason. But if he wasn’t feeling the same pull toward her as she was to him, then she needed to accept that and just be grateful for the protection his company was willing to provide.
“So what do we do?”
A flicker of a smile flashed on Anthony’s face at her agreement.