8. Marco
Chapter Eight
MARCO
I slam my empty whisky glass down onto the table, my fourth of the night so far.
My head is pounding, but this time, it’s got nothing to do with the alcohol making its way through my bloodstream.
“She fucking lied to me.”
After my little talk with Clara, I got straight in my car and drove back to the city, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible.
Hearing her beg like that cracked me open, and I had to get out of that house before I did something stupid, like forgive her right then and there.
I called my brother on the drive over to Nox, asking him to meet me for a drink.
I’m going crazy from the speed at which my thoughts are racing, and Andre is the only person good at talking me down. I figured he would know what to do about Clara because right now, I don’t trust myself not to do or say something that would sever the last threads that are holding us together.
If it turns out that Clara truly has been conspiring with Tommaso all this time…
Andre sighs as he swirls the amber liquid around in his own glass before downing it. “You already said that.”
“Yeah, and? She lied, Andre. She fucking lied. ”
Andre holds up a finger to signal to one of the waitresses to bring us another round.
The bar is packed, which means our conversation is being drowned out by the buzz of the patrons surrounding our booth.
I should be glad to see the place so busy, but the noise is only making my headache worse.
“I’m just not buying it,” Andre takes a slow sip of the fresh whisky set in front of him.
“Buying what?”
My brother narrows his eyes at me, and I mutter a half-hearted apology under my breath.
I know I’m acting like an ass by treating him like my verbal punching bag, but can he really blame me?
The family I thought I had is slipping through my fingers at an alarming rate.
“The whole theory of Tommaso planting Clara in the hotel bar to seduce you sounds too far-fetched to me,” he says. “And not just because she was blind drunk.”
“She’d just been dump—” I think of Adam, Clara’s ex-fiancé and the guy I beat half to death to teach him a lesson for hurting her.
Was that nothing more than a cover up story to get me talking in the hopes that I would pity her and take her to my bed?
“Fuck. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Andre watches me quietly, waiting for me to keep going, because he knows I will. He knows I’m too fired up to stop now.
I run a hand through my hair, tugging at the roots as if that’ll do something to stop the pressure building behind my eyes.
“If this were the first time she lied, maybe I could get past it. But it’s not the first time, is it?”
Andre tilts his head slightly. “No, I suppose it’s not.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “She kept my daughter from me, Andre. A whole fucking child. And now this? What am I going to find out next? That she has a secret boyfriend stashed away somewhere? A whole other life I don’t know about?”
I expect Andre to agree with me, to tell me that this is entire situation is fucked and that I have no reason to ever trust Clara again.
But instead, he just sighs. “You might be overreacting.”
I almost spit out my whisky. “Excuse me?”
He holds up a hand. “I’m not excusing what Clara did by keeping Zoe a secret. But that’s the part that isn’t making sense to me.”
“Let me help you, then. She. Fucking. Lied .”
“I swear to god, Marco, if you say that one more time, I’m going to lose my shit.”
I bristle at my brother’s tone, but I keep quiet.
“If Tommaso wanted Clara to get knocked up to use a kid as bait, why would she have kept Zoe a secret for so long? Surely, she would have tracked you down the moment she found out she was pregnant?”
It’s a thought that has crossed my mind, but who knows what the plan was? “Maybe she kept it a secret to make it less obvious.”
The muscle in Andre’s jaw flexes as he regards me from across the table.
I frown harder. “What?”
“Why did you bother bringing me here to talk, Marco? It seems to me like you’ve made up your mind about her.”
“I wanted you to talk me down! I wanted you to tell me that I’ve got it all wrong.”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do? I’m trying to tell you to give Clara the benefit of the doubt, but for someone who claims to want to be talked down, you really have a problem with listening. God. You’re so fucking stubborn sometimes that it’s like talking to a brick wall.”
“I’m sorry that I’m concerned about the welfare of our family.”
Andre doesn’t flinch. Instead, he lifts his glass to his lips and drains it in one gulp before setting it down on the table.
“It’s like I said, I think you might be overreacting.
Don’t get me wrong, you have every right to be pissed, every right.
But you’re acting like she planned all of this down to the tiniest detail, just to see how much she could piss you off before you explode. ”
I grit my teeth, my hands curling into fists beneath the table. “That’s not what I think.”
“No? Because it sure as hell sounds like it.”
I don’t answer, mostly because I don’t know what I think anymore.
Andre exhales as he crosses his arms over his chest, his brows furrowed as he looks at me. “You love this woman, Marco. And from everything I’ve seen? She loves you too. Do you really think she’s been playing you from the start? That she’s some mastermind working against you?”
I shake my head, my voice coming out lower this time. “She claims she hasn’t spoken to her brother in years.” I let out a harsh laugh. “If that’s true, it’s a hell of a coincidence that he just shows up out of nowhere.”
Andre doesn’t deny it. He just watches me carefully before nodding. “Yeah, it is. But sometimes, shit just happens. None of this means that Clara is in on it.”
I exhale, running a hand over my jaw. I haven’t shaved in days, and my five-o’clock shadow is starting to turn into a fully blown beard. “I don’t think I can trust her. Not yet.”
“Then don’t.”
I frown at him, but Andre just shrugs.
“If you’re not sure, then don’t trust her. But don’t punish her for something she might not have done either.”
I lean back against the cold leather of the booth, my arms crossed tightly over my chest as I try to think of what to do.
I wish I could just take Clara’s word for it, but the timing of Ben’s appearance doesn’t add up. It’s too much of a coincidence for me to ignore.
“What do you suggest I do? Just wait and pretend like nothing ever happened?”
Andre shakes his head. “I think you should look into Clara’s past. If she’s telling the truth, it won’t be hard to prove. And if she really hasn’t had contact with Ben for years, you’ll find out.”
“And if she has?” I grit my teeth, a dull ache starting to settle in my stomach as I think about losing Clara.
“Then you’ll know.”
Before I can talk myself out of it, I pull out my phone and dial Liam’s number. I might have already had him conduct a background search on Clara after that first night in the hotel, but it’s clear that he didn’t dig deep enough.
This time, I’m not going to make the same mistake.
The line connects.
“More work already? You’re keeping me busy, boss.”
“I want everything you can find on Clara Peterson. Every phone record, financial transaction, family visit, the lot. But most importantly, I want to know the last time she spoke to her brother.”
Andre catches my eye from across the table and dips his chin.
Liam whistles low. “Damn, Marco. You’re digging deep this time, huh?” He chuckles.
I don’t respond. I don’t need to.
“All right. Give me some time.”
I end the call before slipping the phone back into my pocket.
“Well, we might as well drink while you wait.” Andre signals to the waitress once more.
The moment another glass of whisky is set down in front of me, I take it and toss back half in one swallow.
Andre studies me for a second before leaning forward. “So, there’s something else I wanted to tell you.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
Andre takes another sip of his whisky before smirking slightly. “Lila’s pregnant.”
The tension in my chest eases just a little, and despite everything, I find myself smiling. “Well, shit. Congratulations.”
Andre grins. “Figured it would happen sooner or later.”
“Good to know you can still get it up, even at your old age.”
“Fuck off. I can get it up just fine. I mean, have you seen my wife?”
“I’d rather not comment.” I take another sip of my drink.
“I hope it’s a boy this time.” Andre smiles. “We’re already significantly outnumbered.”
“That we are.” I sigh as I think of Clara and Zoe. “I can’t believe you’re having another kid. It seems like yesterday you and Lila just met.”
Andre looks down at his drink. “I know, it’s going so fast.”
“I could see myself having another kid.” I run a hand over my jaw. “At least, I could have before all this shit happened.”
“My little brother’s changed.” Andre chuckles, shaking his head. “A couple years ago, I was convinced you’d never settle down. I thought I’d be carving playboy into your gravestone.”
I scoff. “There were times I thought the same, but then....”
Andre tilts his glass toward me. “But then Clara happened.”
Clara happened.
The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I drain the rest of my drink before getting to my feet.“I should get back.”
To where, I don’t know. The thought of going back to the Westchester house and running into Clara feels too much like I’m tempting fate.
But then I think of Zoe, and my chest tightens.
No matter what, she is still my child, and I can’t just walk away from her.
Andre lifts his eyes to me. “There’s one more thing.”
I turn, already on edge. “What now? Don’t tell me Rosa’s pregnant too.”
“Fuck, no. But it’s to do with Tommaso.” He exhales, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What about him?”
“There are rumors going around that Tommaso’s sons are out for vengeance.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Really?”
Andre nods, the muscle in his jaw flexing. “Apparently, they came sniffing around the warehouse once we left, and they’re not happy.”
“Shit.”
“Word is, they’re looking to make you pay. You killed their father, after all.”
I let that sit for a second before letting out a dry chuckle. “And this wasn’t important enough to lead with?”
Andre shrugs. “I figured you’d be more focused on the Clara situation.”
He’s not wrong, though learning that Tommaso’s sons are keen to avenge their father’s death is not something I should ignore.
Then again, my life is already a clusterfuck at this point, so how is this any wonder?
“Let them come,”
Andre’s expression turns serious. “Just be careful. But if there’s a real threat, we’ll deal with it together.”
Andre’s right but until then, I have bigger problems to worry about, and whether I want to admit it or not, Clara is still at the center of them all.