Chapter 14 - Raiden
RAIDEN
Carlo is seated at a table in the middle of the empty restaurant. A man stands on either side of him, a few feet behind. Far enough away to give the illusion of privacy, close enough to be deadly if I make the wrong move.
Arlo places a steaming cappuccino in front of him, and Carlo gives him a tight smile.
“Thank you.”
His manners are impeccable, like the Italian suit he’s wearing, tailor made to his large frame. He takes his time lifting the streaming cup to his lips and drinks.
“Ahhh, this is good coffee, Raiden.”
He speaks without looking at me, and it’s not until I pull out the chair opposite him and sit down that his gaze shifts to mine.
Carlo Berone is as frightening up close as the rumors say he is.
His face is heavy set with deep lines furrowing his brow.
He’s about the same age as me, but the worry lines make him look older.
His dark eyes are as intelligent as his daughter’s, but with none of the sparkle.
As they bore into me, I stare straight back.
I won’t be intimidated by this man, not in my own clubhouse.
“I take it you’re not here for the coffee.”
Carlo sets the cup down and the scrape of crockery is the only sound in the place.
“No, Raiden. I’m here for my daughter.”
The genial smile goes from his face, and when he looks at me again there’s barely veiled animosity.
I’m not going to insult him by pretending she’s not here. It was only a matter of time before she was traced to the clubhouse. Someone must have seen her on the back of the bike, and there’s only one MC on Wild Heart Mountain.
“What if she doesn’t want to go back?”
Carlo eyes me warily, and I get the feeling I’m being assessed. That he’s trying to figure out what kind of man I am.
“You have a daughter.”
He says it softly, and my heart drops to my stomach. I push back my chair, and his men step forward. “If you’ve done something…”
He raises a hand, stopping the men and making me pause. “Relax. I’m not in the business of hurting little girls. I merely bring up your daughter because you understand how much I love mine. How she’s the most important thing in the entire world to me.”
I keep staring at him, but I don’t sit down. I’m not sure if he brought up Charlie as a threat, but if he mentions her again, I’m ready to tear his heart out.
Then I remember this is my future father-in-law. For Isabella’s sake, I need to do this right.
Forcing a tight smile, I sit back down.
“Daughters are precious.”
“Yes,” he agrees. “Which is why I need mine back in my house, where I know she’s safe.”
“What if Isabella doesn’t want to go?”
Carlo takes a deep breath. “I have powerful enemies, Raiden. And powerful men know that their women are their weaknesses. Isabella is a target. As was my late wife.”
He swallows hard at the mention of his wife, and I wonder if the old crime boss has a heart after all.
“I will not let my enemies get to my daughter. I have ways of keeping her safe. Plans that will ensure her safety in the future.”
His hand forms a fist on the table, the only indication of how agitated he is.
A surge of empathy flares inside me. It must be horrendous to fear your daughter will be taken. But Isabella can’t live her life behind bars. And not when that life is with me.
“I can keep her safe.”
Carlo tilts his head and regards me. He must read something in my expression, because his look softens. “You love her.”
He says it matter-of-factly, no emotion, and I wonder what he thinks of a man the same age as he is being with his daughter.
“Yes,” I say simply. “I’m going to marry her.”
Shock flashes across his face and then it’s gone, replaced by a neutral expression.
“And I suppose this was her idea?”
I shake my head. I don’t think it was, only that she’s withholding sex until she’s wed, but even without that incentive, I was going to make her my wife someday.
“No. I proposed this morning, and she accepted. We’d like your blessing.”
His lips turn up in a smile, and a low chuckle rumbles out of his throat.
“The little minx is cleverer than I thought.”
He looks down and shakes his head, amused. I don’t know what’s so funny, and I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“Explain.”
Carlo looks at me, and now there’s pity in his expression.
“I’m sorry, Raiden. It looks like she’s played you.”
I don’t like being left out of the joke, and I reach across the table and grab him by the lapels. His men spring forward, but Carlo speaks rapid Italian and they pause.
“Tell me what the fuck you mean.”
“Okay, but I hate to be the one who breaks your heart.”
What he’s saying doesn’t make sense. He’s talking as if Isabella has been using me, but that’s not the case. Everything we’ve shared is real.
I think.
I let go of his lapels. “Talk.”
“I suppose she told you about the marriage I arranged for her?”
My brain’s in a spin. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Carlo must sense my confusion, because he continues.
“A married woman is less of a target then an innocent maid. She loses her value as a hostage once she is married, especially if she’s married to another powerful family.
Once Isabella is married to Rocco Moretti, she will have the protection of two families.
Anyone crossing me will also cross the Moretti family.
Some of my enemies might be stupid enough to take me on, but to take on the Berones and the Morettis? No one is that stupid.”
The blood pulses in my ears. Isabella is promised to someone else. Why didn’t she tell me.
“She obviously doesn’t want to marry this Rocco guy.”
Carlo smiles. “No, she’s made that clear. She doesn’t like the boy. But it’s the best thing for her. You understand that sometimes fathers have to make difficult choices to protect their daughters.”
“But she’s marrying me now.”
Blood courses hot through my veins, and my hands form fists under the table at the thought of my Isabella being married off to someone else.
“Yes. Clever minx. If she’s already married, I can’t force her to marry Rocco.”
I stare at him, trying to keep my expression neutral while my heart splits in two.
“I suppose she had you believe she was in love with you? My daughter has a way of making people think that. You’ve known her, what? Two days, Raiden? Do you think love works that quickly?”
My mind races over the past two days. Every look we shared, every smile, every time she fell apart under my touch. Could she have been faking all of it?
I run a hand through my hair. Carlo looks sorry for me, and I want to wipe the smug look off his face, tell him it isn’t true. But is it? Everything I thought we had, the future I’ve been imagining comes crumbling down around me.
“I’m sorry, Raiden. Isabella is cunning and manipulative. She learned it from me. I’m dangerous, but those qualities in a beautiful woman are deadly.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering her scent, the softness of her lips and the way her eyes shone when I told her I loved her. It’s got to be real; it’s got to.
I stand up so quickly the chair clatters to the floor behind me. I have to see Isabella; I have to look her in the eye and find the truth.