Page 108 of Righteous Enforcer
"Look, Daddy! The fairies need a bridge." Mirabella tugs my sleeve, pulling me back to our fantasy world.
I arrange the wooden blocks as she directs, stealing glances at Eva.
She's fidgeting, checking her phone, looking toward the windows.
Whatever Alessandro said has her rattled. And what is on her phone?
"We'll talk when she naps," I promise.
She nods, but it doesn’t assuage the fear. I have an overwhelming urge to protect her from whatever is haunting her. It’s the first step in my resistance to her crumbling, so I need to hold firm. Make her wait.
Two minutes later, Mirabella is climbing into my lap and sticking her thumb in her mouth. A sure sign that it’s nap time.
Eva follows me upstairs as I take Mirabella to her room. She curls in a ball around her stuffed unicorn and drifts off to sleep.
After a quick kiss on Mirabella’s cheek, I lead Eva down the hall to my room. I close the door behind us and turn to face her.
She looks small, her arms wrapped around herself like she’s trying to hold herself together.
Or maybe she’s protecting herself.
From me?
Is whatever she plans to tell me going to send me into a rage? It’s entirely possible.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yes."
The one word tells me nothing. Her lips press together after she says it, as if she's physically stopping herself from saying more.
I run a hand through my hair, frustration building. "That's it? That's all I get? You’re the one who wanted to talk. So talk."
Eva turns away, moving to the window where she stares out. I ignore how pretty her profile is with the sun shining on her. I also ignore the need to move closer to her, to comfort her.
"Why won't you talk to me? Whatever Alessandro said to you has you terrified. I can see it."
Her shoulders tense. "It's nothing."
"Bullshit. What the fuck, Eva. Do you want to talk or not?”
She turns to me, her expression haunted. "Adriano?—"
"I've given you chance after chance. I've protected you, brought you into my home, let you back into my heart despite everything. And still, you keep your secrets."
The weight of her secrets crushes any hope of rebuilding what we once had.
"How can I keep protecting someone who won't trust me enough to tell me what I'm protecting her from?"
"I'm just tired of creating conflict for everyone," Eva finally says. "Between you and Alessandro. Between the Dantes and the Bratva."
The defeat in her voice twists in my gut.
“What are you talking about?” I have a sense of what she means, but I need her to articulate what the fuck is going on in her mind.
“Alessandro feels handing me over to the Bratva is the solution to the problems between both groups.” She shrugs. “He’s probably right.”
White-hot rage burns through my veins. I know how Alessandro feels about Eva, but he needs to deal with me, not her.
