Page 78 of Righteous Enforcer
His eyes burn with determination, and for a moment, I almost believe he can protect us from anything, even from the truth I'm hiding.
But as he pulls me against his chest, his heartbeat steady against my cheek, reality crashes back. I've just added another lie to the list I started the moment I walked into the Dante home to work for Lorenzo.
Ivan knows exactly who I am and what I did.
He won't stop until he's extracted every ounce of value from me, whether as bait for Adriano or something worse.
And Alessandro's suspicions haven't vanished.
He’s biding his time until the truth comes out.
And it will come out.
There is no escape from it.
At some point, Adriano will know that I was the traitor his father suspected all along.
19
ADRIANO
My thoughts are all-consuming. How did Ivan know about Eva to go hunting for her?
Why did he think she was alive when everyone else thought she was dead?
Perhaps it was Maksim who started it, and Ivan just finished it. But how did they know of her in the first place?
Granted, our relationship wasn’t a secret four years ago.
Perhaps they determined back then that she could be used as leverage against me.
Did they make a move that my father took to mean she was working for them?
There are still so many questions, but at least one is answered. Ivan hopes to use the love I have for my family to ruin me.
He’ll be dead before that happens.
Nothing will hurt Eva or Mirabella. Not on my watch.
“I’m sorry that you’ve gotten caught up in all this. Not just Ivan, but with my father as well.”
Her gaze holds mine, and in them, I see her mind whirling. "You couldn't have known."
“I should have. I would have if you told me.” I try to say the words gently, not in accusation. All of this is because she didn’t trust me. She still doesn’t and it guts me.
“I was afraid.”
I drop onto the edge of the bed, running a hand through my hair. "I understand now why you ran. Why you had to disappear. My father gave you an impossible choice, and you chose to keep our daughter safe." I understand it even if I hate it.
Eva remains standing, watching me cautiously.
"I failed you both then." I look up, meeting her gaze directly. "But I swear on my life, I won't fail you again. Whatever Ivan wants, he'll have to go through me to get to you or Mirabella." I mean every word. I’ll destroy the world before I let anyone hurt what’s mine.
She doesn’t say anything, even though in her eyes, it feels like there’s so much she wants to tell me.
"I've been wrong about so many things," I admit. "When I thought you were dead, I became someone else. Someone harder. Colder." I pause, searching for words that won't sound pathetic. "But seeing you with our daughter, watching how fiercely you've protected her all these years, I know you thought of her first, as you should have."
Eva sits next to me. “Thank you.”
