Page 52 of Dark Alliance
Her head snaps back down, her eyes wild, her body writhing. Nearly snarling, she kicks out at me with her foot.
I think I might have broken her.
“Fine.” She’s seething, her chest and shoulders heaving. “Yes, I like the way you touch me!”
Her honesty has me grinning like an idiot.
“You shouldn’t be so smug about it.” She fidgets on the cold floor. “I don’t have a lot to compare you to.” Tears well in her eyes again, pooling on her lashes.
Well, damn it all. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. I’m the one in charge of this emotional roller coaster.
She’s the bad guy here.
The liar. Not me.
“And I don’twantyour attention, not this way. This is…perverse. Depraved. My family loves me. They love me!” She chokes on her words, coughing into her arm.
She needs water. Since I’m not a complete asshole, I grab the bottle and hold it to her lips.
As she drinks, Declan’s voice from when I was a kid echoes in my head.“You’re weak. A little pussy. You’ll never be a true leader.”
I shake my head in an effort to dislodge his ridicule.
Looking after a captive you might ally with isn’t weakness. It’s just smart business.
“And I love them.” After guzzling water, she pants to catch her breath. “And you…you can’t be trusted.” A tear slips out, creating a track in the sauce on her face. “If getting rid of you was going to protect them from your twisted mind and make them see me for who I am, then so be it.”
That should sting, but I appreciate the hearing the truth. Finally.
Even after realizing I hold the winning hand, she’s still laying her cards on the table. I could kill her if I don’t like what she says. Or just for fun.
Yet, she shows no fear, so I can’t help but listen.
“My brother… He wasn’t always like this.” Cat wipes her cheek and fixes her gaze on the cement floor. “He used to be a happy kid, even after our mother died. I mean, hard to manage, couldn’t sit still, but not like he is now. He got moodier during his early teen years, which I chalked up to hormones.” She sucks in a breath. “But about three years ago, I found out that he’dbeen abused by our piano teacher. This skinny old creep that always smelled like rotten Old Spice.”
I shudder at the idea. “That’s fucking vile.” I can’t even imagine what that must’ve been like for a kid.
Cat peers up at me and nods. “Right in our house. I didn’t even know…”
A visible film of guilt blankets her, and her honesty leaves me speechless. This is some dark shit, coming out of nowhere.
“I failed to protect him. The worst part is, I brought it up after I found out about this prick abusing another teenage boy. You know, once I put it together, I just wanted to apologize…to try to make up for not being there.”
That strikes a chord.
I never protected Brody or Maeve like I should have. Sure, our dad just had a short fuse, but I could’ve done more to keep them out of his way. Especially Brody. He’s technically not Declan’s blood son, and on the bad days, he always took the brunt of Declan’s anger.
I’ve always wondered if Brody could forgive me for that. If I could ever make up for it.
“Anyway, that’s my truth. Why I try so hard…why I let Nino get away with his bullshit.” Cat lays her head back against the pillar, her eyes bloodshot, her lips raw from worrying her teeth. “Just kill me if you’re going to kill me, Connor. But know that I’m sorry, and I was wrong. I never wanted to hurt you. Not really. That’s not…who I am.” She slumps, closing her eyes. “I just wanted to protect my family.”
This woman.
I’ve never been more attracted to her. She’s so disarming, so genuine that I believe her. And I get it about her family.
She was trying to do right by them.
Caterina Ricci isn’t just another pawn on the board.
