Page 25 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
She watches me take a bite. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I wipe a drop of juice off my chin with the back of my hand. “I thought your father got rid of all his enemies. Who is he afraid of now?”
“Oh yes, let me just spill all of my family’s business to you.”
I study her. Her body language doesn’t match her haughty tone. Her eyes flit back and forth, like she can’t look at me head-on.
She doesn’t know shit.
“Let me get this straight.” I move around the island. “You don’t even know if there’s a real threat or if your papa’s just being paranoid?”
Perceived weakness. Why would anyone in New York think Garzolo is weak after he sent the Riccis packing? The casualty numbers might have been higher than we thought… Possible, given how weird Garzolo got when we brought it up.
But if he’s really so weak, why is Messero getting into bed with him?
A lot of questions and no answers.
Gemma mirrors my movements to prevent me from getting closer to her. “Do you really think my father shares every detail about his business with me? Why do you care anyway?”
“Did you even bother to ask?”
Her expression flashes with uncertainty.
Cazzo.
Irritation inches along my skin. Seeing her being such an obedient little princess pisses me the fuck off. She’s willing to marry Rafaele on blind faith in her Papà?
We’re still moving around the island like two hands of a clock. I take the last bite of my peach and place the pit on the granite surface.
Gemma glances at it.
Before she realizes what’s happening, I anchor my hands on the counter and haul myself over the island.
I land directly in front of her.
“What are—”
“I think I get it now.”
She tries to move to the side, but I bracket her in with my arms.
When she realizes I’m not going to let her escape, her angry gaze moves to my face. “Get what?”
Just being this close to her sends blood rushing to my dick.
My irritation morphs into a simmering kind of frustration. “You’re angry and miserable. You’re sacrificing your future, and you don’t even know what you’re sacrificing it for.”
A shadow passes over her eyes, but she raises her chin in defiance. “You don’t know anything.”
“You can’t show anyone how you really feel, can you? You’re too busy pretending to be perfect for your papa’s sake. So you suppress all that rage, and then you take it out on me.”
She grips each of my wrists and tries to push my hands off the counter. “You really think it’s not possible that I just genuinely dislike you?”
The venom in her voice is convincing, but I haven’t done enough to earn it.
She knows I’m right.
I twist my wrists, effortlessly shaking her off.
