Page 97 of Righteous Enforcer
"You won't hurt me," I whisper, though uncertainty creeps in for the first time.
A typical Mafia man would have beaten the truth from me by now. Would have made me bleed, made me scream.
Adriano has only used words, hurtful and scary, but still only words.
Still, as he stands before me, radiating rage, I wonder if I've finally pushed him too far.
After all, he said I killed whatever positive feelings he might have had for me.
His laugh sends a chill through me. “Physically? Maybe not. But I have no qualms about making you suffer emotionally, just as you’ve done to me. And what do you think you’re doing to Mirabella? At some point, if you survive on the run, she’ll resent you for this life.”
He’s right.
"I never wanted this for her."
My mind races to Mirabella sleeping in the next room, innocent and unaware that her world is blowing apart. What kind of mother am I? Running, always running, dragging her from place to place, never giving her stability. And now I've angered the one man who might have protected us both.
"I'm sorry.”
His jaw tightens. "Sorry doesn't explain why you ran. Why the Russians want you dead. I mean, who the fuck are you? Is anything I know about you real?”
“Yes.” I say the word as full of truth and conviction as I can, but I know he doesn’t believe me.
“Doesn’t matter. Mirabella comes with me. You do whatever you want.”
I close my eyes, and suddenly, I see Mirabella, five years older, dressed in expensive clothes, sitting in the Dante compound.
Men with guns flank every doorway.
My daughter learns the sound of gunshots.
I see Alessandro teaching her that family means vengeance, that loyalty means killing.
I see her beautiful, innocent eyes growing hard, untrusting.
Will Adriano be able to keep the darkness from consuming her? Will he protect her from being forced to spy or enter a marriage for business purposes?
I can’t allow that to happen, but how can I stop it? If I tell him everything, I lose her to this life. If I don't, I lose her anyway.
"She deserves better than both of us," I admit. "But without me there to shield her from your world, she'll become something neither of us wants."
Hurt flashes across Adriano's face before anger replaces it. He moves closer, looming over me with growing fury. "You think I wouldn't protect my own daughter? You think I'd let her become a monster?"
I've wounded his pride as a father, a role he's only just begun to embrace. A role that he’s very good at.
"That's not what I?—"
"Was my father even the one who threatened you?" The question explodes from him. "Or was that another lie? Did you just want her for yourself?"
The accusation stings because there's a kernel of truth in it.
Part of me did want to keep Mirabella away from this life.
Away from him.
Not because I didn't love him, but because I feared what she might become surrounded by violence and death.
"Adriano, please?—"
