Page 47

“Silver, please, let me handle this.” Raphael’s voice is slightly more than a whisper, his plea almost desperate, like he doesn’t trust his father. It sends an icy shiver down my spine.

“No, I’m not going to leave it to you. This is my life, my mess, and I will take care of it,” I tell him without taking my eyes off his father.

“Silver…” His voice fades when I don’t leave this office.

“I’m not a whore. Never have been and never will be,” I tell the man in front of me.

His features morph from fury to scorn and my anger steps up another level. “Oh, really? Then tell me why I had to take care of a story that was going to hit every website by tonight. It was very explicit, lots of detail about the lingerie you wear in that fucking club.” He barks out the words and it takes all my strength not to flinch.

He’s an imposing man, exuding power like his son. They have the same green eyes, same brown hair, but while Raphael makes you feel safe, this man gives the impression he could kill you in cold blood and then turn around and forget about your dead body on the bare concrete. There is authority in both men, but behind one there is a big heart, behind the other a cold one.

“Youtook care of it?” Raphael’s voice makes me turn toward him. He seems unsettled by this news, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him without his usual confidence.

“You didn’t do your job so I had to do something.” He’s not apologizing for overstepping, he’s scolding him, and I don’t understand how this is even possible. I thought no human was able to overpower the man I’ve lived with these last months.

“What do you mean?” I ask and both turn to me.

“You don’t want to know,” Raphael says so firmly a chill runs down my spine. There is such determination in his eyes and voice that I don’t dare ask for an explanation. Who the hell is this man?

“When you told me you did your job choosing her, I didn’t dig into her past, but clearly you fucked up.” He says this like I’m not even in the room, annoying me greatly.

“I did, and I know what I got myself into and she knows what she signed up for,” Raphael answers.

“So, why the hell did you pick her knowing where she worked?” his father shouts, anger simmering in his eyes.

“Because I fucked up and the paparazzi were all over her!” he shouts back.

“So what? Since when do you care about paparazzi?”

“Since she’s in the witness protection program, and I blew her cover!” The anger radiating from Raphael is so intense it almost knocks me to my knees.

His father turns his wide eyes toward me in surprise, realization and anger spreading on his face.

The silence that follows is almost deafening. Nobody even moves when the realization of what Raphael just confessed hits all of us.

“Fuck!” his father shouts. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He kicks the couch in front of him with such force it moves back an inch. He turns to me. “That’s why there’s nothing online about your childhood.”

I nod. “I didn’t exist before eight years ago.” My voice is a lot less firm than before.

“Is someone looking for her?” he asks Raphael.

I know what he means: is The Hangman after me. The thought thatheknows where I live now is something that has tortured me in the last two months.

“Not that we know. My security picked up nothing about this, but it’s safer if she stays with me, considering everyone now knows her face and new name.” His explanation is firm, but I can see his hands in his pockets clenching in a fist.

“So, you’ll just willingly marry him and have kids? You agreed to that?” he asks me suspiciously.

I know he thinks I’m doing it for money, and in part it’s true, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad person.

“Until he become senator, then he helps me disappear.” I nod and I know it’s the wrong answer when I see him turn around toward his son and Raphael pales a bit.

What the hell is going on? I want him out of this house. The urge is so intense I clench my hands into fists to keep from pushing him out of here.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You want to step foot in the White House with a divorce on your shoulders and no kids? Are you insane?” He steps toward Raphael and by instinct, I grab his arm.

Raphael’s eyes snap to me as his father turns, angry and surprised. “You are ruining his life, you know that?” he shouts at me, and Raphael jumps in front of me, pushing his father away with both hands.

The gesture comforts me—I’ve always wanted someone who takes care of me—but the murderous gaze on his father’s face makes my stomach churn.