Page 30 of Bound in Debt

What else could they possibly need her for?

“Your father left you in a fucked-up position,” I acknowledge, leaning forward. “You don’t have many options.”

“Marrying Victoria will solve plenty of problems,” he claims. “Mainly, the debt, but I’d love nothing more than to break her into a million pieces for doing this to me.”

“Doing what to you?”

“Making me a laughing stock in front of my boys.” He glances down at his cell when it lights up with another notification. His attitude—break her into a million pieces?—disgusts me, but I maintain my easy-going expression. His pride is broken and it clearly stings. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s hot as fuck.”

“Since you didn’t find her last night, I’m assuming she’s not open to the idea.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s already done. It’s out there. The announcement, the engagement, the photo… everything.”

Color me confused.

“How did you finally get Victoria to agree?”

Liam’s brown eyes slice to mine and I see a kid with nothing to lose and everything to gain. A kid who has found a way to avoid a lifetime on the run. “I don’t need Vee to agree. I don’t even need her to like it right now. My father left me more than six million dollars in debt with no way out.”

Hence the reason for this conversation, dumbass.

But my nephew is purposely being vague.

Just like his mother, he doesn’t trust me. I’d honestly label both of them stupid if they did. I haven’t even been here for a full year. They may call me family, but I haven’t earned their trust in any way, shape, or form.

In fact, since my brother’s death I’ve made it very clear that I want nothing to do with them.

Liam sighs heavily then snatches his phone from the table and brings it to his ear. “What, Victoria? I’m busy.”

I can’t hear her voice but I can see the rage building on my nephew’s face.

He may look like Marco, but he isn’t my brother.

My brother would never steal a woman’s fortune to get out of a situation that she had no part in making.

Liam is a carbon-copy of my sister-in-law, point blank, end of story. If he and Marissa believe they have this in the bag, then who the fuck am I to figure something else out? Angelo must be hitting all sides of the family to get what he wants—a true mob boss.

“You didn’t leave me any choice, Vee,” Liam whines. “You’re playing games.”

Denial. It’s an easy trap to fall into. I thought the woman of my dreams did everything she said she would and left her husband. Every lie was perfectly constructed to convince me. But the house of cards fell when her still-husband greeted me with blunt-force trauma to the head. He and his friends beat the ever-living shit out of me.

I managed to send one man to the hospital and almost beat another to death, but I still have the mental scars from that night. I’ve never been that close to death before or since. Never thought about what it would be like to live my last night on Earth. And fuck if I’ll let some two-bit mobster put me back in that kind of situation for something I had nothing to do with.

“Too bad,” Liam responds to whatever Victoria is saying. “Pick a date. Buy a dress. We’re getting married and, if you play your cards right, I won’t leave you high and dry when we’re done.”

That’s all I needed to know.

Liam and Marissa forced the engagement.

Victoria must’ve gotten wind of the announcement and she doesn’t even realize how fucked she is.

“Go fuck yourself,” Liam huffs out before hanging up the phone and tossing it on the table with a definitive thud.

He seethes, obviously pissed that she isn’t bending over and accepting it like, I’m sure, he imagines most women would. Except Liam has no money. A fact that hasn’t hit the gossip mill yet.