Page 54 of Empire of Seduction (New York State of Mafia #2)

twenty-three

. . .

Maggie

I blinked several times, stomach churning, trying to make sense of this. “Why would they want to kill you?”

“In retaliation.”

Retaliation? For what? My mind raced, then it hit me. “The strip club. You went there to find Red Raiders. And it involved Jimmy Tate.”

He remained silent as I put what I knew together.

“So, you killed Jimmy.”

“It’s better if you don’t force me to answer that.”

“Too bad,” I snapped. “I want to know. You killed Jimmy.”

Vito’s chin dipped once.

“Just Jimmy, or were there others?”

“And others.”

Vito had murdered Jimmy Tate. And others . Then lied to me about it.

My muscles locked and my knees actually buckled. Bending slightly, I gripped the edge of the desk. “You told me you didn’t know anything about Jimmy’s disappearance. You lied to my face.”

“Bella,” he said with a sigh.

“No, do not start with that bullshit. You lied when I asked you about it!”

“I told you, there are things about my business that you can never know. It’s to protect you in case the authorities ever come after me.”

“Like murder.”

He didn’t say anything and I wrestled with this new information. It was one thing to know Vito killed people in theory, but here it was staring me in the face. I grew up with Jimmy Tate and saw his mom around town every now and then. How was I ever supposed to look at her again, knowing this?

God, I had been so stupid. It had been incredibly foolish to think Vito’s world wouldn’t bleed into my life.

The power and violence of the mafia was a disease and it had slowly crept into my life, much like the Red Blotch crept into the vines.

It infected and destroyed, and now an enemy had retaliated against Vito, taking me and the winery down with them.

“You look at me as if I am a monster,” he said quietly. “But aren’t you curious why?”

“Why you murdered some bikers, you mean?”

“You might believe the Red Raiders are innocent, but I assure you they are not. Three of them saw my cousin in Sparkles, dragged him into the woods, and executed him like a dog.”

I scrubbed my face with my hands. What kind of world was this? Murders and executions. Retaliation and mayhem. “Jimmy and two others, you’re saying.”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t naive enough to ask why they hadn’t gone to the police instead. Anyone who’d ever watched a movie or television show knew that wasn’t how the mafia dealt with their problems. “And because you killed three of their guys, the rest of the Red Raiders just torched my vineyard.”

A muscle jumped in Vito’s jaw. “As I said, I will find who is responsible. And I will rebuild your vineyard.”

Tears scalded the backs of my eyes. “You can’t rebuild this.

This—” I gestured in the direction of the charred remains outdoors “—took decades, Vito! Over sixty years! My grandfather, my father—” I choked on a sob and the tears broke free, sliding down my cheeks.

He took a step toward me, but my hand flew up to stop him.

“No, don’t. I don’t want you to try to make me feel better.

This isn’t something you can fix with a cappuccino or a hot tub! ”

“Angelo, please. Calm down.”

An angry, wounded sound left my lips as I furiously brushed tears away.

“Do not tell me to calm down, you fucking asshole. You knew the Red Raiders would retaliate. It was why you kept talking about increasing security around here. You knew, yet you didn’t tell me the truth.

Then you took me off to Toronto and made me feel special, while lying to me the whole time. ”

“I considered the matter with the bikers settled,” he tried, but I interrupted him.

“Bullshit! You brought an army from Toronto. You brought your sister, your brother. You didn’t think this was settled . And how did my brother know all of this was going on when I didn’t?”

Vito’s chest expanded as he dragged in air. “He was with us when we discovered Gaetano’s body in the woods.”

Oh, my god. I sagged, absolutely flabbergasted. “Why? How? Have you inducted my brother or made him one of your men?”

“No, of course not. I ordered him to stay in the car while we searched the woods, but he didn’t listen.”

“I can’t fucking believe this,” I muttered, rubbing the ache in my chest as more tears fell. “After the Red Blotch, I actually thought you might be a good thing for the winery. And after Toronto, I thought you might be a good thing for me. God, I was so stupid.”

The skin of his throat flushed, but his voice never changed. “I know you are angry and you have that right, but I never thought it would go this far. I never thought they would hurt you or the winery in response.”

“We’ve covered this.” I blew my nose with a cocktail napkin I found on the desk. “Maybe you didn’t know, but you suspected. Yet you kept me in the dark the whole time. Even lied to me about it. Slippery, evasive Vito. If not for Mikey, I wouldn’t have ever known, would I?”

“As I said, it’s not safe for me to take you into my confidence when it comes to that part of my life.”

“That isn’t how this works. Because if you think you can throw private jets and diamond necklaces and concerts at me to keep me from asking questions, you are dead wrong. Those things don’t matter to me. I want someone I can trust, someone who isn’t always hiding shit from me.”

“You are demanding that I risk your life!” he shouted, the sound echoing off the walls.

His lips were thin slashes of fury in his handsome face.

“You could be tortured for information on me, or put in prison. Or killed. I will not do it. I will not drag you into my world and risk harming you, even if you hate me for it.”

“Vito, newsflash. I’ve already been harmed! The vineyard is gone because of you and your world. I’m already at risk.”

“A smaller manageable amount.”

Why he felt the need to clarify this made no sense. “But risk all the same. How did you see this working between us? Were we even going to be a couple?”

“You say this as if we are not already a couple, as if you haven’t already said many times that you belong to me.”

“Sex games are not real life. And for god’s sake! Just answer a fucking question for once in your life!”

“I was going to give you the penthouse in Toronto.”

Unblinking, I stared at him, the words like a cold dose of reality thrown over my head.

Not I was going to ask you , or Would you please consider moving?

Vito had just decided to plop me down in his penthouse, easy-peasy.

Like I would be grateful for the opportunity.

And he didn’t even live there! His real home was outside the city.

But apparently, I didn’t rate high enough to live there.

I was only important enough for his lavish hookup-friendly apartment.

This man had no interest in a real relationship with me. He wanted me as his . . . plaything. A little bird in a gilded cage until he deigned to visit me.

Hadn’t he been paying attention at all? Did he honestly think this would fly with me?

At this point I wasn’t even angry at him.

I was hurt . My chest felt hollow, like my organs had been scooped out and thrown away.

The gulf between our lives, what we wanted and needed, was too far to bridge.

There was no compromise when the sides started so far apart.

“Vito,” I said shakily. “That isn’t how a relationship works.

You want someone when it’s convenient, like taking that wedding band on and off.

But you can’t keep part of yourself separate, not from me.

I don’t want to live in a bubble, even in a penthouse. ”

“I can keep you safe in a penthouse,” he snarled. “And I wasn’t taking you away from the winery.”

“Oh, wow. Thanks, I guess?”

“You are being sarcastic with me, but I know you will wish to go back and forth. You would have access to the jet whenever you needed.”

Here are some fancy crumbs, angel. Be grateful.

God, this man was delusional. And entitled.

“I don’t want your jet or your penthouse. I want you, all in. I want Vito D’Agostino to be honest with me and treat me like a partner—not a one-night stand who stuck around a few extra nights.”

“Is this how you think I treat you?”

Deflecting. Evading. Instead of telling me how he felt, he was turning it back around on me. Which told me everything I needed to know.

He’d already planned this without my input and had no intention of adapting it. Which meant there was no path forward for us, not where I kept my sense of self or my dignity. If I accepted his offer, I’d end up like that wedding band—something pretty and convenient for him. A hassle-free adornment.

And I would wither away under such conditions.

A sharp pain rippled behind my sternum, almost like the bones were cracking apart under the weight of my anguish. Calmly, I said, “Go back to Toronto, Vito. We’re done here.”

He flinched, his mouth turning into a serious frown. “We’re not finished. I’m trying to tell you that I want a future with you.”

“Your version of a future is repulsive to me. If you knew me, if you respected me at all, you would know that.”

“You think I don’t respect you?”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I smothered it because nothing about this was funny. Bottom line, I couldn’t do this any longer. I couldn’t go around and around with him forever. We had some fun together—and now it was time to cut him loose.

I gathered every bit of my strength to say, “If you could deal with Mikey from now on, I’d appreciate it. I’ll assess the damage and have him send you a list of what we need.”

I turned and grabbed for the door knob. Suddenly, Vito was there, pressed to my back, caging me in and breathing softly on my cheek. “Angelo mio, don’t do this. Tell me what you want—an allowance? A car? I need you to stay.”

He thought this was about money?

My argument with Paloma came rushing back. “ Are you hoping for a payout? ”

Again, this man didn’t know me at all, apparently.