Page 21 of His Playground (Owning Vegas #2)

Chapter Twenty

M y heart pounds in my chest. I just told him I loved him. It’s the truth, though. I do love him. Even if I’d prefer not to. I’m so stupid. Logically, I know loving this man isn’t safe for me. I also know that you can’t control it. Or choose it.

“We’re going to be okay,” Carlo says, pressing his lips to the middle of my forehead.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I finally have everything I’ve ever wanted, and I’m not going to let anything or anyone take it from me.”

“Do you think my mother leaving was her choice?” I ask. Because it’s been bugging me. She left me. A newborn baby. How could a mother do that? I’ve been thinking about Jazzy’s mother doing the same thing to her.

I always thought your mother was the one person who would protect and fight for you. Fight for their children. Of course, that theory was purely based on a fantasy about something I never had. Something I thought was long dead.

“I don’t know,” Carlo says. “After I confirmed it was her, I stopped looking into it.”

“I find it hard to believe my father would just let her leave.” I sigh. “He talks about her like he adores her.”

“He might.” Carlo wraps his arms around me. “Whatever happened, it’s not on you, Antonia. If she left of her own free will, I’m sure she wanted to take you with her. I mean, who wouldn’t?” He smirks. “But what our parents choose isn’t on us.”

“You’ve never really talked about your parents.” I look at him.

“There’s nothing to talk about. They were killed in a home invasion while I hid under the bed.” He shrugs.

“I’m glad you hid. If you didn’t, we never would have met.”

“Maybe. I should wake Jazzy up. If she sleeps through the day, she’s not sleeping tonight.”

“What are you going to do about school?” I ask him.

“What school?”

“For Jazzy. She needs to be in school, Carlo.”

“I’m looking for someone to homeschool her. She doesn’t want to go,” he says.

“No child wants to go to school. Maybe you could look at some of the private schools. She might like a new start.”

“I can’t protect her if she’s not with me,” he says.

“You also can’t take experiences away from her. She’s a kid. She should have friends. She should be having fun with people her own age. Not hanging out with a bunch of old mobsters.” I laugh.

“Are you calling me old?” Carlo raises an eyebrow at me.

“Yes.” I smile at him.

“Wow… Just when I thought we had a breakthrough, you go for the jugular.” He shakes his head. “I’ll talk to her. If she’s open to looking at some private schools, we’ll take her to check ?em out,” he says. “If not, I’ll find someone to teach her at home.”

“Okay.”

Carlo hasn’t left the apartment since he came home yesterday afternoon. I’m taking that as a sign that they haven’t found the shooter. Because I have no doubt he will want to be the one to deal with the guy when they do.

After making sure my appearance is up to scratch, because I have to meet my father for lunch, I walk out of the bedroom and go in search of Carlo and Jazzy.

“Hey.” I interrupt their game of cards. “Wait… Are you teaching her poker?” I ask Carlo.

“Sure am. She’s a natural,” he says proudly. His eyes travel up and down my body. “Going somewhere?”

“She’s a minor,” I remind him. “I have to meet my father for lunch.”

“Why?”

“Because he asked me to.”

Carlo looks at me for a moment. “I’ll take you,” he says.

“I don’t need you to take me. Also, you probably shouldn’t be taking Jazzy out of the house yet.”

“Deal the next round, sweetheart.” He hands the deck of cards to Jazzy. “I’m going to walk Antonia to the door.”

“Okay. Bye, Antonia.” She waves at me.

“See you later.” I wave back.

“I don’t like it,” Carlo says once we’re out of earshot.

“You don’t like what?” I question him.

“You having lunch with your father.”

“That makes two of us. But I have to do it. He is still my father,” I state the obvious. “I’ll be in and out.”

“Why does he want to meet with you?”

“I have no idea.” I really don’t.

Carlo presses the button for the elevator. There are two beefcakes standing inside. “Take my wife to meet her father. Be alert,” he says before turning to me. He wraps a hand around the base of my neck. “Be careful.”

“Always.” I smile and lean in, kissing his lips.

“I love you,” he whispers against my mouth.

“I love you,” I reply before stepping into the elevator.

The two beefcakes escort me to the car, where ten other armed men are standing guard.

Carlo really is spooked by the shooting if he’s taking these kinds of precautions.

I briefly consider rescheduling my lunch and going back up to the penthouse.

The only reason I don’t is because it’s easier to get it over with.

Otherwise, I’ll be wondering what it is my father wants for days.

He hasn’t so much as messaged me since the wedding. Why now? I know it’s not to check up on me. I know it’s not out of concern for his only child.

“Do me a favor? Keep your distance. My father has a quicker trigger finger than anyone I know,” I tell Carlo’s men as they escort me into the restaurant.

I find my father waiting at his usual table. He stands and greets me with a kiss to the cheek. “I thought I told you to come alone,” he grunts.

“You never let me leave the house without security. Why would you think my husband would be any different?” I say as I take a seat.

I smile at Brian, who is standing behind my father.

I miss my old bodyguard. I miss our little talks.

Carlo’s men greet me with the politeness that is expected of them, and that’s where the conversation ends.

“How are you?” my father asks.

“Fine. You?” I reply and not because I care, but because it’s expected of me.

“Good. The house is quiet without you,” he says.

“I doubt that.” I smile. That house is always busy with people coming and going.

“How is Bianchi treating you?”

“Do you care? You traded me for a business deal, Papa. I hope whatever you got out of it was worth it.” I have no idea where this newfound sense of freedom has come from, but it feels good to speak my mind. A little. Brian’s lips twitch. I try not to look at him.

“You know that I care, and don’t pretend you weren’t previously involved with Bianchi. I know about the affair you two had,” my father says.

“If you knew, why would you make me marry him?” I counter.

“Because he has a soft spot for you.”

And there it is.

“You want something from him.” It isn’t a question. Good luck with that. Carlo might have a soft spot for me, but other than his daughter, I doubt anything would make him break his loyalty to his friends.

“I want something he has,” my father clarifies. “And you’re going to get it for me.”

“And if I say no?”

The waiter comes over, interrupting us. I order a Caesar salad because I can’t stomach anything heavier than that right now. I’m waiting for my father to reach across the table and slap me for talking back to him. To my surprise, he doesn’t.

“There are still consequences for defying me, Antonia. You are not untouchable just because you have a husband,” he says in warning.

“What is it that you want anyway?” I ask, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“There’s a thumb drive. I want it.”

“A thumb drive? How on earth am I supposed to find something as generic as a thumb drive? How do I even know if it’s the one you want? What’s on it?” I press him.

“What’s on it isn’t your concern. You’ll find it and you’ll bring it to me. Bianchi will have it under lock and key. That’s how you know it’s the one I want.”

“Sure, piece of cake. Find a mysterious thumb drive and bring it to you. And then what happens?” I sigh.

“You live to play house another day,” my father says.

“And if I get caught?” I raise a brow at him.

“Don’t.” He lifts a shoulder.

The waiter returns with our order. I glance at my salad and stand from the table. “I’m not hungry.”

“Sit down and eat.” My father’s voice is firm, nonnegotiable, as he gestures to the seat.

“You’re asking me to betray my husband,” I tell him.

“A husband who, only a few years ago, broke your heart. You couldn’t keep his interest then, Antonia. What makes you think now is any different? He won’t be loyal to you. It’s not in his nature.”

My father’s words stab me right through the heart. “How do you know what happened?”

“Because you’re my daughter. I know everything you do.” He cuts through his rare steak, and blood drips from the meat. My stomach curls. I can’t stand the sight of it. He knows that, though. That’s why he ordered it.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he also knew everything my mother did.

I don’t. I’ve never really been the one to bring her up in conversation.

I’m not going to start now. If she did escape him, he doesn’t know where she is.

And I won’t be the reason he finds her either.

Even if she left me behind to save herself.

The whole drive back to the penthouse, I’m torn between telling Carlo what my father wants me to do and trying to find the thumb drive. Seeing what’s on it and then deciding if I give it to him or not.

On one hand, telling Carlo means he’ll likely deal with it. Probably by starting a war. However, if I don’t and he catches me, he’ll never trust me again. And what little progress we’ve made will take us a hundred steps backwards.

He’s my husband. I should tell him. My loyalty is to him now. But then, the fear of my father’s wrath has always had me in a chokehold. What will the punishment be for defying him? I’m not too sure I want to find out. I also don’t want to go behind Carlo’s back.

I’ve never hated my father more than I do right now. I’ll never forgive him for putting me in this position.