Page 24

23

MIRABELLA

I push Kilian’s hands off me as I finish getting ready for work. The man is insatiable but I already knew that. I woke up to his head between my thighs. I had to bite down so hard on a pillow to keep myself quiet as he pulled an intense orgasm from me. Then he fucked me thoroughly from behind. I missed mornings like that. But then I was almost late taking Aria to school as the time got away from me, due to Kilian’s need to be in me at all times.

When I got back from dropping her off, Kilian was waiting for me in the foyer. Naked. I had my clothes off within ten seconds.

“Stop, I need to go to work.” I kick him away as I pin my hair up.

It doesn’t keep him away for long though. His hands grip my hips so hard and pull me into him, his lips at my neck. “You could call out.”

I spin in his arms. “Unfortunately, I have bills to pay.”

“I—”

“Don’t even say it,” I cut him off with my fingers over his lips. “Until we can figure out how this will work, don’t you even suggest paying for things.”

He gives me a lazy smile. “How did you know I was going to say that? Besides, I know you aren’t poor. You should have a nice chunk of money from your parents.”

I frown. “I don’t touch it. To me, it’s blood money.”

He nods then kisses my cheek before finally letting me go. “We’ll discuss that later.”

“Kilian. There is nothing—”

“Get to work,” he commands as he smacks my ass.

I shake my head at him. “You are impossible.”

He follows me down the stairs and to the front door. “Will you be here when I get back?” I ask.

“We’ll see. I have things to take care of. But I want to spend one more night with you, with Aria, before I need to head to London.”

“You’re good with her,” I say. “She likes you.”

He gives me a short smile. “Get to work.”

I give him a quick kiss and head out the door. It seems so normal for him to be here. Kissing me goodbye as I head to work. But I know our relationship is anything but normal. We still haven’t discussed how or when we are going to tell Aria. I want to wait until all this shit with Giancarlo, Dante, and Ezio blows over. But I also feel the longer we wait to tell her, the more upset she will get with Kilian. And I fear she may resent me for keeping it from her.

When she first started school and found out most families have mothers and fathers, she would ask me who her father was. Ask what happened to him. As she got a little older, she asked why he left her. And I couldn’t tell her the truth. I lied. Told her I didn’t really know her father. But now that Kilian is here, in our lives, it’s going to be hard to tell her the truth. Because I can’t just tell her that he’s her father. I need to tell her everything. I need to be honest with her. She needs to understand the danger that comes with her life. She may only be nine but I wish I had known at nine.

“Good morning, Magda,” she chimes as I walk through the back door of the kitchen.

“Morning.”

“You are glowing today.”

I ignore her comment as I put my coat and bag away and head to the front of the house to prep for the day.

She follows me, of course.

“Rumor has it that you were with a man yesterday at Aria’s game.”

I spin around. “Rumor? Are people really talking about me and my dating life?”

She smiles at me. “Is it that man from the other night?”

I groan. “People need to stop being busybodies and find something else to do with their time.”

“Who is he?”

“How about you go back to baking and I will set tables?”

She scowls at me but turns around and heads back into the kitchen. When I am alone, I let out a deep breath. Worry takes over me. If everyone is talking about Kilian being at that game, word is going to make it to Giancarlo.

As if on cue, my phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out and see his name on the screen. I hit ignore and go back to work. But after the fifth time he calls, I finally pick up.

“Mirabella, you should answer your phone when I call you,” he says before I even say anything into the phone.

“I’m working. I was busy.”

“You should really stop lying to me.”

“I’m not—”

His voice turns vicious as he cuts me off. “You’ve been lying to me for months, it seems. I thought you were loyal to this family. But Dante and Ezio both felt like you were giving information to someone. And I believed that to be true after what Ezio told me last week about that burner phone you have. But then it all came together when I received a present this morning. A nice box with The Partners signature all over it.”

A chill goes down my spine. “W-who are The Partners?” I ask.

“Don’t play coy with me, Mirabella,” Giancarlo snaps. “Your brother’s head showed up in a box on my doorstep this morning.”

“What?” I gasp as I collapse into a chair. “Ezio’s dead?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t know. You gave away his location. And the man you’ve been feeding information to took his first opportunity to kill Ezio.”

I’m in shock. Not over Ezio’s death. But that I know it was Kilian. I have no doubt in my mind about that. And the fact he didn’t tell me. After spending the last two days with him makes my blood start to boil.

“What a surprise to find out a man that the whole world thinks is dead is actually alive,” Giancarlo purrs. “And the part that I find the most entertaining of it all. Something I should have seen years ago but brushed it off. Something that Dante only realized when he came to see you and saw Aria in person. That dead man is her father. You were fucking Kilian Bancroft when you lived in Dublin. And I guarantee he did it to find his way into our network. A child was an unfortunate byproduct. He obviously didn’t want it, which is why you left.”

My heart clenches at his heartless words. But I decide to give him some truth for once. “He didn’t know. Kilian never knew.” But I switch back to lying to save him. “And he died not knowing.”

“You can keep lying but I know he is alive. And I know you know he is alive. That burner phone gave it away, Mirabella. You shouldn’t have saved his name in there.”

Stupid, stupid me. But I never thought anyone would find it.

“Now you have a chance to redeem yourself to this family. Tell me where he is and I won’t do anything to harm you or your daughter.”

I grip the phone in my hand with white knuckles. “Do not threaten my daughter.” My voice is gravel as I speak into the phone.

“Mirabella, I don’t think you understand. Aria can be used against The Partners. To give us information we need. And don’t think The Partners won’t do something when they find out about her.” My heart is beating so hard in my chest, anxiety setting in. “Now all you need to do is turn him in and we won’t touch her.”

“She’s your family.”

“And I’ve killed family members before.” I can see his grin through the phone. “You have three days. If you fail to do as we say like last time, you can expect worse consequences than just your daughter going missing.”

He hangs up but I don’t let go of the phone. My hand is shaking. My mind is spinning. What the hell am I supposed to do?

“Mira, are you okay? You look like you are going to pass out.”

I didn’t even see Magda walk into the dining room. Didn’t feel her hand on my shoulder and forehead.

She pulls my phone out of my hand and sets it on the table. “Let me get you some water.”

She walks away and all I can do is stare at the floor. Shame and regret wash over me. I let Kilian back in, knowing it could turn deadly. But I never thought Aria would be thrown into the mix. She’s innocent. She’s just a kid. I can’t let him touch her.

“Drink this.”

I push Magda’s hand out of the way and stand up, grabbing my phone. The one good thing is that Giancarlo has no idea Kilian is here. In Cefalù. In my house.

I need to get him out of here.

I run to the back and pull the burner phone out of my purse. The phone rings and he doesn’t answer. My heart drops. What if Giancarlo was lying? What if he knows Kilian is here?

I end the call and dial again. But he still doesn’t answer.

I pull on my coat and grab my purse. I need to go home. I need to make sure he is alright. I need to get Aria from school.

“Mira, what is going on?” Magda asks.

“I-I—” I can’t tell her anything and I don’t even know what lie I would say. But the vibration of the burner phone in my hand stops me from talking to her.

“What’s wrong, Bella?”

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m fine. What’s going on?” he asks, concern in his voice.

I rush out into the dining room, hoping Magda doesn’t follow. “G-Giancarlo called me. He threatened me. Aria. He said he would take her.”

Kilian doesn’t say anything and I know what I believe to be true is true.

“Did you kill my brother?” I ask him.

He sighs into the phone. “Yes.”

“Good.”

“Did Giancarlo tell you—”

“His head in a box? Yeah.”

“Look, Bella. I—”

“I don’t care. He deserved it. But you need to get out of here, Kilian. He will kill you.”

Kilian’s tone turns deadly. “I need you to tell me everything he said to you.”

So I do. I tell him the threat to Aria’s life and his. The way Giancarlo thinks that Aria can be used against The Partners. That he knows he is her father.

“Okay, I need you to calm down.”

“Kilian, he threatened our daughter!” I scream.

“Nothing is going to happen to Aria. I swear my life on that. I need you to call the school, tell them I am picking her up in an hour. I will be at the restaurant right after. When I call you, meet me in the alley. We’re leaving.”

“We can’t just run.”

“We aren’t running. I am putting the two of you somewhere safe.”

“And what about you?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about me, Bella. This is my life. This is what I deal with every day.”

I hold back my emotions but hiccup into the phone. “Kilian…”

“An hour and a half, Bella. Be ready.”

He hangs up on me, and I finally let a tear fall. I know I am stronger than this. But the thought of anything happening to Aria kills me.

Magda clears her throat and I see her in the doorway of the kitchen. I don’t say anything and call the school like Kilian instructed.

When I hang up, Magda speaks. “What have you gotten yourself into, mimma ?” she asks with concern on her face.

“Nothing I wasn’t born into.”

She nods. A look of understanding crossing her face. “You know, when your grandmother left here all those years ago with that boy, I knew something was off. I knew he wasn’t just some random summer fling. I knew he was different. He had an air about him that said he was dangerous.” She pauses as she walks toward me. “She used to write me. For two years, she wrote me. And then the letters stopped. But I knew from those letters. I saw the clues she wrote hidden between words. He was a bad man.”

I swallow as I see the truth across Magda’s face. My tears flowing harder from her words.

“I prayed for her every day. I prayed that she would survive. I prayed that she was happy. Even though I know from her letters she wasn’t. But I prayed after they stopped that things changed. In my mind, she was living her life with the man of her dreams. Even though there were days I thought she was surely dead.

“And then, nearly ten years ago, you walked into my restaurant. I swore I was seeing a ghost. You look just like her. Just like your grandmother and when I saw you, the biggest relief flooded through me because I knew she made it. She survived. She had a daughter and a beautiful granddaughter. I swore to protect you like I couldn’t protect her.”

The tears fall freely now. “Magda, you’ve always been like a grandmother to me. You’ve always taken care of me and shown me so much love. My grandmother was happy. Her kids made her happy, her grandkids made her happy. And she died peacefully.”

“I never would have wished this life upon you, Mira.”

I laugh at that. “Me either. Trust me. I’ve been trying to escape.”

“But you can’t.”

I shake my head. Her understanding meaning more to me than I can ever express.

“What do you need me to do?” she asks.

“Nothing. Just pretend you know nothing. If anyone comes here asking, say I left one day and never came back.”

Her hands grip my cheeks. “Tell me you’ll be safe.”

“I’ll try as best I can.”

* * *

The warm humid air of Mallorca warms my skin but it does nothing to take away the ever-present chill in my bones. I turn to the back seat and watch Aria as she takes in the scenery outside. When Kilian picked her up from school, he told her he surprised us both with a trip. She was worried about missing football practice. But I reassured her everything would be okay.

Kilian reaches over the center console and squeezes my hand. I take my eyes off Aria and he mouths are you okay .

I shrug. I don’t know what I am. Aria’s life is in danger. Kilian’s life is in danger. Hell, my life is probably just as forfeit, too.

He squeezes my hand again and then wraps his fingers through mine.

I look outside as we climb a mountain, the hairpin turns doing nothing for my stomach that’s already in knots.

We pull up to a sizable estate along a cliffside. Gorgeous landscaping covers the grounds and from here I can tell the view out to sea has to be magnificent.

“Where are we?” I ask as we get out of the SUV.

“My friend’s house,” he answers. Probably the same friend that ensured there was a vehicle for us at the private hangar at the airport.

Aria starts to run to the house but I stop her. “What? Aren’t we on vacation?”

“We are,” I sigh. “But someone still lives here, you can’t just barge in.”

Kilian grabs the bags he packed for us from the trunk and meets us on the sidewalk. I follow him to the front door, when we are ten feet away it opens revealing a beautiful woman with platinum-blonde hair pulled high into a ponytail and light-blue eyes.

“Hello,” she says with an American accent. “Welcome to our home.”

Kilian drops the bags and gives her a hug. “Good to see you, Cam.”

“Too bad we can’t see each other more.” A spike of jealousy hits me and I wonder who this woman is. If she is a former lover.

He turns to us. “Cam, this is Bella and her daughter, Aria.”

“Nice to meet you both. I’m Cameron Wilder but you can call me Cam. Come, let me show you the house.”

Kilian moves the bags inside where an older woman in all black is standing and waiting with a smile on her face.

“Bienvenido.” She nods.

Cam mutters off some words to her in Spanish, then guides us all to the living room and kitchen.

“This is where I always spend the most time when I am here. So I figured I would show it to you first. I just love how all the doors open out to the deck and pool. And wait ’til you see the view,” she says excitedly as we walk through the open kitchen to the outside.

It’s beautiful here. The way you can see the mountains and the sea. Aria gets excited when she sees the pool and I brush my hand over her curls.

“Marta was the woman at the front door, she will get you anything you need. Her English isn’t great but her daughter Lucia should be back from the store soon. She is filling the fridge for you guys.”

“You don’t live here all the time?” I ask curiously.

Cam shakes her head. “I wish, but my brute of a boyfriend demands we work from Paris rather than here. He needs to get his priorities straight.” She gestures to the view. “This is a much better office, in my opinion.”

“Is Bastian here?” Kilian asks as he shoves his phone back in his pocket.

“In his office. You know how he is.” She turns toward me. “The man doesn’t know how to take a break.”

Kilian snickers. “Oh, Cam, how I’ve missed you. I’m guessing you still haven’t softened the bastard.”

Cam looks to see if Aria is in earshot, but she ran off to look off the side of the balcony. “Only in the bedroom. And even that takes convincing.”

“I’m sure you're quite skilled at it,” Kilian jokes.

A huge smile takes up Cam’s face. “Of course I am. No one else can tame the beast.”

I smile softly at their banter. My jealousy fading as I piece together that they are good friends.

“Kilian.” A deep, brooding voice comes from one of the archways of the kitchen.

“Bastian,” Kilian answers. “Come here, you old brute.”

Bastian shakes his head as he shakes hands with Kilian and then they give each other a one-armed hug.

“Thank you for letting them stay here.”

“You’ve done so much for me and my family. You know I will always help you out.”

Bastian turns toward me and holds out his hand. His grip firm as I shake it. “I’m Bastian Montford. Kilian and I go way back. Before he was dead,” he jokes.

Cam coughs. “Did you just tell a joke?” She clasps her hands to her chest. “I think I am gonna have a heart attack.”

I laugh. She is something else and I can tell the two of them are completely opposite but I don’t miss the love in both their eyes.

“I’m Mirabella, well Kilian calls me Bella. So you can as well.” I yell for Aria and she comes skipping over. “This is my daughter, Aria.”

Bastian gives a small smile to me, then does a double take when he looks at Aria. His gaze drifting over to Kilian before going back to Aria.

Well it didn’t take him long to figure it out.

Kilian claps him on the shoulder. “Let’s go enjoy a whiskey and a cigar, brother.”

Bastian grunts and I watch the two of them walk inside.

“Well, that was awkward,” Cam says. “How about I show you two your rooms and then we can lie out on the deck, enjoy a martini, and soak up some sun?”

With the way my day is going, I’ve never heard a better idea. “Sounds great.”

* * *

I’m lying out on the pool deck next to Cam, drinking martinis as Aria splashes around in the pool. Kilian and Bastian haven’t come out of the office since they walked away a few hours ago.

“So how long have you known Kilian?” Cam asks me.

I sip my martini, I can already feel its effects. I never drink vodka. And on top of that, I’ve barely eaten anything today despite Lucia bringing out a tray of snacks an hour ago. “That feels like a loaded question.”

Cam pulls her sunglasses down to the end of her nose. “It is.” She glances at Aria, then back at me. Her voice quiet. “Considering that man is technically dead. I figure there is quite a history there.”

I chew on my lip, not really sure where to start. Not to mention I have no idea if she knows who I really am. Would Kilian tell them a mob daughter was staying at their house? Then again, they know about Kilian, know he isn’t dead, which has to mean they are involved with The Partners.

“Look,” Cam says after taking a large sip of her martini. “We both live lives full of secrets. I don’t need to know all yours and you don’t need to know all mine. But whatever you have to say will not leave this house.” She pauses, finishing off her martini and setting it on the table next to her. “I met Kilian when he was still ‘alive.’ Bastian’s family were involved in a scandal. You probably heard about it. It happened three years ago. Anyway, The Partners were responsible for it. And you must know about them if you are walking around with a living dead man.”

I nod. I look over at Aria and smile as I watch her splash around. To be oblivious to this all must be so nice. “I don’t even know where to start,” I answer honestly.

Lucia walks out with two new martinis for each of us. Cam thanks her then turns toward me. “Wherever you feel comfortable.”

I take a sip of my martini for courage. I’ve never told anyone about my time with Kilian in Dublin. I never had girlfriends. Even back then, the girls I hung out with weren’t worthy of my secrets. But there is something about Cam that makes me feel comfortable.

“We met nearly twelve years ago in Dublin.”

“Oh, I love Dublin!” Cam exclaims. “I made Bastian take me to Ireland last year. I wanted to stay in a castle.”

I smile at her. “It’s beautiful there. One of my favorite places. I went to college at Trinity.”

“How did you two meet?” Cam’s energy is infectious. “Was he a professor? He never told me he was but that would be hot. Or maybe he was doing business and you were someone’s secretary and he stole you away.”

I laugh. “No, nothing like that. I was a bartender. I worked at a pub a few blocks from Kilian’s townhome. He frequented the place whenever he was in town.”

Cam’s eyes roam my body. “I’m sure he went for the whiskey,” she remarks sarcastically.

I let out a soft laugh. “He gave me the same once-over the first time I met him. I actually ended up making him buy me five of his favorite drinks that night. A hundred euro a drink.”

“Chump change to him,” Cam snorts.

“But yeah, we hit it off and he kept coming back for two years.”

“You mean he kept coming for two years,” Cam says, raising her brows up and down suggestively.

“You could say that.” I laugh. “We were just… friends with benefits.”

“Then what happened?”

I don’t miss the glance she makes toward Aria from under her sunglasses. I guess she figured it out too. “I left. Family emergency. I didn’t see him for ten years. Not until…” I trail off. I almost said he broke into my house and tied me to a chair. Maybe I should say it. Cam would probably get a kick out of it.

“Until what?” she asks in anticipation.

I sip my martini and go for it. “He broke into my house and tied me to a chair.”

“Hot. So hot. I’ll have to tell Bastian…” She looks up and a smile hits her face. “Wow, I thought you guys would never come out. I thought I was going to have to break up with you because you decided to fall in love with Kilian.”

Kilian throws his head back in laughter while Bastian gives her a look that even makes my thighs clench. That man is dangerous.

“Well take that stuffy suit off and join us. No more work for the day. I have declared it a day off!”

“I think the martinis have decided that. Did you forget you work for me and I make the decisions?”

“Oh stop being a broody asshole. Live a little.”

Kilian takes a seat on the end of my lounger, lifting my feet and setting them in his lap. “I was going to head to London today but I can’t turn down a night with Cam.”

“See, Bas. Even Kilian is willing to take off his metaphorical suit.” She pauses as she takes him in. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you not in a suit. Weird.”

“Why do I put up with you?” Bastian mutters.

“Because you love me.” She stands up and pushes him to the door. “Do I need to help you change? I can. Oh, by the way, did you know Kilian tied Bella to a chair? That sounds so hot. I think we should try…” Her voice trails off as she walks inside, pushing Bastian along.

Kilian raises a brow at me. “You told her about that?”

I shrug. “She is a bad influence.”

He laughs as he runs a hand up my bare thigh. “That she is. But a fun one, I have to admit.”

“Kilian!” Aria yells from the pool. “Are you going to come in and play? This pool is so fun. It has little waterfalls.”

He squeezes my knee. “Give me a few and I’ll join you.”

He stands from the lounger and walks behind me. I figure he is going in to change, but he leans over the back, his lips at my neck. He leaves a trail of kisses to my ear. Then whispers, “I might just have to tie you up to a chair again. Except this time you will be naked and at my mercy.”

He disappears and I grab my martini, swallowing the rest of it down in one giant gulp.

* * *

The four of us hang out on the terrace. Warm white lights give a soft ambiance to the deck as the stars flicker overhead.

Aria went to bed an hour ago. The four of us tipsy on booze. After the last martini, I switched to whiskey to keep my head less foggy.

Bastian and Cam’s chef cooked us a delicious meal of fresh fish and vegetables. He even made a caramel layered ice cream cake for Aria. Cam had asked her earlier about her favorite dessert and when she said caramel ice cream, the chef did not disappoint.

Kilian plays with my hair as Cam tells a story about her and Bastian. I smile as I listen to her. She is animated and it’s so easy to fall into her trance. No wonder Bastian loves her.

They told me more about their lives. The hardships they went through. The risks they took with The Partners. The sacrifices Kilian made. It only made me love him more. And it made me want what Bastian and Cam have. Their love is so real and they get to live the life they didn’t think they could. It gives me hope that I can have this one day with Kilian. With Kilian and Aria.

Bastian cuts a look to me. “Aria is a beautiful little girl. So smart.”

I nod. She had everyone entertained at the dinner table tonight. “She is. She is a good kid.”

He looks over to Kilian and I know he wants one of us to say it. One of us to admit the truth he saw the second he looked into her eyes.

“I didn’t know,” Kilian says to answer Bastian’s silent question.

My heart clenches at his words. Because it was my fault. I should have told him that night ten years ago. Should have found him somehow to let him know that he had a daughter.

“I just found out two nights ago,” he says. I drop my head in shame. Kilian grabs my hand. “We never put a name on what we had in Dublin. She had to be scared to tell me, a man ten years older than her, charming and successful—”

“Wow, Kil.” I shake my head at him and tell the story. “I was worried what he would say. I didn’t know what to do. I never planned on being pregnant so young. And I got scared and didn’t say anything the night I wanted to. Then I left. Because my family would have killed him.

“Aria’s entire life I have lied to her about her father. I did it to keep her safe from my family.” I glance toward Kilian. “And to keep my heart safe. When I saw the news that he died. I had so much regret. I should have told him.”

Bastian clears his throat. “So what is your plan? He’s a high player in The Partners and you are still the daughter of a Renzetti.”

I down the rest of my whiskey and shrug.

“I’m going to figure it out,” Kilian says.

I watch Bastian’s fingers graze Cam’s shoulder as he speaks. “You both have families that will kill the other. It’s going to be dangerous.”

“Bas, can you not turn the situation so dark?” Cam cuts in. “They have shit to figure out. But he just learned about Aria. You can’t expect them to have this figured out in one day. He isn’t you. And your plans are dumb anyway. Like when you turned yourself in to The Partners to protect me.”

She rolls her eyes and I can’t help but laugh. Kilian smiles at Bastian and the scowl on Bastian’s face deepens.

“This is why I hate having you two in the same room.”

Cam throws her arms around him and kisses his cheek. “We make your life exciting.”

“You make my eye twitch.”

“Brute,” Cam mutters as she stands to grab another drink.

I grab mine and Kilian’s glass and follow her into the kitchen.

“Is it weird?” she asks me when we are out of hearing distance.

“Is what weird?”

“Being back with him.”

I look outside and see Kilian laughing. I can only guess at Bastian’s expense from the look on his face. “Yeah, it is.” I pause. “I never thought it would happen. I accepted the fact that he would only be a memory. Even if I still thought about him. I convinced myself that was enough.”

“But it never felt like enough?”

I shake my head. “No, it didn’t. And then I just felt like a stupid twenty-something those first few years after I left Dublin. I kept telling myself what we had was just sex. That he didn’t have feelings for me. He never did. And I needed to bury the feelings I had.”

Cam pours a martini into her glass. “You know, three years ago Kilian asked me what love felt like. I had an inkling it meant he had been in love at one point but I wasn’t sure. But I know now he loved you then just like he loves you now.”

“This is probably dumb. But I think we love each other more now than we did then. Too bad we are stuck in this situation.”

“So the mafia?” Cam questions me.

“Don’t look like a mafia girl, do I?”

She shrugs. “Can’t say I know many.”

I laugh at that. “First time for everything.”

“I guess so.” She squeezes my hand. “I hope you know you are safe here. No one is going to come looking for you at an old friend of Kilian’s second home. To us, he is dead. No one knows that we know the truth. And Bastian would never let anyone hurt you. No one can get past that first gate of this house, not even your despicable family.”

I give her a kind smile. “Thank you.”

“Kilian has always been our family in a weird way. He and Bastian go way back and they spent times hating each other and times being brothers. But that is Kilian. And if you are with him, then you are our family too.”

I give her a hug. There is nothing more I could want than a family that isn’t the one I was born into.