Page 150 of Restless Hawke

“Well, I do hope it comes back.” He reaches forward and tears off a piece of the beignet, popping it into his mouth and licking off the powdered sugar from his fingers. “Because as much as this place can be a tourist trap, they really aredivinamente squisito.”

“We didn’t come here to talk to you about pastries.”

He chuckles. “I didn’t think you did. I assume you wish to discuss Saturday’s game.” Allegra swallows so loudly I can hear it, and Damon’s gaze moves to his daughter. “Am I to assume it was some sort of statement?”

“I would think that was pretty fucking clear.”

His gaze cuts to mine, hard and sharp. “Oh, it was, and I’m not very happy about the fact that you failed to live up to your end of the bargain.”

“Hey”—I hold up a hand—“that’s bullshit and you know it. I did exactly what you asked. It’s not my fault a better player came around.”

Those typically hard eyes soften with pride as they move to Allegra. “Yes, Allegra certainly is that. Spectacular, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

And I definitely haven’t told her that enough.

Something I will remedy as soon as we get back to my place.

Damon focuses on his daughter again, reaching over to rest his hand on her other one atop the table. “Am I to assume this means you’re done working for the family?”

She presses her lips together, and a war rages in her eyes, a battle between the love of a daughter and the morals of a woman who wants to draw a line in the sand she won’t cross. “I was done before Saturday,Papà, and you know it.”

He shakes his head,tsking,and lifts her hand to look at it. “You know, I missed your whole childhood. Missed seeing those tiny baby hands and holding you in my arms. By the time I got to you, your mother had already sunk in deep.”

“Don’t talk about my mother like that.”

The confident defiance in her tone snaps his gaze up to hers. “She stole you from me. Prevented me from knowing my daughter for twelve years of her life.”

“She was trying to protect me from you…”

He raises a brow. “Do you need protecting from me,bambina? What have I ever done that hasn’t been in your best interest? That hasn’t been completely for you, Allegra? Since the moment I picked you up in that shithole you were living in, I’ve done nothing except what I thought was best for you.”

It’s exactly the argument I expected him to make, justifying his sinister actions with this idea that it’s all for Allegra’s benefit—to ensure her safety and to leave her wealthier than she can probably even imagine.

“I don’t want it,Papà.”

His jaw hardens, and he tightens his grip on her hand.

She jerks it out from under him. “You’re right. I’m done working for you.”

His gaze lifts to me, fiery and determined. “So…you’ve made your choice then?”

Allegra doesn’t hesitate. “I have.”

He nods slowly. “Well, I do hope you’re happy with it because it will be a final one.”

I slam my hand against the table. “Don’t you fucking threaten her.”

His eyes widen. “That wasn’t a threat, Mr. Hawke. Just a statement of fact. She’d decided to cut ties with me. That’s fine. She’s an adult and is well within her rights to do so. But if it’s really what she wants, then she needs to understand the ramifications.” He turns his gaze on her. “Your condo in New York—gone. The places in Denver, London, Paris, Madrid, Monaco, Morocco, all the other countries you’ve spent so much time in—gone. Your access to my private jet, your access to your bank accounts—all of it gone. If you are going to partner with the people who won’t partner with me, then you’ve made your decision.”

He pushes back from the table, but before he steps away, he turns back to me. “Unless you’ve reconsidered?”

I think back to the conversation we had the night Allegra came clean and have continued to have over the last few days about whether partnering with Satriano might be the way to end all of this.

But so far, no one’s been on board, and I can’t say that I fully am, either.

Is making a deal with the Devil better than trying to defeat him?