Page 11 of Ruthless Lord

Charlie

I wait for my grandfather’s breakfast routine to finish. It’s a little embarrassing, but I know better than to storm into his room twice in one week. Instead, I lurk outside his door, glowering at the floor and brooding on my shit luck, while the staff pretends like I’m not there.

None of this makes sense. Stefano should’ve been excited to find a way out of our marriage.

Instead, it was like he got pissed at the suggestion. Like he really does want to marry me.

But that big bastard only wants to own me. I’m betting now that he knows who I am and how much money my family has, he’s all about becoming just another Westbrook stooge.

And his precious Don ordered him to lock me down, like some old-school mafioso shit.

Bastard. My father’s probably cackling in his office right now. His little blackmail plan is going perfectly, or at least he probably thinks so.

There’s no way my family will ever let me fully inherit the Westbrook business empire while married to a man like Stefano.

Which is obviously my father’s plan.

Only my grandfather is somehow twisting this situation to his own ends.

I don’t know what’s worse. My father trying to ruin me with revenge porn, or my grandfather using it to get what he wants instead.

“You can go in now,” Emily whispers, holding the door open sheepishly for me.

I thank her and stride inside, holding my head high.

Grandfather doesn’t respect softness or meekness, and I know better than to go into this conversation holding back.

I need all my armor shining and in place, and all my weapons fully sharpened and prepared.

Every conversation with my grandfather is like entering into a duel to the death.

He’s settling into his armchair with a tablet in his lap.

The TV’s off now and he’s got glasses perched on the end of his nose.

He’s frowning and tapping at the screen, trying to get his email to load and grumbling the whole time.

I wait a second before walking over, pulling down the menu screen, and turning on his Wi-Fi.

“Ah, there we go,” he murmurs as his messages populate. “God, how I hate this devil’s machine.”

“That devil’s machine can beam TV shows straight into your face from electric impulses in the walls.”

“The devil always did love his miracles.” Grandfather adjusts his glasses, not looking at me.

He moves through his emails quickly, pausing to respond to a few with agonizing finger jabs.

It’s amazing that this man runs a billion-dollar multinational chemical corporation, but has trouble using his own tablet.

I can’t take it anymore. I’m on the verge of screaming when I finally break.

“I want to talk about my marriage.” I pause, waiting for a reaction. He doesn’t give me one. “I’m done playing this game of chicken.”

“I didn’t realize that’s what we were doing.”

“You’re going to keep pushing this marriage thing until you get what you really want. And don’t tell me it’s some deal with the Marinos. You don’t need me for that. You have lawyers.”

He snorts, tapping rapidly at the screen. “You clearly don’t understand how the Marinos operate. They prefer handguns to briefcases.”

“They’re a business, Grandfather, not a bunch of Neanderthals.”

“Why can’t they be both?”

“Stop acting like this is reasonable. You’re not really going to marry your only granddaughter to some—” I wave a hand in the air, scowling. “Pit-fighting criminal.”

He pauses and frowns at me over his glasses. “And yet you were perfectly fine with having sexual relations with that pit-fighting criminal.”

My jaw grinds and my cheeks turn red. I know what he’s doing.

Throwing the sex in my face to embarrass me and knock me off my game.

I don’t take the bait. “Sex and marriage aren’t the same thing.

And don’t act like you haven’t been sleeping your way through the secretary pool for the past thirty years. ”

He gestures vaguely in the air like he’s already bored with this. “What would you have me do? Everything’s been agreed. If you back out of this, your father will release his little blackmail packet. Do you want him to do that? At least marrying the criminal gives you some plausible deniability.”

“That’s the thing.” I start to pace, easing into the argument. “I don’t think Dad will do it. I’m his daughter, and if he makes me look bad, it’ll only blow back onto him. I think he’s bluffing, and I think you’re bluffing too.”

Grandfather lowers his tablet. He studies me carefully as I keep moving, masking my discomfort with motion. After a moment, his face twists into a very small, very narrow smile.

“You know something, Charlie? You always impress me.”

That’s a surprise. I stop and look at him, feeling like a mouse inches from a snap trap. “I’m an impressive woman.”

“But you’re wrong about the bluff. Your father is so angry and so deeply vindictive that he’ll happily burn us all to hurt me and you in the process.”

I wilt slightly, looking away. “I don’t want to think you’re right.” But deep down, I know he is. Dad’s always been that way. A bastard of a human with a shriveled, prune-like heart.

“However, you were right about the other part. I do want something, and it isn’t just the deal with the Marinos.”

That perks me up. Finally, we’re getting somewhere, and we can stop playing this stupid marriage game. “What is it? Let’s lay it all out and negotiate. We can come to an agreement.”

“I want you to marry Stefano Bianchi.”

I laugh lightly, but he’s clearly not kidding. “I thought we were about to be reasonable.”

“He’s a good match for you.”

“Please, that man’s twice my age. You do realize that, right?”

“Age is just a number.” Grandfather’s lips curl.

“Make me a deal. Don’t do this. Maybe I have a bit of my father in me because I’m about to burn everything down too.”

Grandfather puts aside his tablet and slowly pushes himself from the recliner. I resist the urge to help him. That’d only weaken my position. He shuffles away, hands behind his back, looking toward his front window.

“Here’s what I will offer you.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks.

“The Marino Famiglia has one of the most sophisticated smuggling and shipping operations on the East Coast. I’ve been trying to figure out their logistics for years now without much success.

It’s that damned omerta absurdity. But you are going to get close to them.

You will use your husband, twice your age or not, and you will learn everything you can about their operation.

You will report back to me weekly with what you learn.

And if you live up to your end of the bargain and you give me what I need—” He turns, eyes narrow and cold.

“You will be granted a divorce in one year.”

This is the grandfather I’ve always known.

A harsh, ruthless man willing to do anything to get what he wants.

Including marrying me off.

I’ve been lucky until now. He hasn’t turned this aspect of himself around on me. Everything I am, I learned from this man.

But I should’ve known it was only a matter of time.

Grandfather is a force of nature, and anyone who gets in his way will get flattened.

“You want me to spy for you.” It makes a sick sort of sense. They won’t suspect me. I get the feeling Stefano will look at me like a toy. He won’t even notice as I sink my claws into him and peel away all his secrets.

“Call it corporate espionage if that helps at all. I ask for one year, and in return, you’ll still be allowed to inherit.” His eyebrows raise. “After the divorce, naturally. There will be some extremely aggressive prenuptial agreements put in place.”

I look away, down at my hands, weighing the deal. One year is still a long time.

It’ll also mean betraying Stefano in the end, and I don’t know if he deserves that.

I think of the man from the warehouse last night. The scarred, brutal, vicious bastard. The asshole who expects obedience.

Maybe it’ll be fun to disobey him the whole time.

Or maybe I’m just desperate enough to agree to anything right now, so long as it leaves me with a glimmer of hope.

I know this is wrong. No part of me wants to marry Stefano only to use him, even if he was kind of a dick the other night.

I’m not that kind of person.

Grandfather taught me to be aggressive and brutally efficient, but I’ve always managed to avoid hurting people in the process.

Except I see no other way out. I could call my father’s bluff, but I really don’t think that’ll end well.

This is the best of all the terrible options.

One year as Stefano’s wife. I’ll mine him for what he knows and give it all to my greedy grandfather.

And in the end, what will I be left with? Freedom?

What’s the point of that if I leave my soul behind?

I despise this. I can still taste Stefano’s tongue against mine. I can feel him between my legs. It almost makes me smile, if it didn’t make me feel sick to my stomach.

But I just can’t see any other way out.

I have to play the game. Even if the game’s being forced on me.

“I’ll do it,” I say in a small voice before raising my chin again to glare at my grandfather. “And when I inherit, I’m going to destroy my father.”

“That’s my girl.” Grandfather seems genuinely delighted. “Good luck, dear. I have all the faith in the world in you.”

I really doubt that.

But I just made a deal with the devil, and there’s no going back.