Page 12 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter Ten

CLARA

I haven’t stopped crying ever since I got off the phone with Marco, and only partly from relief.

My daughter is alive and safe, though for how long, I’m not sure.

I hate that Marco has barely been in Zoe’s life for five minutes, and he’s already trying to call the shots.

The second this is all over, I’m calling a lawyer because I’m not about to have him try to take my daughter away from me.

“You can go now, Levi,” I mumble from my spot on the couch, cradling Zoe’s pink bunny like it’s a baby.

Levi has been standing in my kitchen, watching me cry my eyes out for the past ten minutes, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

“Not until Marco gets here.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” Though I do appreciate not being alone when some psychopath knows where I live. Levi is an intimidating man, and I’m sure he’s not unarmed.

The thought should make me more nervous than it does. But my worst nightmare came true tonight, and if I can get through that, then I can get through anything.

“Marco doesn’t agree.”

Of course, he doesn’t.

As much as it pains me to admit it, Zoe and I aren’t safe staying in this apartment. But that doesn’t mean I want to move into Marco’s brother’s house.

I don’t know what kind of mess Marco is caught up in, but I don’t want any part of it.

Maybe I can give Sam a call, and Zoe and I can stay at her place until all of this blows over.

Once my tears have finally run dry, I get to my feet and start picking out some of Zoe’s favorite toys from her toy basket.

Even if we have to stay at Sam’s for the next few days, I want to make her feel as settled as possible.

I pack up all of her favorite soft toys and books as well as her bedtime essentials like her sound machine and lotions.

After I’ve sorted out Zoe’s things, I realize that I’m going to need a bag too, so I quickly throw a handful of clothes and toiletries into another bag and carry them through to the living room.

“How much longer is Marco going to be?”

Levi pulls out his phone and quickly types out a message. “Marco is here.”

“About time.”

Levi pretends not to hear me, which I appreciate. I’m in a foul mood and utterly exhausted.

I hope that Marco decides to wait to fight me over my decision to keep Zoe from him until tomorrow because all I want is to spend the rest of the night cuddling my baby.

Between the two of us, Levi and I carry all of Zoe’s things down the stairs and out onto the street where Marco is waiting.

His face is like stone as he eyes all of the bags, but I ignore him. All I care about is being reunited with my daughter.

“Zoe?” I drop the bags on the sidewalk and rush over to the car.

But when I throw open the door and find the back seat empty, my knees almost give out.

I round on Marco. “Where is she? Where is my baby?”

Marco picks up the discarded bags. “Relax, she’s with my sister-in-law.”

“Why the hell didn’t you bring her?”

“I told you she is staying at my brother’s place.”

I can’t believe him.

“You still could have brought her with you to pick me up.”

“It was too risky.”

“Fuck you. You’re punishing me for not telling you about Zoe.”

Anger flashes in Marco’s eyes, and the muscle in his jaw ticks as he takes a step toward me.

“Think what you want of me, Clara. I don’t care. But I’m not going to risk Zoe’s life just to make you feel better.”

“Feel better? My child was kidnapped because of you !”

I’m yelling now, but I don’t even care. Let the neighbors listen in. Perhaps I could use them as witnesses when I ultimately fight Marco for custody.

Marco takes a breath and folds his arms across his chest.

“I told you, Zoe is safe with my brother and sister-in-law so you can relax an?—”

“How can you expect me to relax when my baby is with complete strangers?”

“They’re not strangers to me. I figured it would be best for Zoe to stay at my brother’s place while I drove back here to get you. The security is better, and it’s already set up with all the baby stuff because of Holly.”

“Who the hell is Holly? ”

“My niece. She’s just turned one. She’s not much older than Zoe, so the place is stocked with all the relevant supplies. I swear Lila has kept every single onesie that Holly ever wore, so Zoe is set for life.”

“You do not get to decide when I see her, or who looks after her. She is my bab?—”

“She’s our baby. She’s mine too, Clara. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to be in her life, which means I also get to have a say. And right now, what’s best for Zoe is to stay with my brother and his wife at their very secure house.”

“You should have brought her to me. I need to see her.” My voice cracks, and I bury my face in my hands as I finally let myself truly feel everything.

“I didn’t want to risk something happening.”

I throw my hands in the air. “It already did, Marco! My child was taken from right under my nose.”

“Zoe is safe?—”

“For how long? Huh? I knew saying yes to this job was a mistake.”

“You can’t be fucking serious, Clara. This didn’t happen because you took the job at Nox.”

For a moment, we just glare at each other.

If it wasn’t for Zoe, I would storm back inside my apartment, but I’ve been away from her for too long already.

Marco opens the passenger side door. “Can you just get in the car?”

I feel like my entire life is being ripped out from underneath me.

Marco has barely been in my life for forty-eight hours, and I’ve already cried more than I did when I was dealing with pregnancy hormones.

This is not what I wanted, but if I want to be with Zoe, I have no choice but to go with Marco.

I hate that he’s swept in and taken over .

I prided myself on raising Zoe alone, and now it feels like I’m not enough for her. After all, Marco has money, and money gives you security.

Levi helps to load the rest of the bags into the car as I climb into the passenger seat.

Marco’s car is extremely luxurious and likely costs more than an apartment on the upper west side.

I wish Zoe was here to throw up all over it.

When he gets behind the wheel and turns the engine on, my entire body starts vibrating in my seat.

“It won’t take us long to get there.”

Is that meant to make me feel better?

For a while, we ride in silence. Every time I open my mouth to speak, I’m overcome with the urge to scream, so I shut it again.

This is not how this was supposed to go. I had planned on Marco being pissed, that was a given. I didn’t exactly try very hard to find him, but that was for good reason.

After finding out that Adam was cheating on me, my ability to trust had been shattered, and I was so terrified that Marco was going to turn out to be yet another guy on the long list of people in my life that I can’t trust that I decided not to go looking for him.

I had a baby to think about, and I was determined to put her first.

I was also assuming that Marco wouldn’t want to be involved with Zoe. He left without leaving any information about himself or a way to contact him. He also doesn’t exactly seem like the family-man type, so I was prepared to give him an out.

But it seems I was wrong about that too.

Marco pulls onto the freeway. “Let’s forget the fact that you didn’t try to find me when you found out you were pregnant. What I want to know is why you didn’t tell me the moment you realized you would be working for me?”

“Does it even matter?” I look out of the window and watch the bright headlights of oncoming cars speed past.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Marco.”

“There must be a reason.”

I chew on my lower lip as I pick at my cuticles. “You want the truth?”

“Always.”

I take a deep breath and keep my eyes forward. I don’t want to see Marco’s expression when I admit to him the reason I kept his daughter a secret.

“I was terrified of your reaction. I had heard stories about you, about your family…”

Marco is silent for a moment, but still I don’t look at him.

“You thought I would hurt you?”

There’s no denying the hurt in his voice, but he asked for the truth.

“I don’t even know you. Just like I don't know if I can trust that you can protect us.”

My eyes flick to the steering wheel, which Marco is gripping so tightly his knuckles are turning white.

“How do I know this isn’t some game for you to try to take Zoe from me? Are we even really in danger?"

Marco doesn’t get a chance to reply.

One moment, the car is deathly silent and the next, gunshots echo around us.

I’m too terrified to even scream.

Marco’s hand pushes my head to my knees. “Get down!”

The back window explodes.

I cover my head with my arms to try and shield myself as glass flies everywhere, embedding itself into my skin, but that’s the least of my worries .

“Fuck,” Marco grunts as the car swerves.

More gunshots fire and horns blare as Marco puts his foot to the floor to try and lose whoever is attacking us.

The gunfire is so loud. They must be gaining on us. Whoever “they” are.

Marco must know we can’t outrace a bullet, so what is his plan here? Because if we don’t get away soon, I’m going to die without ever getting the chance to hold my baby again.

I go to lift my head to see what’s going on, but Marco forces it down.

“I’ve got you, Clara. Just stay down.”

It sure as hell doesn’t seem like it, but I keep my head down anyway.

Marco assures me that his brother’s place has plenty of security, so all we need to do is get there. But they have guns. They are shooting at us! And Zoe is there.

Oh, god!

I bolt upright in my seat. “Turn the car around!”

“What?”

We’re speeding down the highway at least at double the limit, but I can still hear the sound of the gunshots firing behind us. All it would take is for one of them to hit a wheel and it would all be over.

“We’re leading them to Zoe! Turn the car around!”

“They’re not getting anywhere near our daughter, you hear me?”

“Marco—”

“Listen to me. Zoe is safe. As soon as we get there, they have no chance in hell of even getting within a mile of her.”

“But…”

“I’ve got this. Now get down and let me do my thing.”

I look at him and he seems so in control. Like it’s just another car ride and we are sightseeing. Except we are speeding and swerving .

There’s nothing I can do. I am completely helpless, and I have no choice but to put all of my trust in Marco. I just have to hope that he means what he says about wanting to keep Zoe safe.

I put my head between my knees and cover it with my arms. All I can do is pray that tonight will end with me holding my baby and not with me in a morgue.

At some point, the gunfire stops, but Marco doesn’t ease his foot off the gas.

My ears are ringing, and my stomach feels so nauseous from all the violent twists and turns that Marco took to dodge our attackers that if I hadn’t already thrown up my dinner, I would be doing so currently all over the leather interior.

Even when the car eventually stops and Marco cuts the engine, I don’t lift my head in case the movement makes my nausea worse.

For a moment, the only sound is that of our heavy breathing.

“Are you okay?” Marco’s hand is on my back.

I want to shake him off, but I can’t move. I’m completely paralyzed with fear, and my body is violently trembling, even more so than it was when I found Zoe’s crib empty.

“Clara, you’re safe now.”

Am I? Because ever since Marco De Luca re-entered my life, it seems as if I’ve been living inside a nightmare. One that looks like it isn’t going to end any time soon.