Page 21 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

“Yay, Zoe!” Clara claps her hands as Zoe tries her best to push herself up onto her knees.

She’s looking at me with such interest that I wonder if this is the moment she’s finally going to crawl .

“Come on, Zo.” I move a little further away from her. “You can do it!”

Clara nods as she holds her hands by her chest. “That’s it, darling, go to daddy.”

I freeze.

That’s the first time she’s called me that in front of Zoe.

Our eyes meet for the briefest moment, and then I’m leaning over and wrapping my hand around the back of her neck to bring her lips to mine.

I waste no time forcing my tongue into her mouth, wanting to hear her little moans of pleasure as I stroke my tongue against hers.

“Clara,” I groan as I grip her hair tightly.

If it weren’t for the fact that Zoe was right next to us, I would take her right here on the lawn, and from the way Clara moans, she knows it too.

I knew last night wasn’t going to be enough, but it seems as if the universe has other plans as my phone starts ringing in my pocket.

“You should get that,” Clara murmurs against my lips.

“Later.” I kiss her again.

“I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“I’m the boss, I can do whatever and whoever I like.” I nip on her lower lip as I sneak my hand up her waist to cup her breast.

“Marco,” Clara moans as her head falls forward onto my shoulder as I rub her nipple through the thin material of her dress.

My phone continues to ring, so I reluctantly pull away from Clara and reach into my pocket.

Liam, my PI’s name, flashes on the screen. “Shit, I need to take this.”

“Go defeat the bad guys,” Clara teases, and I force an easy smile .

If only she knew who the bad guy is I am taking out this time…

Once I’m safely locked away in Andre’s study, I call Liam back. Just as I suspected, he’s managed to track down details of Clara’s ex-fiancé, Adam, so I waste no time getting into my car and driving into the city. I want this fucker to pay for what he did to Clara once and for all.

I don’t bother saying goodbye to Clara before I leave because I don’t want her asking questions that I can’t answer truthfully.

It doesn’t take long for the adrenaline to start pumping through my body as I drive.

I’m no stranger to using a gun or a knife, but there’s something about using my hands to beat the shit out of someone that makes it so much more satisfying. I want to walk away from this with split knuckles from breaking this guy’s jaw with my own fist.

It’s broad daylight by the time I park around the corner from the building where Adam works in Midtown.

Ideally, I would wait for the sun to go down before I drag him into some alley and beat him senseless.

But now that I actually have someone to go home to, I’m not willing to wait around.

The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can get back to my girls.

At five on the dot, I catch sight of a guy with honey blond hair and an ill-fitting, navy suit walking out through the revolving doors.

He’s exactly what I thought he would be like. The asshole should be kissing the ground Clara walks on for having her even give him the time of day, but no matter. His fuck up has been my greatest blessing.

“Show time.” I climb out of my car.

Adam starts to walk down the street, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m following him .

I keep a safe enough distance between us, casually sinking my hands into my pockets and glancing around as if I’m merely taking in the scenery.

One more block.

I made sure to study Adam’s usual route home from the office in order to work out the best place to act out my plan. I needed somewhere without any obvious security cameras because I can’t be found being linked to what I’m about to do.

Just a few more steps…

I lunge, grabbing Adam by the back of his suit jacket and pulling him into the alley in one swift movement.

He barely has a chance to register what’s happening before I spin him around and slam my head right into his nose.

The answering crunch of bone followed by his howl of pain has my lips pulling up into a smile.

Much better.

Adam clutches his hands to his nose as blood pours down his face. His body trembles as I take hold of his collar once more.

“H-help?—”

“No one’s coming to fucking save you.” I slam his head back against the brick wall.

The impact isn’t enough to knock him out, which is good. I want this asshole conscious while I tell him how much of a piece of shit he is.

“If it weren’t for you fucking up, I never would have gotten the chance to know her, so I guess I could thank you for that.”

Adam’s eyes widen as he realizes who I’m referring to.

“You didn’t think you were going to hurt her like that and get away with it did you?” I smirk. “The past always catches up to us, Adam. You’d do well to remember that. ”

This time, I don’t bother holding back. I throw Adam to the floor and land a swift kick to his head before he even has a chance to react.

I might not be able to take away the pain this poor excuse for a man caused Clara, but I sure as hell can make him suffer.

I don’t stop until his face is so battered and bruised that he’s barely recognizable, but ultimately still breathing.

“You should be thanking me for not killing you.” I flex my bruised knuckles.

As expected, the skin has split from where I punched Adam repeatedly in the face and stomach, but I barely feel the pain.

I squat down beside his barely conscious body and reach into his jacket pocket for his phone, quickly holding down the side button to trigger an emergency call. “I need an ambulance.”

I offer up the location as well as the extent of Adam’s injuries, all the while watching him as his breathing becomes shallower.

“He looks to be in pretty bad shape. You’d better hurry.” I hang up the phone and toss it on the ground.

“I hope for Clara’s sake you don’t make it.”

I walk away, just as the sounds of sirens start to sound in the distance.