Page 29 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter Twenty-Four

MARCO

No amount of alcohol is going to numb the pain that I currently feel.

Without realizing, I have built back up the brick wall around myself that I have worked so hard to break down.

When I first approached Clara with the job offer at Nox, I thought I was ready to open myself back up to the idea of a relationship. Witnessing my brother fall in love and start a family showed me that it's possible to have it all.

But I’m not Andre. Right now, I’m about as far away from being like my brother as possible. At the first sign of danger, I push Clara away, and I don’t even know if it’s to protect her or me.

Whatever the reason, if I’m not careful, I’m going to lose her for good.

Andre is still in the city, which means I can lock myself away in his office for the rest of the night. My inbox is overloaded, and I have a dozen messages from Levi about Nox, but I’m too distracted to try and do any work.

Instead, I grab one of the decanters of liquor from my brother’s stash and a fresh glass and sit down on the couch with the intention of finishing the entire damn thing.

As I’m taking my first sip, I think of my untouched plate of food downstairs and fight the urge to launch my glass at the wall.

Despite pushing Clara away while I deal with this mess with Alfonzo and Tommaso, she still went to the effort to make me my favorite dinner to try and cheer me up. And how did I repay her? By shutting her out.

I don’t fucking deserve her.

Part of me wants to go and apologize, but Cillian’s voice is playing in my head on repeat.

You owe me now.

I down the rest of my glass and pour another.

Being in debt to Cillian Moore is a suicide mission. While my brother and I might have been fucked without his help, I can’t help but fear that I’ve made a huge mistake by bringing him on to help us tackle Alfonzo and Tommaso.

If Andre and I don’t deliver on whatever it is that Cillian will eventually demand of us, Clara and Zoe will be the ones to pay the price.

The thought has me pouring another three-finger widths of whisky into my glass and downing it in one.

Just as I’m considering pouring a third glass, my phone rings.

I pull it out of my pocket and groan when I see Enzo calling. I’m not in the mood to talk to him, so I silence the call and go back to pouring myself another drink.

But then Enzo calls again, and again.

On the fourth call, I consider throwing my phone across the room.

“What?” I bark down the phone.

“Where are you?”

Something about Enzo’s tone has my adrenaline spiking. There’s an engine roaring in the background through the speaker, and I instantly straighten.

“At Andre’s place in Westchester.” I settle down my glass on the table. “What’s going on?”

“You need to leave, now! ”

I force myself to take a breath and try to ignore the rising sense of panic that is building in my chest.

If there is a threat, I need to keep calm. I can’t afford to make any mistakes.

“Why?” But I have a feeling I already know the answer.

“Tommaso and Alfonzo have put out a hit on every member of your family.”

Suddenly, the alcohol in my stomach threatens to come right back up.

“How do you know?”

“He’s offering a million-dollar reward for every body delivered to him.”

I close my eyes and try to fight the urge to vomit.

Considering the fact that my entire family is under one fucking roof, it means I’ve just made this the easiest game of cat and mouse ever.

I need to get them all out, now .

Every possible ending to this plays out in my mind. “Does Andre know?”

“Not yet.”

My brother is at least an hour away, which is more than enough time for Alfonzo’s men to make a move on us.

Lila, Rosa, and Holly’s safety is up to me.

“Let me speak to him. In the meantime, I need you to gather everyone you can and bring them here.”

“Already on it, boss.”

After the phone goes dead, I take a moment to try and breathe.

Clara, Lila, Rosa, the girls… They’re all here, waiting ar ound like sitting ducks for Tommaso and Alfonzo to wipe them out in one hit.

I can’t let that happen.

My hands are shaking as I dial my brother.

How the fuck am I meant to tell him that if we’re not careful, he might never see his wife and child again?

“What is it, Marco?”

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out.

“Marco?”

“We have a situation.”

“How bad?”

I glance at the framed photo of Lila and Holly on the wall and grimace.

“About as bad as it can get.”

Andre is quiet for a second, but that’s all it takes for an image of five body bags to flash in my mind.

“I suggest you start talking.” Andre’s voice is eerily calm.

My brother doesn’t say a single word while I explain what is happening, though I do catch the sound of glass clinking in the background as he pours himself a drink.

“It’s likely someone tipped them off about my meeting with Cillian and they’re retaliating.” I refresh my own drink.

“Fuck. That didn’t take long. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Are we sure Cillian didn’t play us and go straight to them? Tommaso might be one of his biggest rivals, but it could all be a front. We can’t trust anyone.”

His words have me launching my glass at the wall, shattering instantly.

“If he did, I’m going to fucking kill him!”

“We don’t know for sure, Marco.”

“Then why the fuck did you have me meet with him?”

“Because it was our only option,” Andre snaps .

“Our entire family will be slaughtered if we’ve misjudged this.”

“You don’t need to fucking remind me, Marco.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

“First, we need to get the girls out of the house and to somewhere safe. That is our priority.”

“How far away are you from here?” But I already know the answer.

Still, no harm in hoping I’m wrong.

“At least an hour.”

“Fuck.” I knew it.

“Get the girls packed and ready and let me organize a safe house. Alfonzo has already proven once that he can get to us by taking Zoe, and I’m not about to make that mistake again.”

The thought of being separated from Clara and Zoe makes me feel sick. What if I never see them again?

“Where will they go?”

Andre is silent for a moment, so I start to pace nervously around his office, each second that ticks by heavy like a dead weight in my stomach.

Glass crunches beneath my shoes and the room now reeks from the alcohol that is seeping into the carpet.

“I can’t risk sending them to one of our other properties. It needs to be somewhere off-grid. Somewhere Alfonzo and Tommaso would never think to look.”

“Alio.”

“What?”

“Our cousin, Alio. He has a cabin upstate that’s off grid. What if they went there?”

“We haven’t spoken to Alio in years. Not since…”

“…Our father’s funeral. Yes, I know.” I can’t stop pacing. “But he did tell us if we ever needed help to call on him.”

Andre is quiet, and my patience starts to waver .

We can’t afford to waste any more time.

“This might be our only option Andre. We can trust Alio.”

“You’re right. I’ll call him and make the arrangements if you can get the girls ready.”

Bile starts to burn my throat as I think about Clara and Zoe.

“They’re going to be fine, Marco,” Andre adds, as if he can read my thoughts.

“There’s no other option.” I hang up the phone.

How the hell am I going to get Clara to listen to me after the way I’ve acted recently? I just have to hope that she’s willing to hear me out long enough for me to get her and Zoe somewhere safe.

A thin sheen of sweat breaks out on the back of my neck as I head down the hall toward Clara’s sewing room. It’s quiet, but I know she’s still in there from the light that is seeping through the gap at the bottom of the door.

I don’t bother knocking, I just throw open the door. “Clara, we need to go.”

Her head snaps up from where she's bent over her sewing machine.

The look she gives me is so cold that it almost makes her unrecognizable, and I hate that I’m the reason for it.

She turns back to her work. “Get out, Marco. I don’t want to talk to you.”

I cross over to her sewing table. “Clara… You and Zoe, I need to get you out of here.”

For a second, she stares at me with those beautiful green eyes, and then she’s jumping to her feet and looking like she might launch her sewing machine at me.

“ Seriously ! You’re kicking us out?”

“What? No, I’m not kicking you out. Fuck .” I wipe a hand over my face. “That’s not what I meant?— ”

“You’re unbelievable, Marco.” She starts tidying up the boxes of ribbons and scrap material that are stacked up on her table. “I can’t believe I fell for your act.”

My act?

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, you’re better than that. Or maybe you’re not because I don’t even know who you are.”

I really don’t have time to be having this conversation right now.

“Clara, please.” I reach for her arm.

She snatches her arm away, glaring at me with something close to hatred in her eyes. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

I’m losing her.

“Clara…” My voice cracks, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “Please, we can’t do this now. You and Zoe…you’re not safe here. We need to leave now while it’s dark so it’s easier to spot if we’re being followed.”

Clara shakes her head.

“I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.”

“Did you not hear me? Your life is in danger ! This is hardly the time to talk?—”

“There’s never a right time to talk to you lately!

” She throws her hands up in the air. “I cook you dinner to try to cheer you up, I give you space, I ask about your day, but you’re not interested, Marco.

Quite frankly, if this is how you are when things get tough, then I think Zoe and I are better off being by ourselves. ”

I run a hand over my face as I try to take a steadying breath.

Clara has every reason to hate me. After how I’ve acted, I deserve to have her walk away from me and never look back. But she can’t do that if she’s dead.

He’s offering a million-dollar reward for every body delivered to him.

“They’re coming! Tommaso and Alfonzo have put out a hit on every member of my family, and if I don’t get all of you out of this house right now , then you’re all going to die.”

I snap my mouth shut as the color drains from Clara’s face. I didn’t mean to tell her the whole truth, but she wasn’t giving me much of a choice.

“Fuck, I didn’t mean to scare you… But I really need you to listen to me.”

Clara’s throat bobs as she looks at me.

“You need to talk to me right now, Marco. Otherwise, I swear I will take Zoe and walk out of here, and you will never see us again.”