Page 114 of Thorns of Death

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s what she said.”

“When?”

“It was a day or two after you came into my apartment.” He let out a string of Italian curses while I stared at him confused. “Everything has been happening all at once. So many secrets unraveled, and I couldn’t keep up. It wasn’t that I forgot.” Enrico’s expression turned pensive as if he was pondering something. “What are you thinking?”

His gaze met mine.

“I only learned about your mother after I left you that day in the apartment,” he grumbled. “Meaning the traitor is among my close inner circle. Only a handful of people had access to that information.”

I swallowed. “It couldn’t be Manuel, right?”

He shook his head. “No. He has been with me through thick and thin. He is the only Italian who knows my true identity. He doesn’t need this information to hurt me.” That was a good point. “Kingston wouldn’t care enough about it to use it.”

“Then who?”

Frustration was clear on his face. “I don’t know, but I will find out.”

My tongue darted out and licked his thumb. “So do we have an agreement?”

His eyes turned into dark pools. “No more keeping you in the dark.”

I nodded. “No lying. No more protecting me from the truth, even if it might hurt.” I could see his macho protective streak flare up, but I ignored it. “If we do this, we do it together, Enrico. I’m all in, but only if we are equal partners.”

He let out an incredulous breath. “I’m really starting to see the Konstantin in you.” A pang of fear pierced my chest and he honed in on it right away. “What is it?” I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling stupid to even voice my concern. “Isla, if we do this as partners, it goes both ways.”

Of course he’d call me out on it.

I sighed. “I was thinking about the brothel thing.” My voice was a soft murmur.

“I don’t have any of them. I ended all that the moment I took over.”

It was a relief to hear it. At least he was a criminal with morals. It was all I could ask for.

“If my mother was—” God, I couldn’t even say the word. “How do I know that Illias and I share a father?”

My husband held my gaze, understanding flashing in his expression. “The old Konstantin would have been pretty sure you were his to take your mother. I didn’t know him, but from all I’ve heard, he wasn’t a soft-hearted bastard that would ever concern himself with a problem unless it had a direct link to him.” I still wasn’t convinced and Enrico could see it on my face. “We’ll drag it out of your brother.”

A strangled laugh escaped me. “That sounds like a threat. I don’t want him getting hurt.”

He grinned, mischievously. “Okay, partner. Then we won’t hurt him. We can drug him.”

“Not that either,” I scolded him softly. “So we have a deal?” He nodded without hesitation. “We do this together. No more secrets.” The latter wasn’t exactly fair since I had a secret the size of a poorly dug grave I was keeping from him, so I quickly added, “No more secrets that relate to us and our family.”

It didn’t take a genius to know he picked up I was hiding something. Although to his credit, he didn’t call me out on it.

“It’s a deal,piccolina.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, rising onto my tiptoes and brushing my lips against his.

It was all the encouragement he needed. His mouth took mine in a bruising kiss. We kissed like two starved souls. Like two humans who’d finally found each other after a lifetime of searching. He kissed me with abandon, his tongue dancing with mine. I let him devour me whole, feasting on my moans and whimpers.

My husband kissed me with a desperation matching my own, robbing me of all thoughts. My fingers dug into his chest, clawing at him like he was my lifeline. Maybe he was.

But then I remembered. I had to tell him. I pulled away from him, breathing heavily.

“I’m falling for you too,” I admitted, my breathing heavy. “I didn’t know. I didn’t recognize the signs. You might be obsessive, but so am I. You are mine and only mine. Give me that, and I’ll be only yours.”

Besides, my heart had already left my chest and joined his. It was singing at the lingering touches and gentle words, swelling with happiness at the closeness between us.