Page 15 of Dangerous Games of Trust
I burst out laughing at the ridiculous image he’s just painted for me. “What? I so don’t.” I continue to laugh, my laughter echoing through the room. “How would you know anyway?” I go to turn in his arms, needing to see his face, but he stops me with a heavy arm coming down over my chest. I stare at the wall on the other side of the room, frustrated.
“The rehearsal dinner,” he grumbles, making it obvious he’s bitter about it.
“That was all a show.” I scoff. “Just a part of his manipulation. To prove to Enzo and you that I was his. Got you all hot and bothered, though, so it must have looked legit.” I dig myself a little deeper. I remember the intensity in his eyes as he watched us carry on like the happy couple. He longed to be a part of it, I could tell.
He chuckles darkly, his laughter vibrating right through my body with us so close. “I tell you what did get me all worked up. Watching Ricky and Maddox finger-fuck you on the kitchen counter. The way you came apart for them was fucking hot.” As he exhales, his breath tickles the back of my neck, causing a shiver to cascade down my spine.
I stiffen. How the hell?
“I have eyes everywhere, Red. I watched you falling for each of them more and more by the day, so you can’t deny it. I know what they all mean to you.”
My heart races like crazy, and I break into a cold sweat. Not because of what he thinks he saw in my relationship with the boys but because of how he saw it. “You have cameras in the Moretti house?” I snap, mortified.
What else did he see? My mind races with everything that happened while I was staying there with the boys. The way they had me locked up, Ricky playing doctor and taking care of me while I was injured. That fucking dinner where Alessandro informed me I was marrying him. The way he got me to agree. Oh my God. He would have seen every mortifying second of it. My cheeks start to radiate heat. I will never be able to look at him again.
His hand runs down my arm again, then his hand slips a little lower, wrapping around my belly. “Time for sleep, sweetheart. Or you’re going to be cranky with me when I wake you up in a couple of hours to train.”
“Sleep?” I shake my head. “That’s not fair, you can’t just drop that on me then tell me to go to sleep,” I complain, needing more information, because now my imagination is running wild. But he doesn’t say another word. Before long, his breathing becomes even and the soft sounds of him sleeping are obvious. I groan, knowing I’ve already lost this battle.
Chapter 8
Like he promised, histraining session was brutal. I’m aching all over, but in a strange way, I feel satisfied. I missed our sessions, and I want to feel stronger. After working out, the four of us shared a cooked breakfast then all got ready for work and sat down at our desks by nine a.m. Something in the routine of it all feels way too normal already. As much as I wouldn’t like to admit it to Geovani, I like having a job to focus my attention on. I’m still itching to get my brother alone, but Geovani hasn’t let that happen yet, conveniently keeping us apart unless the four of us are together. Even then, Marco seems smitten with Dani and completely preoccupied.
“Who wants to see what was in that safety deposit box?” Geovani says to get our attention. He hasn’t moved from his desk, so I assume he wants us to gather around him. I follow the other two who are obviously just as curious as me; I have been dying to know since last night.
His eyes move swiftly across the screen, taking in the layout of what seems to be a website. “The package we collected lastnight had the flash drive containing all the encrypted passcodes to access this site.” The website in front of us has a sleek modern design, all black and silver. It looks like a legit user-friendly site. I know where I got my love of graphic design from. My papa was clearly a very talented designer in his own right. My fingers itch to snoop around properly and work out how he put it all together.
Geovani’s smirk in my direction is filled with a subtle sense of understanding. “The way Stephano has it all set up, access is restricted and is on an invitation-only basis from referrals by existing users. It’s hosted by an offshore server, looks like it could be Costa Rica. We can all be grateful he thought that through, as they don’t have specific online gambling regulations. He’s also set it up so the URLs frequently change. Smart and should keep us out of trouble with the authorities for the immediate future. With all that being said, it’s a functioning live casino, that has been running in the background without his help since he met his demise.”
“Is it currently making money?” Marco asks, surprising me. Why is that important to him?
Geovani clicks on another page showing some graphs, and when I see the numbers under each month and how many zeros follow them, I swear my heart nearly stops. “Is that profit or turnover?” I squeak, covering my mouth in shock.
“Profit.” His lips turn up at the sides into a sinister grin. He’s loving every second of this. “Now you see why my pa was so desperate to get his hands on you, Red. This is life-changing stuff.”
I roll my eyes. Life-changing, right. Just look at me.
With a mischievous smile, Dani lightly swats my arm. “Oh, shit, girl, you’re a gazillionaire.”
“Not me.” I stare back at her, still not functioning properly with all those numbers swirling through my head.
“Yeah, Sis, this is all yours,” Marco agrees with her. His arm is draped over her shoulder as he watches Geovani flicking through the pages of the site. Every game you could imagine is there to play, along with what looks like some betting pages as well, and Marco seems impressed. Is this what Geovani enticed him in with, a promise of a piece of this?
I look between their ecstatic faces, waiting for the other shoe to drop. They all get a piece of this as well, right? “No, didn’t we agree to work together?” I ask, confused.
Geovani is done with his investigation and rolls his chair back to face me. “We agreed to the terms, and as stated in the contract, Dani and I will receive our share. But she’s right, you just became a very rich girl. Congratulations.”
I have to close my gaping mouth before everyone sees my bewilderment. I knew it had to be something insane for the stakes to be so high, but I never could have imagined it would be worth anything like it is. I see now why Geovani said it was taking a cut right from the casino. This is way more convenient and efficient. I register what he just said, that it’s all mine, and I immediately turn to my brother. “Marco as well, it’s all his money too,” I correct Geovani. “Dani, did you get that attorney to fix up the paperwork?”
“Sure did. Marco just has to sign it.”
“If that’s what you want, Lana,” Marco says in a way that makes me feel strange. Over the last few months, he’s distanced himself from me more and more. This feels like another step away. Like he thinks it’s mine and I would keep him from it. But I have no need for all that money, nor do I want it.
I lock eyes with him, my gaze unwavering, as I try to convey my intentions. He’s my brother, I love him no matter how he feels about me. I would give him every cent in my bank account if it made him happy. “Of course it is. This is our legacy; I don’tcare who our papa signed it over to. This is yours as much as mine.”
He nods and I can feel his gratitude toward me. But why wouldn’t I be including him? Despite being double-crossed by our papa, he has gone above and beyond to keep me safe.
Dani takes my hand, pulling my attention back to her. “Girl, we need to plan a shopping trip,” she squeals, clapping her hands with excitement.
