“Monsters.” I look him dead in the eye. “I saw monsters.” Ben might have been the one doing the torture, but it was clear from the state of Sergei’s body and the smells clinging to the walls that he had been there for some time. Ben just finished what the others started.
“You should’ve told me the man you were with in Vegas was Bennett Mazzone.”
“How did you know it was him?”
“I didn’t until I got here and I couldn’t find you. I forced one of his goons to talk. He told me Mazzone had just arrived, and I connected the dots.”
“You know who he is.”
He nods, easing the car forward when the traffic starts moving again.
“He’s part of the mafia, isn’t he? That legit businessman image he projects is just a front.”
“He is mafia royalty, Sierra.”
“How do you know that? There is nothing online that even hints at him being mafia.”
“I’m from New York originally, and there are very few people in this city who don’t know the Mazzone family is the most powerful mafia family in the US.”
“Why didn’t I find anything online?”
“Ben is smart. He has skilled IT resources in his pocket, and these people know how to control what information is put out there about him. Caltimore’s takeover of FistMine is the first of many, I predict. Ben is changing the way things are done.”
“I just watched him torture someone. So, I wouldn’t say he’s changing everything up,” I say, and it’s as if someone else is speaking the words. I gulp over the messy ball of emotion in my throat. “He was so cold, and from the expert way he inflicted pain, I know this wasn’t his first time.”
Tony pins me with a sympathetic look that makes me feel like a stupid, naïve thirteen-year-old again.
“He’s a killer. My baby’s daddy is a ruthless killer.” I place my palm on my stomach, fighting tears again.
“I can’t believe the man you slept with in Vegas is Ben.” He signals to take the next exit off the highway, toward the airport. “I knew you had a big crush on him when Saskia was dating him, but I had no idea you were still in contact with him.”
God. I never realized I was so obvious. Does everyone know I had the hots for him?
“I wasn’t.” I proceed to tell Tony everything that went down in Vegas, holding nothing back.
By the time we pull into the parking lot at JFK, he is as white as a ghost. “Sierra.” He grips my shoulders almost painfully. “Tell no one who the father is.No. One. Not Ben. Not your father or anyone in your family. Warn Esme and Pen to keep their mouths shut too.”
“Trust me, you don’t have to convince me after what I saw today.”
“Sierra.” His voice elevates a few notches, and he looks seriously rattled. “I mean it. This can’t ever come out. To do so would place you and your child in untold danger.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“You should be scared. Those men are dangerous men existing in a dark world with few rules they abide by except loyalty and honor tola famiglia. Dangerous men always have dangerous enemies. If anyone found out, they could use you against him.”
“No one will find out. I’ll carry the secret to my grave.”
“Promise me you won’t take risks.” He drills me with a look.
“I won’t. It’s not just me anymore,” I add, rubbing my tummy. “I won’t place my child in harm’s way. I will do everything in my power to keep him or her safe.”
“You know, if I had ever married, I would have wished for a daughter like you,” he says, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Your father is a bastard for the way he’s treated you. He appreciates all the wrong things. Whatever happens, don’t ever lose sight of the person you are.”
“This sounds very much like goodbye,” I say, eyeing him warily.
“I’ve never broken my word to you, Sierra, and I don’t want to break it to you now, but I know too much. Returning with you is too dangerous. This is where we will part ways.”
“What do you mean? Why do I get a sense there is a lot I don’t know?”
