Was that part of the reason I was constantly hounded by bosses thinking they could marry me and claim my empire? Were my father's decisions still affecting my life and success today?
When will it ever stop?
I'd been ignoring my father because I couldn't figure out how to deal with him. I couldn't kill him, it would be a PR nightmare, and as his next of kin, it would bring unwanted attention to my familia.
I had no idea if he was in bed with other families, and while I had power now, I was only one person. It was what held me back trying to find the people Fernando trafficked, and it was what was holding me back now.
I leveled my gaze at Marco but couldn't keep my sadness out of my tone. "Would you have made the same choice?"
His body trembled, nostrils flared, eyes narrowed, the vein in his neck engorged. But it was his face, the cold, absolute fury that came over him, that shocked me.
He looked like death, like someone who would destroy anyone and everyone in his path. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked every bit the killer I knew he was.
"If you wouldn't have killed Fernando,Iwould have. Do notevercompare me to that bastard again," he growled.
My throat went dry. I couldn't speak, and even after I swallowed, I still couldn't utter a single word.
I didn't trust anyone, especially not men, but Ibelievedwhat Marco said. I may have not trusted a single other word he'd spoken since the moment I met him, but I knew, without a doubt, he would have killed Fernando for me. His reaction had been far too immediate for me to think otherwise.
I didn't know how to handle that, how to accept that there was someone, a complete stranger, who would have come to my aid. So I asked the only other thing I could, the only thing that felt safe. "What do you want from me?"
His eyes softened, his tone gentle. "There's something you need. Let me help you find it."
His words were a caress on my skin, but instead of calming me, it raised my hackles. "Have you been watching me, Marco?"
His lip lifted in a small smile. "I wouldn't be good at collecting information if I wasn't."
"Tell me then, did you know Fernando was trafficking children?" I hissed.
The thought that he might have found out what Fernando was doing, perhaps had even allied with him in the past and that was why he had approached me now, filled me with disappointment and disgust.
The mafia did illegal things all the time, but there were limits. If nowhere else, then for those in our own familia. It was our job to provide discipline, protection, and order, not to sell our members and treat them as cattle.
I had a firsthand experience of what that felt like, and even though I might need it, I could never accept the help of anyone who would do the same, especially in their own familia.
Marco stood to his full height, and I realized he'd angled himself so I wouldn't have to crane my neck to look at him. He'd been respectful, even when I hadn't been.
A thread of guilt twisted my gut.
You don't owe him anything, least of all respect.To some level, that was true. He had shown up on my turf, unannounced. I was certain he'd given Olivia a hard time. And while I still didn't know what his plans were, I was one-hundred percent certain they were far from innocent.
"Have you ever seen the ramifications of a mafia war?"
His question cut through my thoughts, and the intensity of his gaze stole my breath.
"No."
"When a mafia head is removed internally, it shakes up their entire organization. I'm certainyouhave some experience with that." His gaze hardened. "But when they're removed by another family, it's different. If both sides are not aligned, they will go to war, and that means they will riskeverything, not only their lives, but the lives of those under them." He clenched his jaw so tightly that a tic started in his teeth. "I've seen innocent men, women, and children killed by stray bullets and assassinations all for power. A mafia war covers the streets inblood," he cursed.
I steeled my breath. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Marco leaned onto the railing, and although the stance seemed casual, the tension in his shoulders said otherwise. "I have always hated Fernando. I hated the way he did business, how he ran his familia, and the person he was. He was an asshole who cared about no one but himself and thought he could buy anything he wanted in the city, and did,frequently," he bit out. "But if I would have known he was trafficking children, I would have started a war, regardless of the expense it would have cost me. I've seen people who have gone through that, how it affects them. How itbreaksthem, and I would never stand for it."
I gulped. I wanted to question him, to ask if he would really go that far for the freedom of someone else, but when he turned his head and I met his eyes, absolute certainty shone through.
"I'm not the only one who would have either, Catalina. Some sections of The Underground operate differently, but the Spanish are forbidden from trafficking or slavery within the familia. Our people came to New York to get away from those things in their own countries, and that was one of the rules we all agreed on."
"If that's the case, then how did Fernando get away with it foryears? Someone should have caught him."
