Page 84 of His Forbidden Alliance

“You know I have, and I…”

This couldn’t be happening. “You’re just a straight guy playing around. Trying me out, seeing what it’s like. Fuck you.”

“No, I’m bi. Fuck, I’ve never said that before. I knew I desired men. But it—God, this makes it all sound worse. I was working. I was undercover.”

“Yeah, like you were with me. Get the fuck out of here before I shoot you.”

He moved closer to me, and I held out my hand to fend him off. “Rafe, I swear to you, this is real, what we have. I’m bisexual. I like men. I like you. I’ve enjoyed everything.”

I snorted. “Yeah, you enjoyed playing with a motherfucking mobster.”

“Rafe, think about tonight. I didn’t stop you.” He reached for me, and I scowled at him as I stepped away.

“Because you love manipulating me.”

He shook his head. “Because I supported you. Nothing you heard was true. I was talking to an assistant director. I had to lie. No one at the bureau can know I got this close to you.”

“You don’t want to tell them you were willing to swallow my dick? They don’t want you to eat my ass?”

“I wasn’t fucking acting! Not tonight, not for a long time. Maybe when we first met, but it changed so fast. I’ve never felt like I do when I’m with you.”

Tears stung my eyes. I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t. I was furious with him for using me, and with myself for falling for it. And it hurt. God, it hurt. I fought for composure. “Leave now, Zach. Just leave me alone.”

“Rafe, please. I don’t want you thinking I’d hurt you like this.”

The look in his eyes almost made me reconsider, but what if that was just more acting? “If you’re worried I’m going to put a hit out on you or turn you over to Remington or some shit like that, don’t. I don’t need revenge. I need you out of my sight.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled. “I’ll go, but this isn’t the end. I’m going to make you understand. This is real. I haven’t been playing with you since I thought Andretti was going to slit your throat. If you need anything, you call me. I will come. I will help you no matter what.”

If I said anything else, I was going to start crying. There were tears in Zach’s eyes too, but I couldn’t believe those. Clearly, he was a damn good actor. He scooped up his clothes, dressing as quickly as he could. Then he let himself out the door. I didn’t even know where he was going to go—his car wasn’t here—but I couldn’t make myself worry about it. He could walk home for all I cared.

When Dante opened his door, I could tell he was furious. “What the fuck are you doing banging like—” His eyes widened as he took in my appearance. I was in pajama pants and a T-shirt, and I was sure my hair was standing up. My eyes were red from crying, and if I looked half as bad as I felt, I had to be scary.

“Rafe? What’s wrong? What happened?” He ushered me in and wrapped an arm around my shoulders like he wasn’t sure I could walk.

“I was so fucking wrong. I thought… oh God, I’m so stupid.”

“No, Rafe, you’re not stupid. Tell me what happened. Should I call Lorenzo?”

I shook my head. “No. Yes. Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Maybe tell me first, and then we’ll figure out how to explain it to him.”

“Yeah, I like that.”

As soon as I sat down, I spilled my guts to him, the whole fucking sordid story. I was prepared for Dante to lose his mind, to demand to know where Zach was so he could go and beat the shit out of him. Maybe shoot him. But when I looked up at him, he was frowning.

“The guy you told me about is a federal agent, and you’re in love with him?” His voice was surprisingly calm and steady.

“I was in love with him.”

Dante nodded. “And he’s been helping you find Ivanov?”

“Yes.”

He studied me, and I hated that I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. “Do we need to prepare a counterattack?”

I shook my head. “He’s not going to come after the family. He just wants Ivanov.”