Page 120 of Watching Her

“Yes. The most notorious, brutal leaders often found peace while being outdoors. My father was no exception. Every time he returned from a business trip, he spent time outdoors. My brother and I knew never to bother him at that point. He was decompressing.”

“So you’re like your father?”

I took a deep breath. “More than I want to be.”

“Your father was in the mafia.”

She made the statement as if knowing changed nothing. I still tipped my head in her direction. “And I thought I held all the power in investigative skills.”

Her laugh was almost nervous. “My best friend discovered the little secret.”

“It’s not really a secret, Penelope. My father never wanted his sons to step into his world. In fact, my mother made him leave the crime syndicate he was working for when my brother was born.”

“Did he ever fully leave?”

She could cut through the thick layers of pretense better than anyone. “Not entirely. Of course he hid that from my mother. Crime syndicates don’t usually ever allow anyone to leave. He wanted her to be truly happy, which was why he kept his continued involvement from her. For once, she was truly joyful about life, which had been difficult for her. Dad had already created Tempest International by then, so any absences were easy to disguise. You can’t change colors on a snake.”

“And you fear you’re just like him.”

I gave her words some thought. “I am. I fought the truth for years. If anyone dared accuse me of being like my dad, I’d fight them including physically. But now that I’m almost forty years old, I realize there is no way around the fact I’m very much like him.”

“But you don’t need to be.”

“In some ways, I do.”

“Did your mother ever learn the truth?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “No. She died believing her husband and the father of her children had honored her single wish. After all she’d tolerated with him, including his anger, and never being taken on a vacation or enjoying what couples traditionally did, she believed in him. The secrets got her killed.”

“How so?”

Now I turned toward her, needing her anchor with her beauty. Her smile calmed me. “My father acted on orders of the crime syndicate don, killing a direct enemy. The man’s family retaliated by having our mother murdered.”

Instantly, she reached out and touched my face. The woman was so tender, so loving and at that moment, I knew I’d do anything for her. “I’m so sorry. Secrets have no place in relationships.”

“No, they don’t, even if in doing so one party believes the lie is being used for protection. I haven’t lied to you about who I am, Penelope, although I don’t believe details are needed. I will tell you that when I saw you in the coffee shop and soon after, my dark cravings carried me at first. I had some buddies at the conference. We went to college together. We all came from privilege. You know the type. Brains with no common sense and we certainly weren’t decent human beings. Perhaps our fathers were to blame.”

She curled her fingers, doing nothing but allowing me to confess. I could sense her tension.

“We enjoyed a game, a contest between the three of us. Who could lure a woman first into our darkness.” I laughed. “Very childish, but at the time, we used the experience to gain power, have our grades changed, to keep from being tossed off a sports team. When we graduated, we tossed the challenge aside. Until you.” I waited for her reaction.

“So I was just a game to you?” Her voice was whispered.

“Until the dance.”

Penelope cocked her head, slowly turning it away from me. Thirty seconds passed before she responded and when she did, I was rewarded with another surprise, one I shouldn’t take for granted. “Don’t do that again. Ever. You know what they say about a woman’s wrath. It’s all true.” This time when she looked at me, I could see both scorn and mischief in her eyes.

But she was dead serious, fighting a moment of disbelief and hurt. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her in any way.

With a dark chuckle, I offered her a deep nod. “Yes, ma’am. I have no intention of it.” I moved closer, trying to take her into my arms, but she pushed me away again. “And do you know why?”

“Because I’m your possession?” she teased.

“Because you’re someone I care about very much.” The admittance was… unexpected.

Her features softened. “You can’t put anything past Carrington.”

“I’m not, but I can handle him.”