I paused. “Why not?”
“That’s how I operate.”
“Has Israel ever seen you?”
“No, ma’am.”
I furrowed my brow. “That seems a bit—”
“You wanted my help, so I’m here. I’ve gone against protocol and everything that keeps my team and me safe to come to help you out of your blunder. Now, either sit up and close your eyes so we can fix this mess or lay there and let Israel question you about why you’ve got blood on an apron you shouldn’t be wearing in the first place.”
“You know, you’re very lucky I’m not feeling well right now.” I snickered.
“If you need help sitting up, let me know.”
And just to prove a point, I sat myself up without her help, even though the pain was so blinding I wanted to cry out in horror until it dragged me under.
9
Israel
“Son, we need to talk.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “I figured you didn’t call me over here for lunch simply to see how I am.”
Dad pinned me with his stare. “Why do you keep screwing up every opportunity I put before you?”
I leaned back against the plush chair. “I didn’t screw up my wedding. That was null and void because of an issue that was out of our hands.”
He pointed at me with his fork. “That’s your issue, Israel. You want to blame your troubles on other people.”
“Then, why don’t you enlighten me and let me know how I should’ve fixed the situation with Bonnie. Because if memory serves me correctly, you also saw her that day. And you thought she was Brianna, too.”
His eyes darkened. “I’d watch your words at this lunch table, son.”
I shrugged. “Just wanting to make sure we work with all the facts.”
“Israel, we can’t trust the enemy family any longer. That girl you're living with has been too wily and too uncontrollable lately. Not to mention, this position she’s stepped into. You’re sleeping with the enemy, son. Literally. And I won’t stand for it.”
“Then, I suppose it’s a good thing you’re sitting.”
“Israel!”
I slowly stood. “Why don’t you go ahead and stop beating around the bush. Just tell me why you invited me over here for lunch, Dad.”
He stood with me. “I never ask you for anything, correct?”
“Mmm, debatable.”
He glared at me. “Name the last time I asked something of you that didn’t pertain to this messy situation you’ve found yourself in.”
“That we’ve found ourselves in.”
He waved his hand in the air. “Answer me. Now.”
“You don’t ask for much.”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
“So, I take it you’re going to ask me to do something now?”
His eyes held mine. “You’re going to marry your ex and get that woman out of your home so we can get the monetary support the Espositos have behind them.”
I blinked. “You’re kidding.”
“Son, I know you two have history—”
“Yeah. Where she lied to me for a year and a half before I proposed to her and she disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Yes, I know. But, she’s still the same woman you fell in love with. She’s just got a new name now.”
“No, she’s got a new everything. She’s nothing like the woman I fell in love with. She’s nothing like the woman I dated. I still haven’t figured out why the hell she strung me along like she did without ever telling me who she was and until I have that answer? I’m not doing anything else with her.”
“I thought she already gave you that answer.”
I snickered. “She told me she wanted to have a ‘normal dating experience’ with someone. I think it’s more nefarious than that, though.”
“You read too much into things, son. She was a lost girl back then who just wanted to make decisions for her own life. Like you want to do right now. Only this time, the right answer is staring you in the face for the second time.”
I sighed. “Dad, look—”
“I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m tired of watching you dance around and waste your life away.”
“Why can’t Gio marry the damn woman? The two of them would get along splendidly!”
“You keep the volume of your voice down when you’re speaking with me, boy.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And you better be wise as to who you’re speaking with, old man. Because you don’t own the seat of this family anymore.”
He grinned. “Are you threatening your father?”
“If that means he understands his place, yes.”
His eye twitched. “I may not be the head of this family anymore, but I’m still your father. And I’m telling you, your mother and I are arranging this marriage whether you want it to happen or not.”
I pointed at him. “The only thing you want from this is a chance to invest in their blood-filled diamond business. The only thing in this for you is more money than what you already have. You don’t give a shit about me, or about her, or about whatever this alliance might do to us. All you care about is getting Bonnie away from me and filling my bed with some cheap knock-off of some girl I fell in love with years ago.”
Dad came around to stand next to me. “You listen to me and you listen good, boy. You want power and freedom? You want this city to fall at your feet like you wanted when I first handed you this position? Then, heed my words: you can’t have either of those until you do what’s right for the future of this family. And teaming up with another powerful family is exactly what you need to make sure you obtain that for yourself. For the future generations of this family. For your children, Israel.”
No. If I want power and freedom, I just have to get rid of you.
As I stood there, staring down my father, I wondered if I was willing to kill my father for the sake of my future. Because from where I stood, the only person still meddling in my bullshit was him. I hadn’t heard from Gio since we’d cornered him. Bonnie’s family had been silent since the car accident a few days back. And the only person still harassing me over petty bullshit like this was the man eyeing me from his perched peak.
Can I really kill my father?
I tried to rack my brain for alternatives. Other solutions to this issue besides gunning down my father. But, I couldn't come up with any. It all came back to whether or not I had the stomach to separate family from business. I felt torn between two worlds: a world with my family and a world with Bonnie.
On the one hand, that woman had brought a great deal of frustration and heartache into my life. But, on the other hand, I couldn't imagine not waking up to her in the mornings. Not having coffee with her before I went to work. Not arguing with her before inevitably taking her body as my own.
Oh, the things she and I could become.
But, if I stayed with Bonnie, my father still had the right to rip this position away from me. He could remove me from the family throne and hand it over to Gio before putting a hit out on my head in a heartbeat. And Lord knew, my brother was much easier to manipulate than myself. Surely, my father knew that.
Yes, he does. That’s why he’s strong-arming you like this.
Could I give up everything I thought would be mine for some woman? Could I really face down my father and kill him if it meant preserving my life, as is? Did I want the life I currently had? Or, did I want something more?
Then, I realized something. I realized the problem. I realized the root of every issue that had plagued me since I had suspected something was fishy about Bonnie.
I didn’t know what I wanted.
And I didn’t know if I had the guts to stomach what had to happen.
10
Israel
“About time you got home, big boy.”
My spine shivered even though my gut clenched. I knew that tone of voice with Bonnie now. I had committed every inflection and every sound to memory whenever she used tha
t voice.
“Hey there, Bonnie.”
She grinned from across the room. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to stand here and wait for you. This sun has me sweating up a storm.”
My eyes lingered upon her body as she slowly undid the bow around her waist. Her robe fell from her shoulders, revealing the set of lingerie I purchased for her to wear on our wedding night. My eyes cased her body. I licked my lips as her soft curves called to me. Her breasts—pushed up and round with need—made my tongue do backflips with lust.
But, the white of the outfit brought out the color of her bruises.
And instead, I found myself staring at those.
“Like what you see?” Bonnie asked.
I’m glad I killed that man. “Always.”
She giggled. “Maybe you should remind yourself of what it means to touch me, then.”
She sauntered up to me in her bright-white heels and wrapped her hand up in my tie. She pulled me down to her, our lips crashing together with delight. On any other occasion, I would’ve turned her around and pinned her to the wall. But, I felt the scab against her lip, and it reminded me of just how fragile she still was.
She grabbed my hands and placed them on her hips, but I slid them up to her waist. She backed me against the elevator doors, but I was careful not to wrap my arms around her. I cupped her cheeks, keeping a feather-light touch against her bruised skin as her tongue battled mine for dominance. And as her sweet, delicate taste filled my body, I slowly danced her around before pulling back.
“What is it, handsome?”
My forehead fell against hers. “Nothing. Just a long day.”
Her eyes fluttered up to mine. “Don’t you like what you see?”
My hands fell away from her. “You know I do.”
She shoved my hands between her legs. “Then, why don’t you come have yourself a nice little rest session after what I’m sure was a horrid date with that awful woman.”
I felt her wet pussy lips between the slit in her panties, but I ripped my hand away. I couldn't do this. I couldn’t sink myself into her. Not today. I gazed into her eyes before I stepped back, then turned to face the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Those will be more of a hazard now.
“Israel.”
“Yes, Bonnie.”
“Get over here.”
I peered over my shoulder. “I want to clear the penthouse. I’ll be back.”
She snickered. “No one’s here, Israel. It’s just the two of us.”
She reached for my hand, but I slipped away from her grasp. Because I knew damn good and well that if she kissed me again, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. And I had to, for her sake.
The thought of hurting her in the heat of passion made me sick to my stomach.
“Israel, please.”
I made my way down the hallway. “Don’t beg, Bonnie. It’s unbecoming of you.”
“Like you’d know!”
I heard her heels clicking behind me as I made my way into the kitchen.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” she demanded.
I turned around. “Yes?”
Her eyes filled with anger righteousness. “You’re leaving me for her, aren’t you?”
I furrowed my brow. “What?”
“That diamond heiress. You’re leaving me for her, but you don’t have the balls to tell me?”
“Bonnie, I don’t have the energy to have this pointless fight with you.”
“So, you’re not leaving me?”
I snickered. “If you want to get technical, there’s nothing to leave. We aren’t married. We aren’t in a relationship—”
She gripped my shirt. “The hell we aren’t. We live together, Israel. We fuck together. We’ve gone through hell and back together, and all I’ve wanted this entire time is for you to—”
I heard it before I felt it. The massive pop! before the thunderous boom. I felt the entirity of my penthouse shake as the building swayed, and I heard Bonnie shriek in horror.
“Israel!”
“Dammit,” I growled.
I reached out for her, wrapping my arms around her waist. I pulled her close before she fell, then another explosion sounded. The boom was effervescent. It rattled my ribcage and cracked windows as the entire building began to bob and weave.
Then, I smelled smoke.
“We have to get out of here. Now,” I said.
With Bonnie clinging to me, I set out down the hallway. Smoke billowed down the stairs, and the cracks in all of my windows reminded me of the hellscape we were trying to weather together. I felt her trip behind me, her ankles rolling in those impossible heels of hers. So, I scooped her into my arms and tried to summon the elevator.
But nothing happened.
“Israel,” Bonnie said breathlessly.
“We have to take the stairs. Come on,” I murmured.
I carried her through the back of the penthouse as sirens sounded in the distance. Another explosion went off; only this time, I heard people down below, screaming and crying out for help. I jammed my arm into the door and started down the steps. I watched Bonnie kick off her heels before she slithered down from my grasp, then slid her hand into mine.
“We have to hurry. Come on,” she said.
And when she took the lead in front of me, I couldn’t help but smile.
What a woman.
I heard footsteps barreling up the stairs as we made our way down, and in the middle, we met my bodyguards. One of them scooped Bonnie into his grip, and I raced down the stairs behind them, with the smell of smoke growing behind me. We made it out through the back and around to the front of the building, where people were crying and pointing and yelling. And when I looked up the facade of my building, I saw what they did.
I saw flames of fire licking the sky from the top of my penthouse.
“Oh my God, Israel,” Bonnie whispered.
She wrapped her arms around me, and I held her tightly, listening as firefighters backed us down the block and across the street. I stood there, watching my entire world burn, with things I knew I’d never be able to replace. Like, the bracelet my mother gave to me the day I was born. Or, my original birth certificate. Or, the priceless vase my father got while he was in Italy on his second honeymoon.
Bonnie and I stood there as we watched my entire penthouse go up in flames.
11
Bonnie
I don't know how long we stood there or how long it took for the firefighters to put out that blaze. All I knew was that Israel had wrapped me up in his suit jacket and had the bodyguards standing around me to block off the view of my body to the rest of the world.
I kept attempting to find Israel’s eyes, but he averted them every time I tried. Every time I took his hand to try to soothe him, he pulled away. But, once the chaos finally settled and the smoke dissipated, a fire marshal came over to us.
“You two live in the penthouse up there?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, sir. We do.”
“What happened? Have you investigated it yet?” Israel asked.
The fire marshal nodded. “Your water heater exploded.”
I blinked. “It did what?”
The marshal nodded. “Yep. Took off like a rocket. And since the piping and electrical wiring wasn’t up to code, the explosion triggered the fire.”
I paused. “There were two blasts, though.”
The marshal nodded. “Yes, ma’am. One blast for the initial explosion and another blast when the emergency system didn’t trigger a shut-off for the water heater. It blew right through the roof of your place.”
I looked up at Israel, and his eyes were cold. Distant. Shut off from the rest of the world. I rubbed his back to try to ease his aches and stresses, but he slipped away from me. He shook the marshal’s hand without a word spoken before walking off, leaving me standing there with bare feet and his suit jacket pulled around my body.
“Israel!” I yelled.
He didn’
t turn around, though. He didn’t come back for me. All he did was slip into a Town Car that pulled up before he drove off.
Leaving me standing there, vulnerable and alone.
Just like I always felt whenever he wasn’t around.
12
Bonnie
Three days later
I limped into the courtroom with Ash on my arm and took a seat on the front row. I wanted my uncle to see me during the entire hearing today. I stared him down as I sat there. I watched his profile until he felt the heat of my gaze. And when he looked in my direction, my eyes locked with his.
“I can’t believe she showed up.”
“She looks good.”
“I don’t know how she can look at him.”
“You know he did it.”
“You think they have proof?”
I heard the whispers around me. I heard people murmuring at my expense. And after three days of running around, trying to figure out the truth, I came to one conclusion.
The hot water heater had nothing to do with the explosions three days ago.
You keep trying to kill me, but it’ll never work, Pava.
“All rise.” The bailiff’s voice sounded across the room, and my uncle’s eyes snapped forward.
I stood with the crowd with the help of Ash. Then the judge entered the courtroom. I tuned out everything as I peered over my shoulder, waiting for Israel to walk through the double doors that led into this place.
But, as we all sat down, he didn’t appear.
My only guess was that he was dealing with the hot water heater explosion, which we both knew was anything but that. It still hurt, though. While I understood his need to fix things the second they happened, I needed his support. I needed his guidance. I needed his well of strength to draw from as I sat in that courtroom.
He was nowhere to be found, though.
The trial carried on for a while. People came to the stand to testify, both for and against my uncle’s honor. Evidence was produced and counter-evidence was thrown at the judge. And at one point in time, the two lawyers started bickering right there in the middle of the floor. The judge had to bang his gavel to announce a ten-minute recess after almost three hours of this fucking nonsense.
His Prize: An Arranged Dark Mafia Romance (Cruel King Book 3) Page 6