“Are you sure about that?”
I wasn’t certain Israel would see it that way, but…“Yes.”
“Will he see it that way if I happen to give him a call?”
He wouldn’t because then he’d have to admit what he was doing in the apartment when Israel wasn’t around. “Get out. He’s not here. You can come back tonight when he’s home.”
Giovanni kept coming towards me. “You know if you want Israel to trust you? Snooping around isn’t the way to do it.”
I’d realized that about the time I’d heard Giovanni’s voice. My back fell against a wall. “I take it this is where you tell me you’re going to threaten to tell him if I don’t give you something you want?”
He walked up to me with the evilest of grins on his face. “Maybe. This is exactly where I tell you that if you don’t pack up your shit and leave today, I’ll head to where my brother is right now with picture proof of the fact that you’re digging around in his things.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as he turned his phone towards me. And when I saw the pictures he silently took of me digging out that folder and flipping through it, I wondered exactly how long this man had been there without me knowing it. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me understand just how disgusting Israel’s world could sometimes be.
I wouldn't let it phase me. “Why do you want me gone so badly in the first place? You want to marry your brother or something?”
He chuckled. “You’re cute, I’ll give you that.”
I shrugged. “Genuine question. Why do you really want me out so badly?”
He slid his phone into his pocket. “I want to see Israel happy. And right now, all you do is make him miserable.”
“No.” She didn’t buy that for an instant. “You’re much more selfish than that. Come on, Giovanni. What's the real reason? You want me for yourself, don’t you?”
He snickered. “I wouldn't mind taking you for a ride, sure, but I don’t want you at my side. Who would?”
Ouch. That hurt. “So, you want his money. Is that it?”
“I’ve got enough money of my own.”
But did he? Really? “Then, you must be after his seat of power.”
He smiled. “You’ve got a set of balls on you, don’t you?”
“Answering a question with a question is always the answer I need. And I can tell you getting rid of me gets you no closer to any seat Israel might hold. If anything, I’m the only thing that makes him weak. So, kudos to you for trying. But you’re actually working against yourself.”
He closed the gap between us. “Is that really what you think?”
I slid away from him before he pinned me to the wall. “You aren’t trying to help your brother, Giovanni. You're only in this to ruin his life. To chisel away at his self-confidence and his happiness and his empire one small sliver at a time.”
“Correction. Our family’s empire. It’s not his, officially. Not yet, anyway.”
He wasn’t wrong. “Not what the streets are saying.”
“Have you been down on the streets long enough to know what they’re saying?”
I slowly circled around the kitchen. “I grew up there, Gee.” I tasted his nickname on my tongue and hated it. “The second your father handed over his seat to Israel, he became the head of your family. He became the big man in town. And you want that all to yourself, don’t you?”
His smile grew tight. “I wouldn't speak about things you know nothing about.”
“Or maybe, you don’t like the fact that I know anything at all.”
“You’d do best to shut that mouth of yours.”
I stood at the doorway into the kitchen. “Israel will never believe the lies you tell, the venom you spew. He’ll catch you in a heartbeat and hold you accountable to the highest letter like he does everyone else who works for him.”
His eyes widened with anger. “I certainly do not work for him, and I am nowhere near beneath him. I wouldn't be so sure about how much Israel may or may not look your way. Because right now? You’re the rat. You're the backstabber. You’re the one he’s looking at while he’s off to the side. You’re the meat on his hook right now, not me. And it will stay that way so long as you keep pulling the bullshit I know you will because you can’t stand the idea of being an actual wife. Can you?”
I quickly reached for a knife on the countertop. “You come any closer to me ever again and I will slit your throat. Got it?”
He chuckled. “Man, I get the appeal, you know? You’re like a vicious little bunny before it’s eaten by the big, bad wolf.”
I turned and took off down the hallway as Giovanni’s laughter echoed against my ears. I raced up the steps, making my way into Israel’s room before I quickly closed the door. I held the knife out in front of me, ready to bludgeon that man if he followed me up here.
As the knife shook in my hands, I heard the elevator ding downstairs.
“Tell Israel I stopped by to say ‘hello’!” he called out.
And a few seconds later, I heard the elevator whirring. Carrying off that pathetic excuse for a man and leaving me alone again in the penthouse once more.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
The knife dropped from my hands as my legs grew weak. I stumbled back onto the bed and raked my hands down my face. I felt like I was losing it. I felt like the craziness was finally getting to me. I forced myself to draw in sobering breaths, though. I forced myself to concentrate. I forced myself to stay rooted in the present.
“It’s all closing in,” I murmured.
Which is why you have to stay strong.
My hands fell into my lap, and I held my head back up. I opened my
