When I opened the front door, I was greeted by Conway’s arrogant smirk.

In jeans and a t-shirt, he was dressed casually since he was working from home a lot more often. He stepped inside without being invited and surveyed the large entryway with the double staircase. He whistled under his breath. “Of course, you buy the hottest piece of property in Tuscany when I’m trying to buy a place for my family.”

“You shouldn’t have dragged your feet.” I shut the door behind him and followed him into the house.

He continued to look around, impressed with the place. “This place is nearly the same size as my parents’ place.”

“Still get lost.”

“Why did you need such a big place? Got some kids I don’t know about?” He chuckled before he walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a drink from the bar.

I would have a kid there very soon. “I bought it for the privacy. It has the large gate in the front, and the house is quite a distance from the road.” I grabbed a glass and filled it when he was finished.

He took a drink as he stood with me at the kitchen island. “So what happened to your little pet? Egor picked her up?”

I hadn’t mentioned this to him. He’d been busy lately, so we hadn’t talked about it. I swirled my drink before I brought it to my lips.

Conway stared at me, his eyebrow slowly rising. “Carter?”

I swallowed the liquor down my throat then rubbed my lips together. “It’s a long story…”

“Alright.” He kept his focus on me, his black wedding band sitting on his left hand.

“I didn’t give her back to Egor. In fact, she lives with me now.”

His eyebrow inched even higher off his face. “What?”

“I couldn’t give her back, Conway. Just couldn’t do it.” It would have haunted me for the rest of my life, especially knowing her son was alone because of my decision.

“Did you kill him, then?” he demanded. “Or are we going to get shot at any moment?”

“No, I didn’t kill him. I faked her death… It was an ordeal.” I told him about the operation Griffin and I did together. “Egor bought it. Took the body with him. Then it was over. That was a few weeks ago.”

Conway was clearly pissed, but he didn’t explode. “How are you sure?”

“He took the body and hasn’t said anything. It seemed like he believed me.”

“What if he sees her somewhere?”

“Why do you think I moved way out here?”

He slowly nodded his head in understanding. “I should have known…”

“I just couldn’t do it, Conway. If I gave her back, I never would have stopped thinking about it. The guy is a psychopath.”

“Well, if you’re in love with her, what other choice did you have?”

“I’m not in love with her,” I said quickly.

He turned back to me, the anger emerging again. “You risked your life and the rest of the Barsettis for a woman you aren’t in love with?”

“She has a son,” I snapped. “When she told me that…I couldn’t go through with it.” I knew the mention of a child would calm Conway down since he was about to be a father. “It would have been wrong. Everything worked out fine, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It better have.”

“The Skull Kings have been taken care of, and Egor has more important things to do. If I keep her hidden for a while, we’ll definitely be in the clear.”

“So, what’s the plan? Her kid is just gonna live here?”

“Yes.”

He chuckled. “You’re kidding me. You’re gonna live with a kid?”

“The place is three stories,” I said coldly. “I told her to keep him out of my way.”

“But still,” he said. “I haven’t even had my kid yet, and I’m freaking out about it.”

“Well, I’m not going to be a father. The kid is her problem, not mine.”

He kept up his hostile stare, looking me in the eye like he saw something.

“What?”

“And you think you aren’t in love with this woman?”

“I’m not.”

“Right…”

“I’m really not,” I hissed. “I brought her for my own reasons.”

“What reasons are those?” He finished his glass then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Not that it’s any of your business…but I have a special kind of relationship with her. A relationship that involves whips and chains…”

He nodded slightly in understanding. “So you rescued her from that asshole so you could replace him?”

“Not exactly…but yes.”

“Must be one hell of a woman.”

“She is,” I blurted, picturing that brown hair and beautiful skin. “So, how’re Sapphire and the baby?”

“We aren’t done talking about you, asshole.” He slammed his glass onto the counter. “You’ve gotta tell your dad or my dad what’s going on. They just cleaned up our mess, and they have the right to know if there’s another potential situation on the horizon.”

I didn’t want to bring my father into my personal life, but due to the events of the past, it would be the right thing. “I’m going to talk to my father when I see him.”

“Good. Thought I would have to argue with you more.”

“Griffin already made his case. Said I needed to do it.”

He nodded in approval. “I used to hate that guy. But now…he fits right in.”

“Yeah, he does,” I said in agreement. “He was the one who helped me, got the body to replace Mia. Burned the house for me…did everything.”

Conway leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can say this woman doesn’t mean anything to you, but you put everything on the line for her. I didn’t tell Sapphire I loved her until much later, but the moment I paid a hundred million dollars for her, I should have known. This is no different, Carter.”

“I didn’t drop any money for her,” I countered.

“But you put a dead body in your house and burned a bedroom. The damages alone are gonna cost a hundred grand.”

“You think a hundred grand means anything to me?”

“It’s still inconvenient.”

Mia had a significant impact on me, made me feel things I’d never felt before. I’d never wanted to fuck a woman the way I did with her. I pounded into her ass last night and enjoyed every single second. I’d never gotten that much pleasure out of someone before. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “She’s a good person. It was the least I could do. I bought women in the past with the intention of saving them, not giving them to their tormentors.”

“So, what’s the plan? Just let her live here?”

“She cooks and cleans. She’s basically the maid.”

“Who you screw at night.”

I shrugged, not sure what else to say. “We’ll see what happens…”

“I’m not sure what our parents will think about this.”

“It’s my life, so I don’t really care what they think.”

He narrowed his eyes on my face. “Cut the shit, Carter. We both care. When I told my father the truth about Sapphire, I was fucking terrified. Not scared of him punching me, but of him being disappointed in me. He’s made a few comments to me in the past…and they always make me feel like shit. Don’t expect your parents to be happy about this. They’ll probably be livid, honestly.”

I didn’t want to admit that I put our family in danger, especially after everything that happened to us. But I didn’t want to live by their opinions either. What was done was done. I couldn’t go back and change it.

“And they aren’t going to be fine knowing you have a slave.”

“She’s not a slave,” I countered. “It’s not like that.”

“That’s not what you said to me earlier…”

“She’s treated well, and she has nowhere else to go.”

“She said that?” he asked.

“No…but I can tell.” She’d been a prisoner for three years, and she was just getting her son back. After everything she’d been through, she wouldn’t be able to just go back to work like nothing happened. She had to focus on her relationship with her son. And the schools in the area were some of the best in the country. “One day I’ll get tired of her, and she’ll leave. And if she never wants to leave, I need a maid anyway.”

Conway kept looking at me, the judgment in his eyes.

“And you think you’re any better?” I asked incredulously. “You did the exact same thing with Sapphire.”

“And I fell in love with her. Sounds like the same thing is happening to you.”

I refilled my glass so I would have a reason to break eye contact for a moment. “If I felt that way, I would just say it. But I don’t. My livelihood doesn’t depend on my sex life, so whether I’m monogamous or not, it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in being a stepfather, and I’m not interested in love either. I care about her…a lot.”

“Enough to put everything on the line.”

I ignored his jab. “But I don’t love her. Think whatever you want, Con. That’s the truth.”

He kept his arms crossed over his chest, watching me like he didn’t take me seriously. “Whatever you say, Carter.” A slight grin came over his face, like he couldn’t wait to tell me I was wrong when the time was right.

“Can we talk about your wife now?”

His grin became wider. “Yes, my pregnant wife…she’s doing alright. She’s about to pop any moment, so she’s a bit…how do I put this politely…difficult. She can’t sleep, has a hard time eating, she’s not in the mood for sex anymore…”

“Maybe that’s because of you, not the pregnancy.”

That wiped the smirk right off his face. “It’s the pregnancy, trust me.”

“Seem a little defensive about that.”

“Shut the hell up, Carter.”

“If she’s about to pop, what are you doing over here?”

“Came to check out your new place. Seems like we haven’t talked in a while, and obviously we haven’t because your life has been pretty damn interesting the last few weeks.”

“Exceptionally.” After last night, my life got even better. Something about Mia drove me crazy, made me into a different man. I’d never been into dominance or anything kinky, but now I wanted to tie her up and fuck her like a psychopath. “Got names picked out?”

“Yes.”

“What are they?”

“Not gonna say until the baby gets here. Depends on if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“I’m excited,” I said. “We have another Barsetti on the way.”

“I’m excited too. But also fucking terrified.” On the surface, he seemed so calm and self-assured. It was a great poker face, his professional expression that kept all of his models and employees calm right before a show. “All this time, I’ve been focused on making sure Sapphire is safe, comfortable, and healthy…but now the baby is actually coming. I have a whole other person to worry about every single day.”

“You do great with Sapphire, so I’m sure you’ll be fine, man. If anyone can hit this out of the park, it’s you.”

He gave me a slight nod. “Thanks, man. I’m glad we’ve decided to move here since my parents will always be around to help out. They’re pretty excited about it. My mom wants another baby around the house.”

“Where are you guys going to live since you don’t have a place? You guys are welcome to stay here if you want. Staying with your parents for the past month must be taking its toll.”

“We found a place we like, and now we’re in the process of purchasing it. But it’s not gonna be done until after the baby comes. No need to rush at this point. So we’re gonna stay with my parents. There’s no possible way that my mom would ever let us stay with anyone else. She wants to be part of everything. I think it’ll be good for Sapphire anyway. It’ll let her relax while we have an experienced parent take care of the baby. Sapphire can sleep, and I can get some work done.”

“So, free babysitters?”

“Yes,” he said with a chuckle. “But good babysitters. Vanessa and I turned out alright.”

“She turned out alright. You…I’m not so sure about.”

He rolled his eyes. “Asshole.”

“Yeah, I know.” I refilled our glasses. “I miss this.”

“I know,” he said as he looked into his glass. “We used to see each other all the time. Now, we hardly talk.”

“That should all change now that I’m living here. We’re only a few miles apart.”

“True. It better change.” He took a drink before he pulled out his phone to check the screen. When he didn’t see anything, he slid it back into his pocket. “Paranoid that I’m gonna miss a call from her.”

“If she knows you’re here, she would just call me next. Chill.”

He chuckled. “When you have a pregnant wife, I’ll tell you to chill.”

Footsteps sounded behind us, and then Mia entered the room. In a red sundress that she bought at the store yesterday, she was beautiful. Blending in perfectly with the hot summer in Tuscany, she looked ready to bask beside the pool. She flinched slightly when she realized I had company. An instant of panic came over her face before she recovered, like she wasn’t sure what to do. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I’m Mia.” She walked up to my cousin and extended her hand. “You must be Carter’s cousin Conway.”

After Conway looked at her, he turned his expression on me, that knowing smile on his lips. Then he turned back to her and shook her hand. “Yes, I’m Conway. And it’s lovely to meet you, Mia. Carter has told me a lot about you. That dress is beautiful, by the way.”

“Thanks,” she said, a soft smile coming onto her lips at his compliment.

I tried not to care that he was being charming with my woman, but it was difficult. Conway was a good-looking Barsetti just the way I was. I didn’t want Mia to find him attractive, not that I should care.

“Carter told me you’re his new roommate,” Conway said. “If he’s being an asshole to you, just give me a call and I’ll straighten him out. He’s a bit stubborn sometimes.”

“A bit?” she teased. “He’s more than a bit.”

Conway laughed. “I like her, Carter. Any woman who talks shit about you is okay in my book.”

She turned to me and placed her hand on my arm. “He may be stubborn, but he’s also very sweet, selfless, and kind. He’s been extremely generous to me, and I could never repay him for what he’s done for me.” She gave me a quick squeeze before she dropped her embrace. “Can I get you guys anything? Make dinner for the two of you?”

The touch was so simple, but it sent chills all the way down my spine. I wanted to yank her back toward me and kiss her. I wanted to lift her onto the kitchen island and pound into her right then and there. She teased me, but she also showed her affection at the same time. She was loyal to me, showing me that I was the only man on her mind.

“No, thank you,” Conway said. “I just stopped by to say hello. I should get back to my wife.”

“She’s having your baby soon, right?” Mia asked.

“Yes,” Conway said with a smile. “It’s good to know Carter talks about me.”

“I don’t,” I countered. “I just talk about your wife.”

He chuckled. “Can’t say I blame you. She’s pretty great.”

“Still not sure how you got her,” I said. “Oh wait, that’s right. You bought her.”

“You wanna die, asshole?” Conway couldn’t keep a straight face, the trace of a smile on his lips. We hadn’t joked around with each other in forever, and now the insults were rolling out one by one.

“We don’t have time for that. Your wife is about to go into labor.”

“You’re lucky for that.” He finished his drink and left the glass on the counter. “By the way, you should talk to your father soon. Once the baby comes, there won’t be much time for that sort of thing.”

“That’s a good point.”

“And if he’s pissed at you, the baby will soften him up.” He clapped my shoulder as he left the kitchen. “It was nice to meet you, Mia.”

“You too, Conway.” She gave him a wave as he walked out.

When he left the house and shut the door behind him, I turned back to Mia.

She smiled in a guilty way. “I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have come down here if I knew you had company.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I came around the kitchen island toward her. “You live here, Mia. You can do whatever you want.”

My specific choice of words made her flinch. The carefree smile on her face immediately faded away when she digested the words I spoke. I didn’t think twice about them, but she was still sensitive about her newfound freedom. “Can do whatever I want…”

“Because you can do whatever you want, sweetheart.”

Her eyes shifted away from my face, and she inhaled a deep breath. “I know this doesn’t make any sense, but I always feel bad when I realize how much I have now. I compare it to how it was before, and the memory catches me off-balance.”

I wasn’t a therapist or someone who was capable of understanding such intense emotions. I wished I could help her, but I just couldn’t. “I can only imagine.”

She lifted her gaze to look at me again, and when she didn’t have anything else to say on the subject, she mentioned Conway. “Your cousin is nice.”

“So is his lingerie.” It was worth every penny because it made her slutty and classy at the same time. A beautiful woman like her deserved to be covered in diamonds and lace.

“Are all the Barsettis extremely successful?”

I shrugged. “Seems that way.”

“Must be something in the water.”

“Or something in the blood.” My hand cupped her cheek, and my thumb brushed across her bottom lip. I’d never been threatened by Conway when we picked up women. He was just as handsome as I was, and even a little more famous. But the idea of Mia finding him attractive made me a little jealous. I wanted to be the center of her focus, wanted her eyes to be obedient to my worship.

She chuckled. “Guess so. That’s exciting that you’ll have a second cousin.”

“I feel like they’ll be more of a niece or nephew. Conway has always been a brother to me.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Do you have any siblings?” I’d never asked before.

“No, I don’t. Just me,” she said with a sigh. “When I see the closeness you share, it makes me wish I had the same thing.”

I never took for granted how lucky I was, to have an expansive family that was always loyal to each other. I never felt alone in the world, not even when I was five hours away in a different city. “You do. With Luca.”

A soft smile appeared on her mouth. “Yes, with Luca. I’ve always wanted to give him a sibling. But now I need to let that dream go.”

“I don’t see why that dream isn’t possible.”

“It’s very complicated to reverse the procedure.”

“But not impossible,” I said. “And even if it were, there are other ways to have children. Don’t let Egor stomp on your dream to grow your family. You’ll make it happen.” Encouraging her didn’t make a lot of sense since she was my prisoner. I told her other men weren’t allowed in her life. There was only room for one man between her legs. Since I wasn’t looking for a wife or a family, I couldn’t be what she needed. Since I couldn’t give her what she wanted, this arrangement had an expiration date. I couldn’t keep her forever, and I knew that. Perhaps I’d get tired of her in a year or two, and I could release her back into the wild.

“You’re right, Carter. You always know what to say.” Her hand moved to my arm again, and she squeezed it.

I loved it when she touched me. The movement was kind, but it meant more to me. She comforted me, reminded me that I was the man she held deep affection for. And I was the man who chased her fears away. Now that Conway wasn’t here, my hands went to her hips, and I backed her up into the counter. My lips pressed against hers, and I kissed her slowly, our lips moving together with precise gentleness. Every kiss was purposeful, full of warm breaths and quiet moans. My hands were in her hair, and her hands were glued to my chest. I cradled the back of her head so I could deepen the embrace, devour her with my mouth and tongue. I’d kissed her many times, but that didn’t satisfy my hunger. I’d just fucked her mercilessly the night before, and now I was touching her tenderly, like she was my wife rather than my slave. She did strange things to me, turned me into two very different men. Sometimes I was evil, and sometimes I was kind.

The windows were open and the sunlight shone through, but that didn’t stop me from undoing my jeans and pushing them down with my boxers. I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed it onto the tile before I moved to her pants next. Her jeans and panties were gone before I lifted her onto the counter.

Her arms hooked around my neck, and she folded herself against my body, moving into position so I could have her right then and there. Her fingers dug into my hair, and she gave an abrupt moan when she felt my cock slide in hard. “Carter…I love it when you take me like this.”

I rested my face against hers as I enjoyed the sweetness of her pussy. “Like what, sweetheart?” I wasn’t tying her up and making her submit. We were just two lovers in the heat of the moment. It all started with a simple touch to my arm, an act of possession in front of my cousin.

“Like nothing can stop you from having me.”

My father called me. “Hey, your uncle told me Conway stopped by yesterday. Said you had a fancy place.”

“Yeah.” I sat at the dining table with my laptop in front of me. My second cup of coffee was at my side. I’d finished breakfast a few hours ago, and now it was some time past noon. “He stopped by for a few minutes before he returned to Sapphire.”

“Since you’re taking visitors, how about your mother and I stop by for lunch?”

Normally, I would love that idea. But with Mia around, I didn’t think that would be a good idea. I wanted to speak to my father in private about the situation. “Uh, you know…how about just you?”

He paused for a long time, sensing something was off. “Why just me?”

“Because…I need to talk to you about something.”

It was a silence of disappointment.

I could feel his anger over the phone.

“What the fuck did you do, Carter Barsetti?”

“Just come over, alright? Leave Mom behind, for now.”

“Your mother misses you, Carter.”

“I know…but I don’t want to talk to her about this right now.” My mother would be far more disappointed in me than my father would. I couldn’t handle that. I hated being shunned by her. I hated it when I gave her a broken heart. “It needs to just be you.”

“I’m coming.” He hung up.

I set my phone down and waited, knowing I would be able to feel my father’s wrath before he even arrived at the door.

Mia walked inside, looking cute in a pink apron. “Everything alright, Carter?”

Normally, I would fuck her on the dining table to get my mind off the situation, but since the war was coming to my front doorstep, that wasn’t an option. “My father is coming by right now. I have to tell him about you.”

“Oh…I see. Should I stay out of the way, then?”

“I think that would be best.”

She moved her hand to my shoulder and rubbed the muscle. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips, pressing a kiss to the curve of her palm. “I will, sweetheart.” I released her hand and watched her walk away. My father must have been close by since he arrived five minutes later.

Even his knock sounded angry.

I walked to the front of the house and opened the door, revealing my angry father on the doorstep. His tanned skin was tight across his face and arms, showing chiseled muscles and the hard lines of his jaw. Even though they were a different color, his eyes were just like mine, and his dark hair and Italian features were like mine too. I had slightly softer features, my mother’s legacy. But I possessed his height and his musculature. “Come in.” I stepped out of the way so he could walk into the entryway.

He didn’t make a comment about the house or the grounds. He marched inside, his hostility obvious in the movements of his body. “What is it, Carter? I had to lie to your mother, and I hate doing that.”

“I didn’t ask you to lie to her.”

His eyes flashed with annoyance. “How else would I get over here without bringing her? All she can talk about is the new baby and your place. She’s so excited that you live here now, and she wants to come see you.”

“And I want to see her too.” I led the way into the kitchen, that way our voices wouldn’t echo off the vaulted ceilings and the wooden staircases. “But I have to get this out of the way first.”

“Get what out of the way?” He followed behind me and stopped at the kitchen island. “Your uncle just cleaned up the Skull Kings mess. This better not be another mess to clean up, alright? We’ve got a new Barsetti on the way. We can’t fuck it up for them.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “And no, there’s not another mess.” I truly believed I’d tricked Egor into thinking that corpse belonged to Mia. With his temperament, he would have made an attack by now. There was no way he still had the body because it would have decomposed. He must have dropped it in the ocean over a week ago.

He looked visibly relieved. “Then what is it, son?”

I looked into my father’s face, seeing the way he relaxed when he assumed the situation wasn’t that bad. I didn’t know how to break the truth to him, to tell him I disobeyed him because of a large pile of money. He would be disappointed in me. I knew he would be. I could take responsibility for my mistakes, but watching my father disapprove of my decisions hurt.

I didn’t know where to begin, how to start, so I just blurted things out. “About two months ago, I got a strange phone call from a man named Egor—”

“Oh, this isn’t good…” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Asked me to bid on his sister at the Underground. I told him I wasn’t in the business anymore.”

“Good. Because you shouldn’t be.”

I dropped my gaze for an instant. “Every time I said no, he offered more money. When there was a hundred and fifty million dollars on the table, I caved. I thought this man was admirable for not giving up on his sister. If Carmen were in a bad situation—”

“She would never be in a bad situation because I raised her better than that.”

“Anyway…I went to the Underground and bought her.”

My father’s eyes narrowed, bursts of fire igniting in his gaze. His jaw tightened noticeably as he pressed his lips tightly together. Even the muscles of his arms flexed. His wrath was about to unleash as a bolt of lightning. “Jesus Christ…”

“When I brought her back to the house, she wasn’t like the other women I bought. She was daring, brave, and a bit crazy. She jumped out of my car when I driving sixty kilometers an hour, and she came at me with a knife.”

“Looks like her father raised her right…”

“After talking with Egor, I realized he wasn’t really her brother. It became obvious that he was her former master…that he tortured her and raped her for years. Now he wanted her back, and he was willing to do anything to make that happen.”

Both of his hands tightened into fists. “This story just gets worse and worse…”

“I was supposed to make the trade four weeks after I bought her. I kept my distance from her and didn’t get attached to her. But it was inevitable that she gained my respect. And before I made the trade, she told me something I couldn’t shake off. She told me she had a young son…”

My father didn’t show any pity. “This is why the Skull Kings came after Conway. All this shit was your fault.”

I took the insult like a man. “Conway and I aren’t sure, but we think so.”

He gripped his skull and started to pace in the kitchen. “You risked all of us for some woman?”

“I didn’t know any of this was going to happen. And for the record, Conway didn’t know anything, not until after I bought her.”

“So that just makes it worse,” he hissed. “My son is the reason all of this bullshit happened. My brother walked into the lion’s den and could have been killed, Carter. I talk shit about your uncle all the time, but make no mistake, I couldn’t live without him.” He got in my face, his hand pushing against my chest. “That man is everything to me. He’s my brother—he’s my blood.” He threw his arms down. “And I could have lost him because of your stupidity.”

I bowed my head, ashamed. “I know…I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” he snapped. “I told you not to go back there, and you did it anyway.”

“I know…”

“You’re practically a billionaire, Carter. Why the fuck did you need more money?”

“Because I’m weak, alright? I’d gotten away with it for years. I thought I could do it one more time.”

He shook his head and started to pace, furious. “Then what the hell happened? Did you give her back?”

I didn’t want to give my answer. “No.”

He halted and gave me a fiery look. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Griffin helped me. I told Egor she killed herself by catching on fire. We found a corpse to replace her, made him believe it was her, and then it ended. I moved out here to have more privacy so he wouldn’t spot her somewhere.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

“He believed it, Father. It’s been weeks, and I haven’t heard from him. He’s temperamental, so he would have done something by now.”

He gripped his skull again. “I should beat the shit out of you right now.”

“Yeah…you should.” I deserved a punch to the face. “But I had to do it. I’ve bought dozens of women before and got them to safety. I couldn’t just hand over this innocent woman to her tormentor, especially when she had an eight-year-old son. I couldn’t do it.”

“But you could put us at risk?”

“We aren’t a risk. I covered my tracks.”

He shook his head. “Tracks get old, but they never disappear entirely. You’ll always be looking over your shoulder.”

“He doesn’t live here. He’s Russian. I gave him the corpse so he could drop it in the ocean. He obviously did that. Otherwise, he would have a decomposing body on his hands. All the evidence to contradict my story was on the body, so he clearly didn’t notice anything. I even burned my own house to make the story more believable. It’s done—and it’s been taken care of.”

He stopped pacing and leaned against the counter again. “Thank god your mother isn’t here.”

Yes. Her disappointment would be worse.

“You’re always going to be looking over your shoulder, Carter.”

“I know…but he’ll find someone else eventually and forget about Mia.”

“Mia?” he whispered. “She’s got a name, huh?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you do with her?” He turned his hard stare on me, burning me alive with his disappointment.

“I brought her here.”

“In the house?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes…she lives with me.”

He turned away and gave a slight nod, like he understood something that was never said. “Now I get it…you love this woman.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, frustrated but no longer angry. He turned back to me, his eyes a little less hostile.

“No, I don’t love her. I just wanted to help her.”

“Then why is she living here?”

“She needed somewhere to go. She cooks, cleans, takes care of the house—”

“And fucks you at your command.” His voice rose, bouncing off the walls of the kitchen and becoming louder.

I held his gaze, unsure how to circumvent the accusation.

“Don’t lie to me again.” The muscles of his body tensed all over again. It seemed like he wanted to grab me by the neck and choke me. “Because I will beat the shit out of you if you do it again. Men don’t lie, and they definitely don’t lie to their fathers. So what kind of man do you want to be, Carter? A liar? Or a piece of shit?”

I didn’t flinch as I held his gaze, feeling the pain in my chest. A son’s worst fear was his father’s disappointment. I wasn’t a child anymore, but I lived for his approval. He told me he was proud of me for everything that I accomplished. I was a self-made man, and when he told me how happy he was, he had tears in his eyes. Now all of that was in the past. I was letting him down in the present.

“That’s why she’s here? You’re her new master?”

I held his gaze because it would be pathetic to look away. I didn’t want to admit the truth to my father. I was hoping to avoid this subject altogether since my father never mentioned my personal life. That was a boundary he respected. “Yes.”

He clenched his jaw and looked away.

“But I did want to help her as well.”

“Sure, Carter.” He dragged his hand down his face, sighing in frustration. “This is a fucking nightmare.”

“There is no nightmare,” I said. “I took care of Egor.”

“Let’s hope so. The things of the past have a way of returning…in the way you least suspect. We thought Bones was long gone, but then he had a son who infiltrated our ranks. Sure, he likes him now, but there was no way any of us could have anticipated that.”

We could argue in circles for weeks. “The decisions have already been made. She lives here now, and that’s the end of the story.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a year or two.”

“And then you’ll let her go?”

“If she ever really wanted to leave, she could walk away. She knows that.”

“Because you’ve told her?” he demanded.

“No…but she knows me. She knows I’m not a monster. She knows I’ll take care of her and her son. She knows she’s comfortable and safe here, hidden away from the real monsters outside these walls. She’s not a prisoner, and I’m not a master. We’re friends. We care about each other. There’s more here than that…”

“But you don’t love her?” he countered.

“Love isn’t something I’m looking for.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

I leaned against the refrigerator so we could face each other.

“Now what?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Is her son here?”

“No. I had a guy get him out of the orphanage. He’ll be here next week.”

“And you’re okay living with a kid?” he asked incredulously. “For a man not looking for love, it seems like you’re trying to settle down.”

I didn’t want to be a father. I didn’t want to be a husband. I just wanted to be Carter, the successful car designer. “I made it clear he needs to stay out of my way. They live on the second floor. I live on the third. He’s not allowed up there.”

“You obviously don’t know shit about kids. They don’t just listen.”

“Mia seems like a pretty authoritative person.”

“Mia…pretty name.” The rage slowly left his eyes, but the disappointment was still there. “You can have any woman you want, Carter. Why bother with this one?”

It was a good question, and I didn’t have a good answer to match it. I’d been with lots of beautiful women who were lovely and interesting. Mia was different in ways I couldn’t explain. She’d been raped and beaten, but I didn’t see her as a victim. I didn’t care that the last guy who fucked her did it by force. I didn’t view her as damaged goods, but as a powerful woman who didn’t give up, no matter the odds. “I don’t know…I really don’t.”

“You know, I would be a lot more supportive of this if you did love her. If you fell in love and this was the one woman you wanted to spend your life with, I could be on board. I could understand. But the fact that you’re doing all of this for a woman who doesn’t mean that much to you…just annoys me.”

I bowed my head, hurt by his harsh words. “I saved an innocent woman. That doesn’t make you proud?”

“You only did it so you could fuck her.”

“That wasn’t the only reason.”

“Say whatever you want, Carter. No matter what you have, you always want more. I don’t get it.”

I raised my head again, feeling sick because of his coldness. “Where do we go from here?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have a fucking clue, Carter.”

I hated it when he called me by my first name. It meant he was angry. Otherwise, he called me son. “I don’t want Mom to know.” She was the strongest woman I knew. She was always vocal about her opinions, and she put my father in his place so easily. She was a fierce disciplinarian, pushing Carmen and me as far as she could to make us good people. Raising me wasn’t easy, and I respected her for doing such a good job.

“Normally, I would make you tell her yourself. But I agree…she shouldn’t know about this. Only Conway knows?”

I nodded.

“Then we’ll keep this between us. No reason to upset her, especially if nothing bad ever happens.”

“Agreed.”

“So, Mia will just be your maid. That’s the story.”

I nodded.

He searched around the kitchen, like she would pop out at any moment. “Can I meet this girl?”

“You want to?”

“Absolutely. Need to have a few words with her.”

I walked into the other room where another staircase was. “Sweetheart, could you come down here?” I never called her by anything else besides sweetheart, so the action was involuntary. If I’d been thinking more clearly, I would have called her Mia in front of my father. I walked back toward him and heard her footsteps on the stairs.

She emerged a moment later, the apron gone. In a yellow sundress with her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was more beautiful than a sunflower. She livened up my new home, bringing the sunlight directly into the house. She smiled as she looked at me and my father. Slowly, she approached and extended her hand to the man who raised me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Barsetti. I’m Mia.”

My father didn’t take her hand. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a fatherly hug. He patted her on the back, embracing her the way he did with Carmen. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Cane.” He stepped back and dropped his touch, wearing a friendly expression in his eyes that he hadn’t shown me during our conversation. “My son just told me everything, not by choice, but by force. I want you to know that you can come to me if you need anything. If my son doesn’t treat you right, I have no problem beating him into the ground. He won’t fight back, so it’ll be an easy match. He may be a confident man, but when it comes to me, all he knows is fear. So if you ever want to leave, you’re free to do so. Let me know, and I’ll make it happen.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Utterly speechless, she didn’t know what to say. “That’s very kind of you…. Her eyes shifted to me before she looked at him again. “Honestly, your son is very good to me. I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for him. He has a good heart. He makes me feel safe, makes me feel beautiful. I know evil because I’ve seen it with my own eyes…and he’s not it.”

When my father looked at me again, all the hostility was gone. Something about her words softened his resolve. “Good…I’m glad to hear that.” He stepped back from her and slid his hands into his pockets. “We’re going to keep this from his mother since…I don’t think she would take it well. So this will stay between the three of us…and Conway.”

Mia looked at me, the affection and sincerity in her eyes. She wore her heart on her sleeve when it came to me. She obviously respected me, and there wasn’t a hint of fear coming from her. When I’d first captured her, she was constantly timid around me, so I noticed the difference in her behavior. Now she was comfortable and relaxed, knowing she had far more freedoms here than she would have anywhere else. “I understand.”

After a bout of silence, my father spoke again. “Well, I should get going.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.” I escorted him through the kitchen and back to the entryway. I thought he would stay for lunch and I would show him around the house, but he clearly wasn’t interested in that.

We walked outside into the hot sun where his black car was parked.

“Thanks for not telling Mom.”

“If Mia isn’t going to be here forever, I don’t see why we should. If this were the woman you loved…that would be a different story.”

I cared about Mia a lot, would do almost anything for her, but love wasn’t on my radar. She was the longest relationship I’d ever had because most of my flings were just a few weeks. I respected her story, respected her resilience. “I’m sorry I disappointed you, Father. I hate it when that happens…makes me feel like shit.”

He looked into my face, his expression unreadable. His gaze flicked away for a moment, and he sighed quietly. When he looked at me again, there a small sign of affection. “No matter how much you disappoint me, it doesn’t change the way I feel about you. You’re my son, and I love you with everything that I have. I’m still proud of the man you’ve become and everything you’ve accomplished. I’m not perfect, so it’s unrealistic for me to expect you to be perfect…but I want you to be better than me. That’s all a father wants… for his son to be better.” He moved his hand to my shoulder and gave me a squeeze.

I lived for those squeezes, lived for my father’s praise. I looked up to him in many ways, had always wanted to be a strong man like him. Sometimes he was irrational and emotional, but he was still the smartest guy I knew. Everything I learned, I learned from him. “Thanks, Father.”

He gave a slight nod before he dropped his hand and walked away. “Invite us over for dinner. Your mother wants to see you before Sapphire goes into labor.”

“Alright. I will.” I stood in front of the house and watched him leave the property and drive out of the gates. They closed behind him automatically. I heard the engine of his car as he sped away, and when the sounds stopped, I knew he was gone.

Now that he had left, I questioned everything about myself. I’d put everything on the line for a woman I didn’t love. I was having her son live with us when I knew nothing about kids. I didn’t even want kids myself. My whole world was changing to accommodate this woman. I didn’t consider myself to be a hero, so it wasn’t in my nature to help someone like this.

But I wanted to give this woman everything…everything she deserved.