Theirs to Protect - Julia Sykes Page 0,26
our enemy. Especially because there would be more footage of the man being loaded into an ambulance less than ten minutes after this image was captured outside the café, as well as a hospital record of a patient admitted with a knife wound.
Amato crime family. Rafael was associated with Ciro Amato, the mobster who’d recently moved to Boston after a prison stint in Italy; the man who’d been throwing his weight around and carving out a place for himself within the existing power structure of their criminal syndicate.
I swallowed a curse, and Marco immediately caught my tense reaction. “What is it?”
My teeth clenched, holding in the information. I’d asked my dad not to get involved. The last thing I wanted was to get dragged back into the mafia.
As though he heard my thoughts, my dad sent another message: It’s just information. Nothing will link it to me. Be careful, son. Keep Ashlyn safe.
I blew out a long breath and forced my fists to unfurl. “How would you like to go pay a visit to someone in the North End?” We could question Rafael Foti right now and find out why they were targeting us. We could deal with the threat if we acted quickly.
“Show me,” Marco commanded, holding out his hand to demand my phone. He already understood what the text was about. His dark eyes narrowed as he read the man’s name and address. “That’s him,” he confirmed, even though I’d already been sure my dad had IDed the right guy. Unlike Marco, I’d been too lost in Ashlyn during our date to notice her stalker. I didn’t recognize the man in the picture, but he did. He’d fought the bastard. He’d protected our girl. While I held her and sent him taunting thirst emojis.
Hot shame rolled through my insides. Marco had taken on so much responsibility, so much darkness, while he allowed me to carry on in blissful oblivion. Even now, I could see his expression shuttering, cold purpose encasing his powerful body like icy armor.
“I’ll go. You stay here.”
“No.” I immediately rejected the order. He speared me with a black glare, but I pressed on. “You’re not dealing with this shit on your own, Marco. I told you last night: I won’t abandon you. I won’t let you do this to yourself.”
“Do what?” he demanded in a low, dangerous tone. “Protect my family?”
I fixed him with a glare of my own. “Isolate yourself. I won’t let you pull away from us in some misguided attempt to keep us happy. We won’t be happy if you’re hurting, Marco. We can’t be happy without you. Ashlyn needs both of us. I need you,” I added more quietly. I’d never said anything like that to him before. He knew I loved him, just as I knew he loved me. But I’d never made myself vulnerable like this. When I left him and ran away to Cambridge, I wounded him deeply. I owed him a little vulnerability. I’d do whatever it took to bind him to Ashlyn and me.
He leaned back in his chair, as though he could physically withdraw from the intensity of my declaration. “You have to stay here and watch over Ashlyn. I’m going to visit Rafael.”
“Damn it, Marco!” I took a breath and lowered my voice. “You’re not going alone. Cut the bullshit. Ashlyn will be fine. She already promised to stay in the bar until you come back to pick her up. No one can touch her in a public place. There are too many witnesses. Now is our best chance to go and question Rafael.” I doubled down. “Jayme is going on vacation in Cancun tomorrow, and we won’t be able to leave Ashlyn with her in a safe place like this. If you don’t want our girl to know about the threat, then we have to go visit Rafael right now, while she’s distracted.”
I wasn’t above manipulation at this point. If he wanted to hide the truth from Ashlyn, then I’d set some conditions. The only way he could ensure that she didn’t pick up on our worry was if the situation was handled and done with. “Let’s go,” I prompted, sliding out of my seat and slapping two twenties down on the table to cover our tab.
Marco scowled at me, but I simply stared right back, implacable. With a fierce growl, he got to his feet, stepping into the edge of my personal space. “You’re being an asshole,” he muttered.
“And you’re being a