Connor
After last night and talking to Trish, I’m riding high. Walking on cloud fucking nine.
Absolutely nothing can bring down my buoyant mood.
Or, so I think.
I’m in my office and looking through the newspaper which I do every so often to keep up with what’s going on locally. I normally don’t pay much attention to the society column, but I open up that section to check out the pictures from the charity event the other night at the museum. Secretly, I’m hoping to see a picture of Trish in that red dress again. It’s been the star of my fantasies since the moment I laid my eyes on her in it.
There are a few pictures, but none of her, unfortunately. There is a shot of Matthais Volkanov hobnobbing with some elite businessmen who work for him and I roll my eyes. I hate that asshole and what he did to my father.
What he did to me, I think, and tighten my left hand into a fist.
As much as we didn’t always necessarily see eye to eye, Nolan Mennetti is still my dad and now I’m responsible for keeping everything in order and going. It’s so much damn pressure and I’m wishing he would wake back up and take the reins back.
My gaze skims over the page and I’m about to close the paper when a picture snags my eye. It’s an engagement announcement and the couple staring back at me makes my heart trip in my chest.
“What in the fuck?” I murmur, not able to fully comprehend what I’m seeing.
It’s Trish, my Trish, and she’s with another man. My eyes dart to the headline which reads, “Matthais Volkanov’s daughter to wed.”
For a long moment, I’m completely frozen, trying to absorb the shock. Then that surprise turns into a seething rage. Trish is Trisha Volkanov?
How in the hell is that even possible? And she’s engaged to another man?
My eyes slide shut. This can’t be happening. Why in the hell is she kissing me, touching me, fucking me when she’s supposed to Antonio Dombruso.
Oh, shit. He’s the same guy my enforcers caught. The man I punished by cutting off his pinky finger just like Matthais Volkanov had done to me.
I scrub a hand over my lower face, trying to understand what I’m seeing. But I can’t. It completely eludes my rational thought process which means I can only react with my emotions.
And that isn’t good because I am so angry I can’t even see straight.
Pushing back from the desk, I stand up and realize my hands are shaking. I clench them into fists and storm out of the office. I need to break something. Scream and yell and try to figure out what the hell is going on before I blow up.
The woman I’m falling for is not only the daughter of my sworn enemy, she’s also engaged to one of Volkanov’s enforcers. Bile rises in the back of my throat and I’ve never felt so goddamned betrayed.
I can’t… can’t comprehend any of it.
Stalking down the stairs, I move through my family’s compound, heading outside and over to Roberto’s house. He and I both have our own small places away from the main house for privacy.
He’s going to need to talk me down or else I’m going to lose my shit.
When I reach his house, I throw the door open and storm inside.
Roberto is in the kitchen making one of his post-workout protein shakes and looks up, instantly aware of and in tune with my furious mood.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, brow creasing.
I slide a frustrated hand through my hair. “I need something to hit,” I growl. “Where’s your punching bag?”
“Out back. What the hell is wrong with you?”
I’m about to go outside and shred his bag with my bare fists when Roberto comes over and tells me to sit down.
“I can’t,” I say and start pacing back and forth. “She’s a Volkanov, Rob. A fucking Volkanov and I had no idea. But she knew my full name which means she knows who I am. And she didn’t tell me. What the fuck?”
“Okay, back up,” Roberto says. “I’m lost. Who’s a Volkanov? And stand still. You’re going to make a hole in my carpet.”
I let out a frustrated breath, plop down in the nearest chair and drop my head between my shoulders, raking my fingers through my hair. My missing finger itches and I want to yell and scream and cause a scene.
But what the hell good would it do?
“Take a breath,” Roberto advises, sounding worried.
After pulling in a slow, deep breath, I say, “This began months ago. I met someone. But I didn’t tell you or anyone else because… well, it was a one-night stand and she took off in the middle of the night. I wanted to find her because I really liked this woman, Rob. She was… everything.”
“Okay,” he says slowly.
“And then she reappeared back in my life the other night. I saw her at that charity event I attended. We picked right up where we left off, but this time I got her phone number. I called her last night and… well, things got heated.”
“I’m sure,” Roberto states dryly.
“Two months without her and I thought about her every damn day. I couldn’t believe that I’d found her again. Trish.” I shake my head. “Except her real name is Trisha. Trisha Volkanov.”
Roberto’s blue eyes widen. “You gotta be shitting me?”
“I wish.”
“You fucked Matthais Volkanov’s daughter?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Oh, fuck, bro. You developed feelings for her? Are you insane?”
“I didn’t know who she was at the time!” My voice rises and I’m getting defensive, but I can’t help it. Even though she deceived me, I can’t just turn my feelings off and now I’m confused as hell.
“That’s not even the worst of it.”
“There’s more?” Roberto exclaims in disbelief.
“I just saw her engagement announcement in the newspaper. She’s planning on marrying another man – one of Volkanov’s enforcers-and the same guy we caught and had at the warehouse.”
“Oh, hell,” he murmurs. “The one whose arm and finger you injured and cut off.”
I nod.
“Could this situation get any more fucked up?”
“Doubtful,” I reply.
Little did I know the answer to that question was a resounding yes.
“So what the hell are you going to do? You care for this woman?”
Inside, I’m so conflicted and I’m not sure how to answer my brother. “I did, but now.. fuck, Rob, she lied to me. And she cheated.” I sigh heavily. “I told her my name was Gideon the night we met at the pub and the other night she called me Connor. She knows exactly who I am, who our families are, and she didn’t tell me. I don’t know when or how she figured it out. Maybe she always knew. Maybe – ”
Oh, God, what if this entire thing is a joke? A way to hurt us. Kill my father, distract me from taking over by breaking my heart… what the hell is next? My paranoid thoughts start getting out of control.
Roberto comes to the exact same line of thought because he shakes his head and crosses his big arms.
“You can’t trust her. She doesn’t have your best interests first and foremost. For all you know, she’s plotting something. Some other way to hurt our family and keep us down.”
What he’s saying makes absolute sense. “I know,” I tell him. “I’m just having such a hard time reconciling the woman I met with the one I just discovered. It’s like they’re two separate people.”
“Does she have a twin?” Roberto jokes lamely.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and realize I must look like such a fool to her. I’m chasing her down and telling her how I can’t stop thinking about her. Then I practically forced her to give me her phone number. God, I’m pathetic.
“You’re not pathetic,” Roberto says, easily reading my thoughts. “She fooled you. Played with your feelings, tricked you into caring and now she’s fucking with you. There has to be a reason.”
I can feel the walls rising around my heart and I grit my teeth hard. “I want answers,” I seethe, eyes narrowing and tightening my hands into fists.
“My advice? Be careful. I know you want to know why, but the best thing you can do is forget about her and move on. Nothing good can come from this, Connor. Our families hate each other. And think about it. If you two did get together, it would be nothing but a nightmare because if anyone found out about the relationship, it would be used against you both as leverage. And not to be a dick or anything, but she’s engaged. Looks like she’s got a whole future planned and it doesn’t include you, bro.”
Hearing Roberto say that out loud makes my body pulse with anger. How could she do this? Why did she do this? God, how could the woman I was falling for be such a complete and total conniving bitch?