Caught In Between - Book 1

31

CHAPTER 31
Domenico

"Good boy," Catalina mocked as I watched her vanish into the closet. Moments later, she slowly strutted over to me as she tossed her bra on the floor. Then crawled up my naked torso before she laced each of my arms to the headboard. I growled under my breath while I struggled to take her puckered nipple into my mouth when it skimmed over my face. But she reclined to look me dead in the eyes with her lips in a tight line.

"Because I came here for answers, and I fully expect to leave with them."

"What do you want to know?" I inquired with a smirk. I loved that Catalina was trying to act unaffected when I could feel her soaking through those panties. I knew there are so many things she probably wanted to know. So, I would pacify her. Just this once and play her little game.

"Are you marrying her?" Catalina asked, with a tiny quiver in her voice that you could almost miss if you weren't paying attention.

Shit. She fucking knew. It's not as though the information was a huge secret. However, Lorenzo and I also never told her, and I refused to lie to her again. I couldn't. I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes before I answered.

"Yes." I shook my head. "But it's not what you think."

"And what is it that I think, Nic?" Catalina's voice cracked. When I finally opened my eyes. I saw the tears in hers for a slight moment before her stare turned deadly.

Fuck, baby, no. That wasn't what I wanted. To hurt her like that was never the plan.

"I think that you're confused, and you want answers because you feel betrayed." I tugged at my restraints. I needed to touch her, but the way she was glaring made me glad I couldn't. I took another deep breath and readied myself to tell her everything that she needed to know.

Well, almost everything.

"It's a lot, so I hope you're ready for it."

Catalina silently nodded.

"When Lorenzo and I were in college, he found himself in a really shitty situation. He got drunk one night and nearly beat some Richie Rich frat boy to death." Lie. E did beat that kid to death.

"Reputation was everything and our family, so it was the kind of trouble we couldn't exactly go to our parents about, especially since E was underage." I clenched my jaw at the memory of our asshole father. "My dad used to beat up on Lorenzo and me for as long as we could remember. So, Lorenzo was afraid of what he might do to us if he found out what he had done."

Catalina reached forward and gently stroked my cheek with her thumb. "Oh, Nic, Lola never told me." I just shook my head and proceeded to tell her more of what happened.

"Lola never knew what a monster that man was. She was too young to remember, so my brother and I decided not to tarnish the memory she had of him. Anyway, the mess was too big for just me and Lorenzo to handle on our own. That's where Olivia comes into play. Her father was best friends with our father, so we knew them since we were kids. Lorenzo and I kind of saw him as a second father of some sort and Olivia as a sister." I confided in Catalina with disgust in my tone.

"But Olivia never saw us that way, so when she volunteered to call her father to he could help us out, we thought nothing of it. E was covered in blood and freaking the fuck out, so I told her to make the fucking call. Then Victor showed up and got to work, no questions asked. But he said he wanted a favor in return." I shook my head—the worst decision of my life. "At the time, E and I were so grateful we agreed without a second thought. Year after year, we waited and nothing. Until one day, about two years ago, we got the call. He said he wanted to merge our families. The Mariano name carries a lot of power and influence in Italy, and Victor Rossi wanted that power."