Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44: My Father Made This Mess

"Cas...you cannot blame yourself for anything. My father made this mess. Please, let me handle this." Vee begged. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"How?" he asked.

"I don’t..." Vee started, then stopped. Her eyes drifted to the window. "...I don’t know yet."

Cassidy exhaled slowly. He already knew where this was going. He had known since Luca Genovese first stepped into his living room.

"Are you going to let him sleep with you to let Valentina go?" he asked quietly.

"I..." Her throat worked. "...I’ll do whatever it takes, Cas. I’m not going to stand here and lie to you or sugar coat anything."

His lips thinned as he nodded once.

"I get it. I get it." A bitter huff escaped him. "I guess he was right then. He really does own the NYPD. Everyone is afraid to touch him."

"Cas..." Vee stepped closer, her hands curling into fists at her sides. "I am so sorry. You really are a sweet man."

He smiled, crooked and sad.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" he asked.

"What’s that?" Vee said.

"You said you love me."

"Uh...yes." The pause before the word was small. Too small to call hesitation, too big to ignore.

"You sound unsure all of a sudden," Cassidy said gently. "Has he gotten into your head?"

Vee crossed the remaining distance between them. She didn’t touch him at first, just stood close enough that he could feel her warmth.

"I do care about you, Cas. A lot."

He caught it instantly. The shift. Love to care. A downgrade. His jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

"I would hate to see anything happen to you," she continued. "But if I do get out of this, and if you will still have me..."

She trailed off, the sentence unfinished. If she survived this. If she came back in one piece. If she wasn’t changed beyond recognition.

Cassidy reached out then, taking her hands. His thumbs brushed over her knuckles.

Then he held her cheeks in his palms and kissed her.

It was a sad kiss at first, lips pressing together. Cassidy deepened it anyway.

Vee’s breath caught, a soft sound against his mouth. Her hands rose to his chest by instinct.

He pulled back just enough to kiss her neck.

"Cas..." Vee whispered.

"I’m going crazy, Vee," he murmured against her skin. His hands slid up to her chest. "I can’t stand that you’re with him."

He popped open one button.

Her heart stuttered. "Cas, wait..."

He popped open the second, fingers clumsy, shaking slightly. And then his hand snagged on something that definitely was not a button.

Cassidy stepped back.

"What is it?" Vee asked, confusion flickering across her face.

"I think... I think he planted a bug on you."

He pulled her shirt wider apart, and plucked a tiny black device from the seam near her bra strap.

Cassidy held it up between his fingers.

"What?" Of course. Of course Luca wouldn’t trust her. The realization landed with a bitter thud in her chest. She laughed weakly. "I don’t know why I expected anything different."

Cassidy’s jaw tightened. He turned the bug over, examining it.

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