Book #4 in the (TAINTED IV Series)
He grabbed my wrist and squeezed it. "Face the facts, Athena"
"We don't even know if this is true." I said pulling my wrist free.
He picked up the paper and threw it at me. "Don't be naive, it's the truth. This...
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I decided to meet with Ciro because I needed to do as much research as I could. Ciro was one of those people that I could count on no matter what. He was the only person who wouldn't lie to me and I needed that right now. I wasn't sure if he was around my father when he was alive, but it was worth asking. I walked into the restaurant and smiled when I saw him sitting in a booth in the back. I made my way towards him and when he noticed me, he smirked. I slid into the booth across from him quickly.
"Athena, how are you? I was shocked when you said that you wanted to meet. You better be lucky I was in the area, I'm a very busy man."
I laughed a little, "I'm good. I'm happy that you made time for me."
He stared out the window and sighed, "how is Satoni?"
"He is doing good. He healed and now he is back on his feet. I want him to take it easy, but I don't think that will happen. He can be very stubborn, and we both know that."
"Yeah, the Russian mafia is fucking ruthless, but I think they learned their lesson. There has to be something that you want to talk about, I'm listening."
I couldn't put anything past Ciro and that's why he was so good at what he did. I ran my fingers through my hair slowly. "I want to know about my father."
"He was an honorable man, what else is there to know?"
"No, don't give me the fairytale, be honest with me. Who was he really and what did he do to get to where he was?"
Ciro raised an eyebrow, "why are you asking these questions now?"
"I found out recently when Roman was doing research that I was an IVF baby. I know that my father set me up with Satoni, and now I want to know more."
"Does your husband know you're here?"
"Why does it matter, Ciro?"
"It matters because I'm not trying to deal with Satoni's attitude when it comes to you and the information that we give you. He is really protective of you, and we all know how you are. When we tell you something that you don't want to hear, you run. You make life changing decisions and I'm not going to be responsible for you running off. If you have questions, you need to ask your husband, Athena."
He stood up and I grabbed his arm, "please. I wouldn't have asked to meet with you if it wasn't important. I'm begging you, Ciro. I know that you will tell me the truth and that's what I need right now."
He cursed under his breath and sat down. "Athena, if I tell you what I know, you can't throw a fit and go making crazy ass decisions."
"Okay, I promise."
"Don't promise that to me, make that promise to yourself. You need to stop running off emotions. You won't live long doing that, play it safe and act when you need to."
