Monster: Made & Broken (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance) by Nora Ash Page A

taking his eyes off the terrible pasta. “It was.”
    “ And… he had one of your brothers killed?” I said, trying to somehow make sense of what he was telling me. “And you and your other brothers don’t even bat an eyelid?”
    “ They don’t know,” he said, his voice softer than before.
    It took me a little while to fully process that little tidbit. “I’m sorry… you had a video of your father ordering a hit on one of your brothers, and you haven’t told any of them? Why?”
    Marcus’ full lips pinched and I saw regret cross his features. And fear. It was an odd emotion to see on the otherwise tough man.
    “ I might not know a lot about what it’s like to be a part of a big crime family, but that seems really wrong. Do you not get along with your brothers? What’s to stop your dad from trying to kill one of them, if they cross him somehow?” Perhaps it was the glass of wine I had before Marcus came home that made me loose-lipped enough to air my shock, but the thought of hiding something this big from your family… I just couldn’t comprehend how he could keep a secret like that.
    “ I won’t let him hurt them,” Marcus said, the gruffness returning to his voice before he emptied the wine from his glass and put it down again. “That’s why I kept that video. To blackmail him if he made a move against any of us.”
    The video I had destroyed. I swallowed thickly, suddenly not feeling too great about the direction of the conversation. “Marcus, I…”
    “ If you had refused Brigs, he would have hurt you.” He sighed, putting the plate of nearly untouched pasta down on the table. “We made a deal—your debt to me will be paid in kind. I’ll find another way to keep them safe.”
    I bit my lip, not entirely sure if I should be relieved he wasn’t harboring a grudge, or deeply disturbed that he truly believed he was going to impregnate me. I settled on somewhere in between.
    “ You should tell them,” I said, touching his shoulder lightly to draw his attention to me. “It’s the best way you can protect them. Let them know they could be in danger. Your brother who has the baby—Blaine, was it? Shouldn’t he be allowed to protect his own family?”
    Marcus’ jaw worked once, twice, before he looked at me. The agony in his stormy eyes took my breath away.
    “ It will splinter the Family,” he said, his voice not much louder than a whisper. “What’s left of it.”
    My heart clenched as I stared into his pained gaze. How often did Marcus Steel ever show any vulnerability? Never, was my bet. It was probably the wine that made him lower his barriers now, but it didn’t lessen the impact. Without thinking I reached out and cupped my hand around his cheek, desperate to soothe the pain I saw.
    “ He killed your brother, Marcus. You telling the others won’t splinter your family—he already did that. But it might make you able to glue some of the pieces back together. Think of that little kid,” I nodded at Aidan’s picture next to the TV. “You can’t let someone that innocent grow up in a family where his own grandfather might hurt his dad.”
    In truth, I don’t know why I was so adamant that he tell his brothers of their father’s betrayal. It shouldn’t have concerned me—I was only here for his protection. But as I stared into Marcus’ eyes I felt the same draw as I had the first night we met. And I knew, despite everything, that I wanted this man to find peace.
    Marcus looked at the silver-framed photo of his nephew for a moment. When he returned his focus to me, his eyes were dark with something else—something that made my heart skip a beat and my abdomen clench.
    “ You’re right,” he whispered, a hoarse note to his voice. “A child can’t grow up like this. Our child can’t grow up like this.”
    I blinked, not expecting that particular turn, but before I could voice an answer, Marcus’ soft lips pressed against mine.
    I groaned into his mouth when he