Taken - A Gangster Stepbrother Romance (12 page)

Chapter Twenty Two

“And thank you so much, Miss Del Marco, for everything DM Holdings does for Angels Services and Health! We can never show you enough gratitude!” Penny Taylor said as she pumped both of Emma’s hands.

              Emma awkwardly tried to thank Penny for her services as Regional Director while trying not to feel like a fraud. After all she had only been with DM Holdings for a few days. She had done absolutely squat so far. But she smiled and tried to graciously accept the thanks anyway.

              They stood inside the inner lobby of a beautiful philharmonic hall. Expertly decorated, it was filled with socialites who made a life out of exclusive charity events, journalists, and actual Angels Services employees.

              There were even some children wandering around since earlier, Angels Services had arranged for their children’s community choir, a recreational activity that they funded, to sing for the event.

              All dressed in blue and white, the colors of Angels Services, they sang an adorable medley of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonders songs.

              After Emma and David had finished their private lunch, they had been driven to the charity event. As soon as they had stepped out, photographers immediately began snapping away. David, the consummate professional, pulled Emma close and gave a magazine worthy smile.

              Emma tried her best to follow suit. She had almost forgotten about her ring when a photographer yelled out, “Is that the ring? Show us the ring! How’d he propose? Where’d he propose? Do you like the ring or hate it? Show us that ring!”

              Good thing Antonio had told her not to answer any questions. Emma had no idea how she would be able to answer such a barrage of invasive questions like that without at least some preparation.

              Upon stepping in, David and Emma had almost immediately been separated. A sound technician approached David about mic-ing him for his speech that he was due to give regarding the importance of organizations like Angels Services in inner city communities.

              David had squeezed her hand, promising to find her afterwards, before leaving with the sound tech. Emma had only a moment to wonder what she would do in the meanwhile before a swarm of people descended upon her, all wanting to get a chance to speak with the newly introduced Del Marco daughter and now Cavalli fiancée. And, she assumed a little cynically after seeing a few women dart their eyes down towards her hand, to get a close up view on her ring.

              After Penny Taylor left, Emma turned to head towards the small podium where David would be speaking. But before she could take one step, she felt a cool breeze waft against her cheek.

              Turning, she saw a man in a black vest and white shirt carrying a huge tray of catered food through a back door. It must be the catering door where the trucks lined up to drop off the food.

              Emma was about to head again towards the podium when a realization hit her.

              That catering door led out.

              It probably led out to some parking lot. Sneaking out through that parking lot away from press or nosy socialite, she could cross to any of the major streets that the philharmonic hall sat on. A few bus stops and she could be back at her old apartment. A few minutes and she’d have everything packed. Within an hour, she could be heading out of state.

              Emma looked around. For the first time in weeks, she realized her guards were gone. It was an awkward situation to say the least to have Cavalli and Del Marco guards in close quarters. It had been mutually agreed upon to wait outside with plenty of space between the two sets of guards.

              Emma was alone.

              She just needed to take a few steps towards possible freedom.

              As she frantically contemplated her chances at actually making it out of state and staying out of Antonio’s hands, Emma heard a round of genteel applause. She looked up and saw David step up to the podium, smiling and waving. She saw him quickly scan the audience for her before starting his speech.

              Emma knew she was too far away for him to be able to see her. This was it! Wasn’t this what she had been waiting for this whole time?

              But as David began to speak, Emma found herself thinking back to all the files she had studied in Antonio’s office. She thought back to the countless mergers, acquisitions, funds, factories, and even employees DM Holdings had. She thought of how shocked she had been when she realized how much the company and Antonio were worth. Well past nine figures.

              The Cavalli Corporation was no mean competition either. They themselves held a sizeable fortune. Regardless of what reasons Antonio had for marrying her off, whether it was to eliminate the gang rivalry once for all or to protect Emma from their grasp, it did stand to reason that if the Cavallis and DM Holding
were
to go head to head, whole economies could be shaken.

              These were two colossal titans of financial strongholds. They had enough money and enough influence to break or grow a nation’s economy. If she ran now…if she left for good…what kind of mess would she be leaving behind? She imagined Antonio Del Marco and Frank Cavalli eyeing each other from opposite coasts, ready to do battle for the rest of their lives, damning who ever got caught in their crossfires.

              Emma saw a little girl and boy holding hands as they carefully tiptoed to the desserts table. On break after their singing, they inched their way to the table and sneakily pulled two cookies onto a plate then covered it nonchalantly with a napkin. They giggled all the way back to wherever they had come from.

              But if she stayed….

              If she stayed, if she married David, there were unlimited resources for what good she could do. At her counseling center, she was limited by being only one person available for a certain number of hours per day. But if she was a Cavalli who also had stake in DM Holdings, she had countless number of people at her disposal and ridiculous sums of money for her to use.

              That was what she had always wanted to do, wasn't it? To help those who couldn’t help themselves? Maybe this was the universe’s way of giving her that opportunity, albeit not in the way she had expected or preferred.

              Emma took one final look at the back door before heading towards the podium. She stood towards the back of the crowd but as David spoke, his eyes swung over to her. He smiled without missing a beat in his speech.

              Emma took in a slow shaky breath. Maybe she could make this work.

Chapter Twenty Three

              “It looks like the event went well,” Antonio said at dinner, slicing into his steak. “Lots of good press over you and David.”

              Emma’s fork paused midway. She wondered how he could know how the event went only hours later but forgot that photos of the event must’ve been uploaded online instantly. She shuddered a little to think how many blogs and websites she was on now. Perhaps she had underestimated her anonymity. If she had actually tried to run today, she might not have made it very far at all.

              They ate quietly. The house was silent with only a guard or two standing outside the dining room. The sounds of their cutlery against their plates echoed against the walls.

              From below her lashes, she watched Antonio eat. She watched his strong jawline, dark with stubble, meet up with his high cheekbones and his long nose. His dark brows shaded his unique silvery eyes.

              There were still dark smudges under those silvery eyes. Antonio clearly wasn’t sleeping well still.

              It seemed as if Antonio was everything David wasn’t. Antonio had a weight to his presence, as if he carried many years of regret or heartache on his shoulders and he felt an obligation to remember each one. David was light and carefree. Although he had grown up in a similar household, he had somehow escaped the danger and burden such an upbringing could saddle a man with.

              Antonio gave everything of himself regardless of whatever it was he did. Whether it was running a boardroom meeting or making Emma scream as she came, he threw himself completely into the moment. He was there with his heart and his soul. He used his entire being to achieve his goal. He would never be able to be in a sham relationship.

              David, on the other hand, seemed to be comfortable in following another’s lead even if the direction was contrary to his wants or needs. He was pliable and easygoing. He was quick to forgive and forget and seemed only to want to lead a happy life free from anything that could cause one’s brow to furrow. David
could
be in a sham relationship; he currently was in one. And he could do it whether passion eventually developed or not.

              “After I marry David,” Emma said slowly (she swore she saw a muscle under Antonio’s eye twitch at her words), “what will happen to…well, to us?”

              Antonio looked at her, a brow raised in question.

              Emma felt her cheeks warming. “I mean, will I still see you? Will you still consider yourself my stepbrother?”

              For a half second, Antonio looked at her with the intense longing of a man yearning for something forbidden. But just as quickly, he smoothed out his features. With quiet solemnity, he answered, “I will always be here for you, Emma. Whatever you may need, whenever you may need it, you’ll always have me.”

              “And what if I
only
want you?” she asked in a moment of breathless courage. “What if I only want to have you?”

              Antonio’s lips pressed together. “Emma, you don’t know the kind of man I really am,” he said slowly. “You’ve only seen me in the last few weeks and in very specific settings. You don’t know the things I’ve done. You don’t what kind of man I am.”

              She thought back to all the instances of Antonio’s protection and watchfulness over her life. She thought back to all the accounts at DM Holdings and how hard Antonio had worked to create a legitimate and successful company. She thought back to Antonio fighting bareknuckled with a man because he had continued to sell drugs after Antonio had ordered him to stop.

              “Maybe not,” she admitted. “But I can see the man you’re becoming. I can see who you are
now
. And that’s enough for me. That’s more than enough.”

              Antonio lowered his head as if steeling himself against her words. “The wedding date has been set.”

              “
What?”

              “The wedding date has been set. This weekend in Calabasas,” Antonio said quickly and abruptly. “The reception will be at David’s new house.”

              “This weekend?” Emma’s voice nearly squeaked. How could it happen so fast?

              Antonio nodded. “It’s been leaked in several outlets that both of you are eager for a fast wedding. So press will be on standby for the next several days, I’m sure, to catch some photos. It’ll be good press to finalize the Cavalli Corp. and DM Holdings alliance.”

              Emma could find no words. She could only stare down at her left hand, the enormous diamond winking at her, as she swallowed dryly.
This weekend.

              He had clearly made up his mind. Whatever it was that Antonio felt for her, if there really was anything at all, it obviously wasn’t strong enough to change his mind about marrying her off. And everything she said, her desire to stay, had fallen on deaf ears.

              A large hand closed over hers. Emma looked up, unable to hide her heartbreak in her eyes.

              “You will have a better life with David,” Antonio said, his voice low and soft. “The ancient Cavalli/Del Marco feud will finally be put to rest. And with the rivalry gone, you’ll be safe. And if that wasn’t enough to keep you safe, you’ll be daughter-in-law to the head of the Cavalli Family. No one will touch you. No one will harm you.”

              Emma took in a shaky breath. “But what about what my
heart
wants?” she asked achingly. “What about that?”

              Antonio gave her searching stare. He looked as if he were memorizing her features. Squeezing her hand, he rose. “Your
life
is more important,” he said before walking out.