Page 80 of Above ’N’ Beyond

Jax latched on to Marco’s forearm, growling and arching his back as his teeth sank deeper.

“Fuck!” Marco tried pulling his arm away, but it was futile. Jax didn’t let go.

Gnocchi continued struggling in Bella’s arms, and it was all she could do to hold on to him.

Jimmy slammed his fist into Marco’s jaw. Blood flew from his nose and trickled from a cut on his upper lip. He didn’t move again.

Breathing hard, Jimmy got to his feet. “Release,” he said between breaths.

Jax unclamped his mouth from Marco’s arm but remained standing over his body as if he were…guarding a prisoner.

She’d seen those K-9 shows on TV. Bella wasn’t an expert, but to her, Jax’s behavior went beyond that of a normal family guard dog, even a well-trained one.

Jimmy flipped Marco onto his stomach, yanking one of his arms up high as he searched Marco’s pockets with a fluid precision that could only be born of one thing. Training.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” She locked gazes with the man she had, only minutes ago, admitted to herself that she loved with every part of her body and soul. “Answer me, dammit!”

Jimmy stood and took a step toward her, holding out his hand. “Bella, please let me—”

“Don’t!” Still holding Gnocchi, tighter now as an emotional shield, she backed away. “Don’t come near me. Just answer my question. Is it true?”

His chest, glistening with sweat, rose and fell rapidly. Before answering, he swallowed. “Yes.”

Her mind went completely numb. Needing space from him—a man she now realized she knew nothing about—Bella backed farther away, not stopping until she bumped into the arm of the sofa. This was her worst nightmare times a thousand. Times a million.

She’d loved him. Trusted him. She’d let down her guard and let him in, past the emotional walls she’d erected for one solitary purpose.

To protect herself against those who would use her.

The pain inside her chest was her heart shriveling, disintegrating into a pile of desiccated powder.

She’d thought nothing could be worse than the hurt Paola had inflicted. Now she knew differently.

Jimmy had hurt her more than anyone had in her entire life.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Remorse and guilt hammered Jamie harder than a battering ram.

The anguish on Bella’s face and the agony in her eyes sliced his guts wide open.

He’d done that, inflicted the kind of emotional damage he’d never wanted to inflict on anyone. Especially Bella. He knew she’d been taken advantage of—brutally—by her own family, and what it must have taken for her to trust him. POS that he was, he’d taken that trust and trashed it. Pummeled it six feet into the ground, which only proved what he never should have forgotten. That he was anything but a good person and could never hope to become one. Not one of his friends—Kade, Markus…any of them—would have contemplated doing the things he’d done.

Telling her the truth, explaining everything and making her understand in his own time and in his own way would never happen now. It was too late, and there was nothing he could say.

“Bella,” he choked out. “I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am, but I had no choice. I never meant to hurt you.” Words that sounded lame, but what else could he say? They were the absolute truth.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Who are you? What are you?”

An asshole. “My name is Jamie—James Pataglio. I’m a sergeant with the Port Authority Police Department working for the FBI.” An agency that had failed him by using a snitch with a big mouth.

“You’ve been undercover this whole time.” She began shaking her head slowly, as if she still couldn’t believe it. “You came here to get information on my aunt. On all of us. Including me.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Denying anything at this point would serve no purpose. “Yes. But I know you’re an unwilling participant in Paola’s operation. I told that to the FBI, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep you out of this.”

“Keep me out of this?” She set Gnocchi on the floor, then held out her arms. “What about the Bistro? Paola’s filthy money is all over it. The government will take it from me, won’t they?”

He couldn’t speak the words. He didn’t have to.