Page 92 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

I scoffed. No fucking chance.

“You wouldn’t let anyone near her,” Nolan added, sensing my disbelief. “You killed men who tried to hurt her. You promised Sean you’d do whatever he wanted, as long as he left her alone.”

I shook my head. He wasn’t talking about me. It couldn’t be true. I’d never be stupid enough to let myself care about anyone new and give Sean power over me again like that. Especially a fucking Buccini.

“Why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth? You’ve been a McKenna for ten years. You’ve stood by and watched him torture, cage, and manipulate me. And now you’re tellin’ me you saved me? Why would I believe you?”

“We should probably go back to the beginning,” Riley interrupted. “He needs to know that he can trust you.”

Nolan sighed. “You’re right. My father was a McKenna soldier, and when I turned eighteen, I joined the ranks. But after two years of watching how they treated you, I hated it. The night I didn’t put your handcuffs on properly… that wasn’t an accident. I wanted to give you a chance to escape.”

I squinted at him. “That cost Roisin’s life.”

“I know,” he huffed, rubbing his head. “When they brought you back, and I realised what had happened, I felt so fuckin’ guilty. I watched you give up after that, and I realised you’d let yourself be killed rather than try to escape again. Maybe it was out of guilt or sympathy, or I don’t know, but I decided I’d lick McKenna’s ass and work my way to the top. Make him trust me enough to make me head of your security. I wanted to keep you alive. But to do that, I had to play Sean’s games.”

“Tell him about Malachi,” Riley demanded. Nolan gave her a little smile, as if he found her impatience adorable. I didn’t like that. My hands clenched, and he met my gaze, swallowing hard at the warning in my eyes.

“A few months ago, when Connor was getting closer to achievin’ Sean’s mission in Italy, he turned his attention to Riley. If Connor succeeded in bringin’ his niece home, he knew he needed somethin’ to hang over your head to stop you from wantin’ to leave with him. He wanted to keep closer tabs on Riley. Sean could sense that you were restless and more rebellious, which was puttin’ him on edge. Malachi O’Halligan was in prison for sex trafficking. Sean wanted him out and to use his expertise to hunt Riley.”

I snapped my head toward Riley.

“It’s okay. He never touched me. Nolan made sure of that.”

“Sean pulled strings and got Malachi’s appeal accepted. I offered to pick Malachi up from prison. He tried to run. He didn’t want to go back to McKenna, but of course he didn’t have a choice. When I pushed him in front of Sean, he begged Sean to let him move on. The fool spilled his soul at Sean’s feet and told McKenna he’d fallen in love with a woman in Italy he’d been writing to from prison, and that he wanted to put the past behind him and start a new life with her.”

“McKenna made him a deal,” Riley said, her voice laced with anger. “He said he’d let him leave his ranks only after he’d captured me and used his connections to sexually exploit me without it being traced back to him.”

Pure hatred and fury burned through my veins.

“I told Sean I’d shadow Malachi to make sure he followed through,” Nolan said, quickly holding up a hand as I gritted my teeth. “I only did it to keep her safe.”

“I knew I was being followed,” Riley said, looking at Nolan. “I’d seen Nolan and Malachi come into the pub where I worked a few times, and I’d seen them outside my flat in a car. Nolan followed me home one night, and I blinded him with pepper spray.” She smirked at Nolan, who quickly dropped his smile when he saw me glaring. “He told me what was happening. Told me I was in danger. He said he was going to keep me safe, but I had to go along with his plan. I didn’t trust him at first, but then he told me about you.”

My head was spinning as I tried to take in all this new information.

“I told Sean that Malachi couldn’t be trusted. That he wasn’t goin’ to go through with what Sean had asked him to do and that he was plannin’ to run again,” Nolan explained. “Malachi had shown me these letters he’d been writin’ to this woman in Italy from prison, and I took them to Sean. There was a damnin’ letter proving he planned to meet her in Verona in two days’ time. Malachi wasn’t going to. He was already findin’ contacts in the underground to pimp Riley out for a week at a time. So I needed him gone.” Nolan clasped his hands. “Sean was pissed. He knew he couldn’t trust Malachi after that, even though Malachi swore he was doin’ what he’d asked. Sean threw him into the bunker with you, exactly as I’d hoped. I told Sean I’d take over with Riley.” His eyes widened as a growl clawed up my throat. “No, I mean, I had to make Sean believe I would kidnap her myself and look into sellin’ her. Luckily, Sean was more preoccupied with the Bratva, Italians and Arianna, and took my word for it. He had no reason not to trust me.”

“Nolan hid me,” Riley said, easing the tension in his body with her soft eyes. “He kept me safe, Maddox. We made it look like Nolan was doing what he asked, but together we were trying to come up with a plan to free you from Sean. Then the fight against the Italians was planned, and Nolan knew that was our best chance.”

A silence fell over the room as they let me digest it all. I still didn’t trust it. Part of me believed McKenna was about to waltz in with that sinister smirk and say, ‘gotcha’. I looked between them, searching for anything that would make it more believable.

“Why?” I aimed the question at Nolan. His lips parted, then closed again. “Why did you go out of your way to protect my sister? If Sean had found out what you were doin’, he’d have gutted you alive.”

Nolan glanced at Riley, then back at me. “I told you. I felt guilty about what happened to Roisin and about how you’d given up. I didn’t want you to lose another siblin’, and then—”

He paused, his cheeks blushing as he dropped his gaze. Riley shifted beside me, smiling.

“I saw her.”

“You stalked her,” I corrected, fists clenching.

“Yeah,” he huffed. “But I—I wanted to protect her, not just for you, but because…”

“Oh my God,” Riley groaned, giggling. “He was smitten. I mean, can you blame him? He’s only human.”

Nolan swallowed, lifting his head to meet her gaze. A smile slowly spread. “Pretty sure I fell in love the moment she blinded me with pepper spray and called me a sick cunt.”

Riley giggled beside me. Nolan blushed even harder. The realisation crashed over me like a tidal wave.