Page 74 of Mafioso's Muse

Willow looked over her shoulder, and Vaughn swallowed down the words sitting in his throat.

‘Nothing,’ Willow said. ‘We’re just talking.’

Harrison looked between them. ‘Talking or fighting?’

‘Talking,’ Vaughn said, an edge creeping into his tone. ‘You can go back inside.’

Harrison walked up to Willow and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder instead. The veins in Vaughn’s neck pulsed at the sight of his fingers on her bare flesh. It took all of his strength not to lunge forwards and break each one.

‘Come,’ Harrison said softly to her. ‘I’ll take you inside.’

A fire ignited inside Vaughn. ‘Willow can take herself inside, and you can take your hand off her.’

Willow pressed her eyes closed, and Harrison heeded the warning and removed his hand. That enabled Vaughn to think straight.

‘You want me to leave so you can yell at her some more?’ Harrison asked.

The question amused Vaughn. ‘You think I’myellingat her?’

‘I think you’re intimidating her.’

Willow’s whole body tensed. ‘I’ll come inside with you,’ she told Harrison. ‘Let’s go.’

‘We’re not done here,’ Vaughn said.

She met his gaze. ‘Yes, we are.’

He had to be very careful about his next move, because the wrong response would only push her further away and closer tohim. ‘Then you have a good day, Miss Hayes.’

Harrison’s arm went around her once more as he led her away. Vaughn shoved his hands into his pockets in an effort to rein in his violent urges, watching them until they disappeared inside the building.

With his blood boiling, he got into the car and left.

22

August 2024

The four board members were all looking straight at Nigel, who sat red-faced and quite silent.

‘Anything you wish to add, Mr Thompson?’ David asked him, his tone laced with disapproval. The circumstances surrounding the $20,000 donation was brand-new information.

Nigel crossed and uncrossed his legs. ‘Only that Mr Gallo made the donation prior to Miss Hayes being offered the part. It was never conditional.’

An abrupt laugh came from Harrison. ‘Mr Gallo knew you would give him whatever he wanted. Let’s not confuse smug entitlement with generosity.’

Nigel didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on the table.

Vaughn remained relaxed in his chair, not so much as glancing in Harrison’s direction, while Willow wilted in hers. She felt like she’d thrown poor Nigel to the sharks. Unfortunately, the donation was an essential part of this story—and something Vaughn had failed to mention earlier.

Caroline finished writing something down, then looked up at Willow. ‘I imagine the arrest was a bit of a shock.’

Willow swallowed. ‘Yes.’

‘Then to learn of the… donation while Mr Gallo was still in police custody.’ She crinkled her nose. ‘It must have really knocked you over.’

It had completely winded her. ‘I was surprised to learn of it, yes.’

Patrick referred to his notes. ‘So, the two of you had only been dating a few days at that point?’