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“Do you plan to keep your guards outside all night?” I asked innocently.
His face was impassive. “Not something you need to know.”
I pressed a hand to his chest to stop him from leaving. “I need some clothes to change into.”
He glanced down at my hand before removing it. “There are shirts and tights in the closet—and before you ask, my sister-in-law keeps stuff here when she visits with my brother.”
“Never crossed my mind.”
His jaw tightened. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we get my money back.”
“And if my uncle doesn’t give you the money?”
Vincenzo’s smile was cold. “Pray for a better outcome.”
Vincenzo woke me up early to accompany him to the meeting with my uncle. I wished I could ignore his demands. Uncle Cono and I had never gotten along. I moved out because he wanted to control my life and treated me like a chess piece he could move around to suit his needs. If I didn’t bow to his way of thinking, he would see it as a betrayal against the family. I prayed for a future outside the world of the cartel. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, wondering if everyone I met would discover my last name and have me killed without even knowing the type of person I was.
Fear tightened my chest. I wouldn’t put it past my uncle to force me to come home to live with him.
I adjusted the ring Mark had given me on my thumb, smiling at the pink silver stone. Last night was the first time I hadn’t dreamed of him.
“When we get there, I want you to stay quiet,” Vincenzo instructed from beside me.
His driver drove through the front gate to a place I hadn’t visited in over three years. My stomach fluttered as I recalled our arguments. He never tired of telling me what a disappointment I was to the family. Our last argument had ended with him smacking me in the face.
The guard checked with security inside the house, and we continued up the drive. My uncle prided himself on always being one step ahead of his enemies.
“He won’t listen to me anyway,” I finally replied.
Carter closed my door after I climbed out of the car. Two more cars I hadn’t noticed earlier parked behind us, and more men got out.
“Is this amount of security necessary?” I asked.
Vincenzo’s dark gaze raked over me. “Every precaution is necessary when it pertains to my money.”
Myles opened the door before we made it up the front steps. He looked older, with gray in his mustache, but his smile was familiar.
“Miss Nyla, wonderful to see you again.” Myles reached for my hand, but Vincenzo jerked me away before we could embrace. “Mr. Sartori is expecting you, Mr. Calabresi,” Myles said stiffly.
Vincenzo pushed me forward. “We’re not here for a family reunion.”
I looked around at the same polished art on stands and the paintings he’d fallen in love with over the years on the walls. The brown and black decor was stale trash and reeked of death.
I tensed as Vincenzo placed his hand on my lower back. “I don’t plan on running again.”
“Good, because I would have to kill you in front of your uncle in his home.”
As we walked down the corridor, I saw the man of the hour.
Uncle Cono had aged. His beard was dyed black, and his thin gray hair was combed over his bald head. A large gut spilled over his pants, wobbling as he approached.
He pulled me into a hug. “My sweet Nyla. Mi sei mancata.”
He missed me? What a joke. I plastered on a fake smile and played along. “I missed you more, Uncle Cono.”
“We need to talk,” Vincenzo said.
“Yes, we have so much to catch up on. How is your father doing?” Uncle Cono gestured for us to follow him into his study.
