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I inspect the perfect Windsor knot in my tie. "Thank you," I look down to the name badge on her blouse, "Laura."
Offering me a small smile, she nods. "You’re welcome." As she turns to leave, I pull her back to me by her arm. The sound of her sucking in a sharp breath as her eyes widen gives me dark pleasures. I am not ashamed to admit it.
"Where do I know you from?" I ask her. "I have seen you somewhere before."
She frowns, tugging her arm away. "I have worked at a lot of other functions," is all she replies. Her features soften before she adds, "Perhaps you have seen me at one of them." To anyone else, Laura would appear calm and comfortable. However, I am trained to read people. A second before she smiled, she swallowed, and when she spoke for the second time, her pitch heightened. Both of those are signs of someone who is either lying or hiding something.
I narrow my eyes at her. "What is your last name?"
"Jones," she quickly replies.
"Whereabouts in America are you from?"
"Why?" She frowns at me again.
"Because I asked you, that's why?"
Holding my gaze, she lifts her chin a little and then touches her cheek as though she is wiping something off it. Checkmate! That's a sign she is uncomfortable. Touching the face can act as a pacifier that has a calming effect on the brain under stress. She is either feeling nervous, but out of pride, not wanting to show I intimidate her. Or, she is about to lie to me.
"I don't intend to be rude, but I just don't see how that is relevant or any of your business, to be honest."
"Are you always this argumentative?" I cock a brow, curious with her. The more I study her, the more appealing she looks. Tall and slender, with slightly olive skin, full lips, and a perfectly proportioned nose.
"Do you always interrogate someone that has helped you?" she snaps back, placing her hands on her hips, giving me a look as if to say, 'Game on.'
I take a step towards her. She doesn't react, so I take another, until I am practically standing over her. Big brown eyes challenge me back with a stern warning.
"I get the feeling there is more to you, Laura Jones, than you'd care to let on?"
Her eyes never leave mine, even though her lips quiver a little. "I could say the same about you."
We stand frozen, staring at one another for the longest moment. Both waiting for the other to make the next move like a Mexican standoff.
"Luca!" Alessio steps forward from the end of the hallway. "Stop hitting on the staff! We have to go. It's about to start."
I wave my hand, giving him a nod. "I was just performing one last security check," I tell him. "I'm coming now." I turn back around to address Laura again, but she is gone. Sneaky little girl. That just makes her all the more suspicious. I make a mental note to find her after the ceremony and have her escorted off the premises.
After being kidnapped and held hostage by the Kastrati, I learned that I should always trust my gut instinct. And right now, it's telling me to get rid of her.
Three
Scarlet
Holding my chest, I lean against the cupboard doors, concentrating on evening out my erratic breaths. Waiters and catering staff hurry past me without even so much as a glance.
I thought I was ready for this. I foolishly believed I was tough enough to handle it. Yet the moment I was mere centimeters from Luca Valsetti's face, every morsel of my being screamed at me to run. It waved a red flag, willing me to turn the hell around and fucking run!
It was too late though, I'd stupidly made my presence known to him, and so I had no choice but to put on my big girl panties and perform. But when you're staring into the eyes of a cold-blooded killer, that's easier said than done.
Going off his reputation, I expected him to look more like the monster he is rather than the incredibly attractive man I saw. I mean, I have seen photographs of him online but figured they'd been filtered and photoshopped because nobody is that good-looking in real life. Yet he is. But not the pretty boy, model type of good looking. Luca is rugged, masculine, tall, and brawny. As if his sizable muscular frame isn't intimidating enough, his dark brown eyes are so intense they burn right through to your very soul.
I don't know how I did it. Surely he could tell I was seconds away from pissing my pants. I can't even begin to describe how utterly terrified I was. However, when I walked out of the storeroom and saw him struggling with his tie, he appeared to be just like any other man. It gave me the courage to speak to him that now I wished I didn't have.
Drawing in a long breath, I do my best to compose myself quickly. All of the sudden, the staff has stopped moving about, and it's become eerily quiet. The ceremony must be about to begin. I hurry out of the kitchen and into the foyer as a cover version of ‘Your song by Ellie Goulding’ starts to play. Picking up the pace, I make my way outside to where the wedding is, but my head hits the chest of a big ugly security guard and stops me abruptly. I have to crank my neck to look up to him; he is so tall. Shaking his head at me like I should've known better, he points towards the kitchen.
"Only guests allowed," his deep voice instructs. I step backward, nodding, feeling deflated, and in no way ready to take this scary man on.
Once back in the kitchen and out of his sight, I head out to the hallway where I noticed earlier in the day that it had a staircase. Relieved to see no security guard, I quickly run up the stairs as fast as my stupid skirt will allow me and straight into what looks to be someone's office. I dart over to the window and almost squeal with excitement that it overlooks the entire wedding.
