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Not cowering in the bed as I’d expected but trying to escape. This little birdy seemed desperate to escape my cage, only to flutter right into Danilo’s. Her eyes and face held remnants of her earlier panic, but she tilted her chin upward and narrowed her eyes at me. Determined to play with the big boys.
I strolled into the room. Her shoulders pulled back, an act of defiance, but her hand flew up to press the sheet against her body, her fingers splayed out against the red, visibly shaking. My eyes never leaving her, I set the clothes down on the bed, catching the hint of her sweet scent. I’d caught it earlier, as if she’d been massaged with vanilla oil in preparation for her wedding night. My nostrils flared. “Trying to escape my cage, little bird?”
She tossed me a haughty look. “You’re awfully fond of creatures with wings.”
“I enjoy breaking them.”
Her lip curled, and still she managed to be perfectly beautiful. I could guess the images that ran through her mind, of me torturing tiny animals. That was for cowards, for men not capable of facing a worthy opponent. “I’m not that kind of psychopath.”
“What kind are you, then?”
I smiled. “You won’t be able to open the window. Don’t waste your energy trying to escape.”
“Did you have the locks installed specifically for me, or do you make a habit of locking women in your bedroom so you can rape and torture them for your personal entertainment?”
I stalked toward her, backed her against the windowsill then braced myself against the glass, glaring down at her. “No,” I said. “My father had them installed for my mother.”
Disgust flashed across Serafina’s face. “You Falcones are all monsters.”
I leaned down, breathing in her scent. “My father was a monster. I’m worse.”
Her pulse thudded in her veins. I could see her fear throbbing against the unblemished skin of her throat. I stepped back then nodded toward the clothes. “For you. Tomorrow morning you will wear the silver nightgown.”
Serafina walked toward the bed sideways to keep an eye on me then scowled at the heap on her bed.
I raised the phone to my ear and pressed the call button. After the second ring, Dante’s cold voice sounded. “Cavallaro.”
“Dante, good to hear your voice.”
Serafina’s head jerked toward me, and she sank down on the bed, her prideful mask cracking as her fingers curled into a fist, gripping the sheet.
Silence rang on the other end, and I smiled. I wished I could see Cavallaro’s expression as he was being faced with the consequences of his actions, and the realization that his niece would pay for his sins.
“Remo.”
I heard male voices in the background and a hysteric female one. Serafina’s mother. “I would like a word with you, Capo to Capo. From one man who had his territory breached to another. Two men of honor.”
“I’m a man of honor, Remo. I don’t know what you are, but honorable isn’t it.”
“Let’s agree to disagree on that.”
“Is Serafina alive?” he asked quietly.
I trailed my eyes over the glaring woman, clutching the red blankets around her naked body.
I heard a furious voice in the background. “I will break every fucking bone in your body!”
“Is that her twin?”
Pain flashed across her face, and she swallowed.
“Is she alive?” Dante repeated, his voice shaking with anger.
“What do you think?”
“She is, because alive she is worth more than dead.”
“Indeed. I don’t have to tell you that I will kill her in the most painful way I can think of if a single Outfit soldier breaches my territory to save her, and I can be very creative when it comes to inflicting pain.”
Even from a distance I could see her blood pounding furiously in her veins as she stared down at her fist.
“I want to speak to her.”
“Not yet.”
“Remo, you crossed a line, and you will pay for it.”
“Oh, I’m sure you think so.”
“What do you want?”
“It’s not time for that kind of conversation yet, Dante. I don’t think you are quite ready for it. Tomorrow morning we will have another date. Set up a camera. I want you, her brother, father, and fiancé in a room in front of that camera. Nino will give you instructions how to set everything up. I will set up a camera myself so we can see and hear each other.”
Serafina’s eyes met mine.
“Remo—” Dante’s voice held a warning, but I lowered the phone from my ear and ended the call.
Serafina stared at me, wide eyed. I moved closer, and she stiffened but otherwise didn’t show her fear, despite the exhaustion on her face. “Tomorrow we will start playing, Angel.”
I left, wanting her to ponder my words. Nino waited in the corridor as I closed the door. I raised my eyebrows in passing. “Pizza’s arrived?”
Nino followed close behind me then grabbed my shoulder. “What kind of video do you have in mind for tomorrow?”
