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I moved on into the office. Our father’s office. It was one of the few rooms we’d left mostly as it was, but neither of us worked out of it. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you referring to Serafina?”
“She will be ruined in her family’s eyes, in her circles. Some might even consider her actions betrayal. She is a woman and Dante won’t kill her for it, but she will be shunned … if she’s allowed to return to her home at all. I assume you intend to send her back now that you got what you wanted.”
Something in his voice set me off. “I haven’t gotten everything I wanted from her yet. Not even close. And she will stay until she gives me every little thing I desire.”
Nino stepped in front of me. “Is this even still about revenge?”
“It has never been only about revenge. It’s about obliterating the Outfit from within, not mere revenge.” I sidestepped him and went in search for something I could wrap the sheets in. Finally, I found a box and stuffed them inside.
“Don’t lose yourself in a game you don’t have full control over, Remo.”
The worry in his voice made me look up. I touched his shoulder. “When have I ever been in control? Losing control is my favorite pastime.”
Nino’s mouth twitched. “As if I don’t know it.” His expression turned serious again. “In these last few weeks you’ve spent a lot of time with Serafina. We need you, Remo. The Camorra can’t risk an endless conflict with the Outfit. Go in for the kill.”
“These sheets are the point of my knife. Are you going to help me with that note to Dante and her family?”
Nino sighed. “If it puts an end to this, then yes.”
I rummaged around for a fancy piece of stationery in the old wood desk then took out a pen.
“Now let’s figure out the best words to crush them. I thought we could start with a reference to the bloody sheets tradition of the Famiglia for an additional kick.”
Nino shook his head. “I’m glad you are my brother and not my enemy.”
CHAPTER 17
SERAFINA
I hovered beside the bed, unable to move. The white sheets were gone, sheets covered in my blood. Remo had taken them, and I knew why.
I closed my eyes for a moment. He would send them to my family. They would find out what had happened. What would they think?
Would they hate me? Banish me?
This wasn’t rape. I could not defend my actions. There was no force, no torture, no violence. Samuel had risked his life for me. Men had died because of me, and I had betrayed them all.
I turned away from the bed, unable to bear its presence, and headed toward the window. I climbed on the windowsill, wincing at the sharp twinge between my legs. A painful reminder I didn’t need. Every moment of what I’d done was burned into my memory, blazing fiercely when I closed my eyes.
I slept with Remo Falcone.
Capo of the Camorra.
My enemy.
Not Danilo. Not my fiancé. My eyes found my engagement ring discarded on the nightstand. I hadn’t worn it today, and now I could never wear it again without feeling like a fraud. I swallowed. He would see the sheets as well. I had given away what had been promised to him for five years. What was worse was I had wanted to give it away.
I could still feel Remo’s body on mine, the way he moved in me.
It was … wondrous. Freeing. Intoxicating.
Sin.
Betrayal.
My ruin.
What I did couldn’t be undone. A kiss could be denied. A touch could be concealed. This? This had left scars. There was tangible proof, and Remo would flaunt it in my family’s faces.
You have to own up to your actions, Angel.
I knew I needed to, but I wasn’t sure if I could.
REMO
The next morning I found Serafina perched in her usual spot on the windowsill. The sheets weren’t rumpled. She must have slept leaning against the window or not at all.
“You sent out the sheets,” Serafina said quietly, not looking my way. Of course, she knew. She was not only beautiful, she was stunningly intelligent. A lethal combination.
“I did. Express delivery. They should arrive at your family’s home tomorrow morning or maybe even tonight.”
She didn’t turn, didn’t react. Only looked out of the window. Her hair was brushed over her other shoulder, her slender neck bared to my view. My teeth marks marred her unblemished skin. Her shoulders gave a small twitch. Then she stiffened her spine. “What did you tell them? I assume you sent them a note with your gift.” There was the slightest waver in her tone, a chink in her cool voice.
I stalked closer. “What would you have wanted the note to say?”
She peered over her shoulder at me, a beautifully hateful expression perfectly frozen on her face.
