“I thought Daisy was just the new housekeeper at the villa. No one told me there were… restrictions. I thought I could take her for a walk.”
My chest filled with a gulp of air. I took a step back and set my hands on my hips, gritting my teeth to suppress the hatred I felt when I heard him say her name. OnlyIcould call her Daisy.
Me. No one else.
"Don't think, don't assume, don't make decisions without consulting me first. And you can thank your uncle Gennaro, because you've never been closer to the grave than you are today, Fabiano." I spat out all the contempt I felt, watching Gennaro grimace in pain and Luca run a hand over his bald head, which hadn't stopped sweating since he revealed to me that Daisy had spent the afternoon with Fabiano.
The bastard stared at me for a long moment, too serious for the opportunity that luck was giving him, but then he lost his nerve and nodded. “Certo, Don Vicari. It won't happen again.”
“It better not. Now, get out of here.” I growled, turning to Gennaro. “If I didn't have so much respect for you, Gennaro, he'd be a dead man.”
“Sì, Don Camillo...Buonanotte.” Gennaro whispered, his head bowed and his voice pained, walking toward his nephew, his hat clutched in nervous hands.
Gennaro also said a polite goodbye to Daisy and got into the pickup truck. Fabiano, however, still dared to look at her.
“Goodnight, Cupcake. And I'm sorry... I didn't know it would cause you trouble.”
My blood ran cold and my eyes widened in Daisy's direction.
‘CUPCAKE’?!
“It's okay.Buonanotte, Margherita.”
‘MARGHERITA’?!
I was ready to reach for my gun holster, but Luca patted me on the back, dissuading me.
“Don Camillo,per favore... Let's go inside, shall we?”
I gritted my teeth. Oh, no. Fabiano could get away, but Daisy was a different story.
I stared at her once more and, before I could think straight, I hoisted her over my shoulder and dragged her into the villa like a sack of onions. She snarled, punching me in the back, but I ignored her. Luca followed close behind, though he dared saynothing. When Daisy decided it was a good idea to bite me on the back, my open hand landed on her ass, eliciting a horrified squeal from her and a ‘Dio mio!’ from Luca.
I took her to my office and threw her to the floor, watching her fall on her backside.
“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” she exploded, and I stared at her angry face and her disheveled hair without any remorse. “IDIOT! FUCKER!”
“What happened in Reggio Calabria?” I uttered those words in a voice barely above a growl.
She stared at me with her small eyes wide open. “What...?” Her breathing was heavy. “What do you mean by...?”
“I asked what happened between you and Fabiano Mancuso in Reggio Calabria.” I couldn't shake the images of the two of them, clinging to each other in the worst situations. The mere possibility was consuming me. “Did you fuck him? Was that it?”
Luca exclaimed ‘Madonna mia!’ behind me, and Daisy stared at me, her face turning pale and her mouth agape. But that didn't stop me. Oh, no. I wanted to know exactly what those two had been doing. No, I wanted her toadmit it, because I didn't believe that a woman like her could spend an afternoon and half the night on an innocent outing with a man. Especially Fabiano, who’d already slept his way through half the women in Castello dell'Fiero.
“Answer me, Daisy!”
“YOU'RE SICK!” she squealed, jumping up. “Fabiano showed me Castello dell'Fiero and took me for a walk in Reggio Calabria, that's all!”
“And what happened on that walk?”
“What do you mean?! I met himtoday! He was just trying to be nice! Unlike you, who avoids me some days and disappears without a trace on others!” She raged, waving her arms, but there were tears in her eyes. Perhaps, tears of guilt. “Besides, you said I was free to wander around the region!”
“But I also told you that you weren't here to make friends, just as I warned you that the only man who could call you Daisy was me.” I growled, stepping toward her.
“Don Camillo,per favore... They spent most of the afternoon in the company of other people. Besides, it's my fault, I shouldn't have let the Signorina—”
“Leave us alone, Luca.” I demanded. The last thing Daisy needed was a defense attorney. And the last thing I wanted was for my head of security to take up our guest’s cause.
