Isabella must hear it, too. “One step, and I’ll drive this knife into his skull.”
“You do that, and you’re never leaving this room alive,” Mia counters.
And I won’t be any closer to the answers I seek. No, if I’m going to smoke out Ida Natali, I need both of her children alive. Preferably, also in my possession.
“Be a dear, Mia,” I say, trying to casually ignore the weight of Isabella sitting on my crotch. “And tell Dante to release the Lamborghini. It seems we won’t be needing it after all.”
“Are you–”
“NOW.”
She huffs. “If she gets your blood on this carpet, I’m invoicing you for the cleanup fee.”
“Mia.”
I wait until I hear the door closed before I let out a sigh. “You know, you’re not making your case particularly compelling.”
“You underestimate how much I love my car.”
“Youunderestimate how much I love this position,” I counter.
Immediately, she lifts her body weight off me, an outraged expression on her face.
It’s the opening I need. I use my legs to knock her off balance. The knife skims across my face as she throws her arms down to catch herself, and I quickly wrestle her onto her front, Digging my knee in between her shoulder blades.
“You fucker!” she exclaims as she wildly tries to thrash her arms behind her, hoping to catch me with the knife.
It takes no effort at all to catch her arm and twist it back until she drops it.
“Now,” I say as I unfurl my hand in front of her, revealing the earpiece I snagged from her when she first flung herself at me. “Shall we have a little wager about who’s on the other end?”
I don’t wait for her reply as I connect the device to my ear and tap the receiver button.
“Issy? What the hell is going on? Pick-up has been abandoned. The fuckers boxed us in. Where are you?” a sharp, male voice immediately crackles into my ear.
“Leon Natali.”
The line goes silent.
Isabella squirms beneath me. “Don’t give him a fucking thing, Leon!”
“Teo Vitale,” the voice replies, entirely devoid of its previous emotion.
“I should thank you for delivering such an…exquisite gift to the new don of the Guild, Natali. You’ve far surpassed any of our other previous allies.”
“Give her back, Vitale, or I swear to God I will burn your precious Guild to the ground.”
I let myself chuckle at that one. “Is that really how you want to speak to me? I thought youwantedan alliance.”
“I wantnothingfrom you except my sister’s safe return.”
“That’s a pity because?—”
I’m cut off by my own grunt as Isabella’s leg collides forcefully with my back.
“Stay still,” I growl at her as I attempt to wrestle her back to neutrality. It takes a moment, and by the time she stills, we’re both breathing heavily. My other leg is now clamped down over the back of her knees.
“Get. Off. Me,” she grits out.
