Claudio snarls in disgust. “I knew it. I knew he’d use you up and spit you back out like this. But you’ll fall in love with me again in time. For now, you only need to know your place and do exactly as I say.”
“Fuck you.”
“They will come for you, whoever remains loyal to that bastard, so I’m going to need you to wait right here until they come knocking.”
I yank at my restraints desperately, but it’s no use. I’m nothing more than bait. Mia…Teo…Martino…they were going to wander right into Claudio’s trap.
But…If Claudio only wanted me, then why should he care about the others? Why act against the entire Guild if this was just a personal vendetta against Rocco?
“Why, so you can kill them all and become don yourself?”
It’s a shot in the dark, and judging by the way Claudio laughs in response, I missed it by a mile. “Could you imagine? Me?”
He hunches over with merriment, and I cringe slightly at his overreactive display.
Irritated, I bite back. “Then why bother with them? Just take me and leave them behind.”
“Oh, I plan on it, but all in good time.” He reaches for me again, dragging his fingers through my tangled hair. “It’s just a shame he’s turned you against me. But that deal was just too good for me to pass up.”
All I can do is hope my stare conveys all the loathing and venom that I feel for him.
“I should thank you, really. When your father asked me to pick you up, he took the loan out in my name to incentivize me to bring you back. You know, so the Guild wouldn’t track me down and murder me for stealing from them.”
My words get stuck in my throat. My father…employed Claudio.
My father was in the Italian mafia.
Claudio grins down at the shock on my face.
“But the fucker went and died on me before he could pay the loan back. If it weren’t for that deal with Moretti…” he shakes his head. “It’s kinda poetic, though. You paid the price for your father’s incompetence.”
I think I’m going to vomit again.
Had any of it been real? That first night Claudio had watched me perform in Ohio, he’d asked me for my ID…was it to check that I was the person he was looking for?
“You…stole me from my home,” my words tremble in disbelief. “You seduced me and brought me here on purpose.”
“We fell in love!” Claudio’s voice booms in my ear. “It wasn’t part of the plan, but it happened, didn’t it? Don’t act like I’m some kind of monster.”
“That is exactly what you are.”
I can see the rage building behind his eyes and know instinctively that he’s about to hit me again. I flinch away the best I can, closing my eyes.
“Touch her, and you’re dead.”
Time freezes. My heart pounds rapidly. My breaths come out in rapid, short bursts.
When I look up again, there’s another figure standing there behind Claudio. His hand is wrapped around the arm about to strike me
He’s tall, dark, and menacing. His hair falls over his deathly gray eyes. His shirt is ripped across his chest, revealing the dented bullet-proof vest beneath.
His scent hits me a second later, and I sob at the familiar comfort it brings me.
Alive. Rocco’s alive.
Claudio startles. “How the fuck?”
Crunch.
