She hesitated, unsure whether leaving it open would be a tolerable act of defiance or if it would provoke him beyond a reasonable limit.
Luigi adjusted his tie while he waited.
She turned back to shut the door.
“Somebody betrayed me last night,” Luigi told her. “I mean to find out who that SOB is before I let anybody out of here.”
“And you think the SOB could be my parents, my sister, or myself?” she asked.
“Everybody is a suspect.”
“This is unbelievable!” Camille cried. “We know nothing about your business or what you do. There is no reasonable excuse for why you should hold us here.”
Dissatisfied with the tie, Luigi undid it and laid it on his bed. Most of the other Dons in the city thought he was vain because of the attention he paid to his appearance. In the beginning, when he took over from his father, it made them think he was soft. They called himthe modelto mock him. However, after he took out two of them in a brutal fashion and made a pact with the two who were left, they renamed him the tiger.
Luigi The Tiger Frazetta.
It was not a nickname Luigi was fond of but one he allowed to stay because of the effect it had on people.
He turned a steely gaze on Camille now, intent on intimidation.
Right before his gaze, her defiance wore away. Her squared shoulders slumped, and the fire in her eyes petered out. “We would never hurt you or do anything that might hurt Paulo indirectly,” she said. Her voice was an octave lower now.
She looked prettier when she was angry,Luigi thought. He loved the fiery part of her. Yet he cared for this vulnerable side. It made him want to wrap her up in his arms and assure her that no harm would ever befall her or her family.
They were only here for the sake of formalities so his men would not think his suspicions lay only with them.
“My parents would never do anything to hurt my sister’s union with Paulo, either,” Camille said, “and more importantly, we don’t even know—”
“What about you?” Luigi cut in. “Would you do anything to hurt me?”
She frowned. “Of course not.”
“You and I parted on bad terms,” he pointed out.
“But we danced last night,” she argued.
“Only because it seemed right.”
An incredulous look spread over her face. “You think I was so mad you didn’t stay in my apartment after we had sex that I went to the police to tattle on you?”
Luigi shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Who do you think you are?” Now she was blazing again.
“The man you begged to take you three nights ago,” he replied.
She shook her head in disbelief. “How dare you use that against me!”
Luigi was surprised she couldn’t see that he was only toying with her. Still, he liked that this version of her was back. “Did you or did you not beg me?”
“It was just sex!” she cried. “It meant nothing!”
“It meant nothing, yet you were so mad I didn’t stay to cuddle you after and tell you how much I enjoyed you?”
“Yes it… that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Really?”
