Page 31 of Revenge on the Mafia

“Consider it a gift.”

A gift? The thing in my hand was a gift?

My fingers shook. He steadied my hand, keeping the sharp edge away from my body. His gaze burned on me, and I knew he was studying me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look. Did he know I was about to lose my shit? That I’d need to be put down like an animal then.

“Look at me,” he demanded. I didn’t know why, but I did. It was easier to follow instructions than to take control of my thoughts.

His gaze was loaded, and If I looked too long, too hard, he was going to pull me into his eclipse. A touch brushed my inner wrist. Soothing along the width of it. It was rough, yet soft. My pulse slowed gradually, and with it, my staggering breathing eased.

“I expect you to do your best and make your father proud.”

I blinked.

A low whistle came our way from the doorway. I jerked my gaze over his shoulder. Stefano leaned against the doorway, hand rubbing his jaw and his gaze full of interest. “Well, well, well.” His tone dripped with ease. “Is this the reason you stood me up?”

Niccolò was still a block caging me. Nothing had changed. Not his breathing. Not his stance. Except for the slight tightness around his jaw, he might as well have been discussing the cleaning routine with his maid, not teaching her how to kill him.

He answered his brother in Italian. His tone got under my skin. A light intonation of irritation carried with it.

Whatever he’d said only made Stefano chuckle. I’d tried to catch familiar words, but he’d spoken too fast.

I felt the heat of Stefano’s gaze. We were clearly under his microscope. After a beat, Niccolò sighed. It was almost unnoticeable, but I could tell from the scent of mint on his breath. Like he’d just brushed his teeth, even though it was long past noon. Then he stepped away from me. The knife was heavy in my hand. He rushed a hand through his hair.

“Don’t be a fucking coward, Anna.”

Then he turned and walked away.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

NICO

“Ithink I’ll ditch my cable subscription,” Stefano said as I stalked past him.

Eighteen steps and I hadn’t calmed down. Of all the possible times he could have turned up, this was the worst one.

I was cool. I was calm. I was fucking collected. What I wasn’t was someone who lost his mind when he got close to a woman. She was just a woman. If I stepped out, I’d come across ten beautiful women in one minute. But they wouldn’t be like her. That was the problem. She was one in a million. Unique enough for me to lose control in twenty-one minutes and tell her I was fucking hard for her.

Christ. I might as well have put a gun to my head.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”

His voice grated on my nerves. Why it did was a mystery I didn’t want to dwell on. What I wanted was to lock myself in my room and pace up and down one hundred and forty-four times, dissecting everything that had happened in that room. But then he’d know. If he didn’t already.

I forced my feet to come to a stop. Took a deep breath to clear my head of the cobwebs, and instantly my nostrils filled with the scent of a rockrose. Fuck. How was she all over me? With a slight shake of my head, I turned to my annoying brother. “Let’s get on with our meeting.” My tone was cool. Calm. I was back in control.

He wasn’t fooled. “Ask me why.”

“Why?”

He was all too happy with himself. “Because that scene back there,” he pointed behind his shoulder, “stuff from soap operas.”

I bet it was, but I gave him a blank stare. Telling him nothing.

He wasn’t discouraged. “I’m still trying to dissect it, though. Do elaborate. The suspense is killing me.”

“She’s just my maid.” Nothing more.

His comeback made my jaw tense. “I’m sure her services are heavenly.”