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“Gianna. Stand up,” Tomasso orders as both the masked guards leave the room.

I glare at him. “No. I don’t take orders from you. You take them from me. Just stop this fucking circus and let us out. You’ve made your point.”

Tomasso tuts, waving his finger. “Gianna, the rules have changed, pretty girl. You see, you really messed up when you slaughtered Fabio and then your father.”

“How so?” I question.

That glint in his good eye tells me this isn’t about revenge. This isn’t how a Milano retaliates. His other eye is fucking disgusting, all red and puffy from where I nearly gouged it out. I wish it popped; that would have been much more therapeutic for me.

“Fabio had a big plan to secure the Milano name, make it global, with a woman named Tatiana in Russia. He had your uncles on board, and the plan was in motion. Except the only problem was you and your silly little schemes. Enzo isn’t who we want to work with, Gianna. Your father was listening to you, and that was becoming an issue.”

I swallow. “Tatiana, whoever she is, isn’t going to overthrow Enzo. Don’t be ridiculous. Fabio didn’t know his ass from his elbow. He was looking to get out from under my father because he knew he could never compete with me.”

Tomasso’s jaw twitches. “Fabio was a great man. He was going to lead us away from this joke your father created in LA. And then you decided to get into bed, literally, with the Sterlings. You’re a problem for us, Gianna. But you know enough about Enzo that will buy us into Tatiana’s world now that Fab is dead.”

I grin. This dumbass just gave me my ticket out of here. This is why he never made it past a bodyguard. Fucking stupid. “Oh, easy as that? What is it you think I know?”

He checks his watch. “You are now in power and accepted by Enzo, correct?”

My eyes form slits. How the fuck does he know?

“If I was?” I glance down at my nails, like this isn’t a big deal. I’m still sad that one broke.

“Then you could get a meeting with Romeo and Enzo. We can feed that to Tatiana. She can then make her move.”

Holy shit, who is this woman? She’s got to be crazier than me to go after Enzo.

“Or better yet, you could offer up a sacrifice to her, your husband, perhaps?” he suggests with a smug look on his ugly face.

That hit a trigger. I don’t care how powerful this Tatiana bitch is; if she tries to take my husband, or go after the Sterlings or Dom, I’ll slice her throat and feed her to the pigs I’m going to buy.

A growl erupts from me. “Not a fucking chance.”

Tomasso laughs, pulling a blade from his pocket. Tate groans as he sits himself up, wiping the blood from the back of his head.

Good. He’s alive. But now he has Tomasso’s attention, and I don’t like the way he’s looking at him.

“I’ll get you the intel! I can do that. I won’t hurt Colten, but I’ll help you,” I blurt out, getting Tomasso to focus back on me.

“You think I’d trust you enough to take your word? When you’re married to the Sterling family? Clearly you have feelings for that stupid cowboy,” Tomasso sneers like feelings are catching.

I shrug. “You have to take my word. What other choice is there? If you want an in with Tatiana, then you know you need me. That’s why you didn’t kill me.” I take a step forward. “Because I know you really want to see me suffer.”

He smiles at me. “You’re going to prove yourself to me, and then I’ll consider taking you to your uncles. It’s not me you have to win over; I’d happily bury you. But they want you alive.”

Those bastards. I thought my dad was evil. Well, they’re worse than evil. Always have been. As a kid, it terrified me when they came to visit. I’d hide in my room until they left. Terzo, the eldest, is a creep. A violent one who has killed five of his wives. Giuseppe was the one who would be nice to your face but stab you in the back the second you turned around. And Carlo is the quiet one who, to this day, I’m convinced had a hand in the murder of my mother, but I’ve never been able to prove it. Evil. All of them, right to the core.

Tate pulls himself upright using the bars, and sways. I take my eyes off Tomasso for a second, but when I look back, I’m now staring into the barrel of a gun.

“Hold up your hands. I’m going to let you out and put you in Tate’s cell. You pass this test, you get to live.”

I do as he says, playing the part, edging towards the door as he unlocks it. As the gate opens, he grabs me by the throat, pressing the Glock against my temple. I drag in a shaky breath, glaring into his blue eyes, trying not to stare at the red one that’s starting to close.

“One wrong move from either of you and I blow your brains out, G.” Tomasso walks me backward, unlocks Tate’s cell, and shoves me inside. He follows in behind me, standing guard by the door.

“Are you okay?” I mouth to Tate.

He nods, his gaze fixed on Tomasso and the gun pointed at me.