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This wasn’t exactlyhow I planned this.
I wanted a grand reunion.
One where Andreas Giannotti was fearful of me and looked at Natalia like some great saviour.
This definitely was not part of the agenda at all.
“What is this?” Natalia asks.
The man grins brightly, showing off pearly white teeth while nursing his arm in a sling. This hadn’t been part of what I had in store for my girl–giving Natalia a playmate–but when opportunity arises, you don’t argue with the bastard.
“What? Never seen a dead guy before?”
Andreas’s tone is harsh enough to force Natalia to tense. Maybe he’s not such a lost soul after all. I’d watched him with Natalia in the run-up to his shooting, and I thought he was too weak for her.
My darling girl deserved a man who would bite back. She needed someone who wasn’t frightened of her. Someone who kept her in line and loved every single moment of doing so.
Once upon a time, that was me.
“To be honest, you never got a chance to check for a pulse, so I suppose that helps make everything possible.”
“But…why?”
I always loved pulling surprise from Natalia. Taking it in ribbons, revelling in the way her pink lips fell ever so slightly apart, her eyes squinting with misunderstanding of the situation. I’d watch the way her breathing would slow enough into staccato little breaths before she pulled herself together every day if I could. I’d feed on this side of Natalia. Drain every last drip of confusion and hurt and relish the aftertaste.
“We all need bargaining chips. Your dear ol’ daddy taught me that one.”
My voice is smooth, her reaction to it seamless.
“And Sebastian and Andreas?”
“Well, yeah, that’s a shock to me, too.”
I glower at Sebastian. Not for his sexual orientation, but for his poor choice. When I put him on the duty of making sure Andreas was as comfortable as possible given his injury and his predicament, I didn’t expect him to be so fucking hands-on.
“When I told you to look after him, I didn’t mean to kiss it better.”
Shame flushes his face, and he sits up straight. “Beck-”
“Save it for later.” I cut him off because this isn’t important. “So, Natalia, the way I see it is that my trump card is now not so secret.”
“Why?”
The repeated word is barely a grumble between clenched teeth. She’s quietly seething, and I can tell what happened the other day has caused a weak spot because she isn’t nearly half as controlled as she usually is.
“Simple.” I watch her trying in vain to read me. “Because he means something to you.”
And just like that, the penny really drops.
“Right, so he’s the only pawn in getting under my skin perfectly.”
“By God, you are so fucking quick!” I say, mockingly applauding her. “Exactly that, darling girl.” I rub my jaw, starting to pace. “I wondered what a girl like you was doing running around with a Giannotti, but that didn’t matter until I saw your reaction in the aftermath of him taking the bullet you begged me to put in him.”
In actuality, hearing her goad me to pull the trigger was a turn-on, but I quickly understood that collateral damage meant nothing to Natalia. Her tears dried, her grief brief, and she rolled with the punches like her time with Andreas was a sabbatical from real life.
Poor, unfortunate Andreas.
“You acted like he meant so little to you, but you kept bringing him up. Not just to me, either. No, see, I know what you and Sebastian have talked about.”
