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“I turned him down,” Lucia snaps, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. “It has nothing to do with whether I’m pretty or not. I made a fool out of him. He’s old-school, remember?” she mocks. “He’s not going to withstand that sort of insult.”
As much as I hate to admit it, her story makes sense. It even explains why she was running away from her father. In that case, returning her to her father or Pavone, either one puts her life in danger. It shouldn’t matter to me, but… I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. Lucia doesn’t deserve it, and more importantly, I don’t want Pavone’s hands on her. She’s right that she’s safer with the three of us than married to Pavone.
“Hey, kitten, don’t worry,” I extend my arm to her, hoping to entice her back into my embrace. “I’ll talk to Victor. He’s not unreasonable. I won’t let him send you back.” It’s dumb to promise something like this, since Victor is extremely hard to convince when he’s got his mind set, but I’ll figure it out. Me and Angel can strategize the best way. I’m positive Angel doesn’t want to see Lucia ruined by Pavone either.
She laughs. And laughs. And laughs, until tears are streaming down her face and her laughter turns into sobs. She slumps down onto the floor, knees pulled to her chest as she buries her face against them. She doesn’t speak, and I don’t know what to say to make this better. I’ve already told her I’ll talk to Victor.
I stand up and go to her, scooping her up into my arms. She half-heartedly struggles against me before sagging in my hold, and I return her to the bed. I set her down and climb in after her, pulling her into my arms.
“Shh,” I whisper to her. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to Victor.”
After a few moments, her sobs turn into soft crying. I rock her in my arms, murmuring to her, trying to reassure her that everything will be okay. It’s not until I’m sure she’s asleep that I tuck her in, then slip out of bed.
It’s time to talk to Victor.
I find him outside on the patio, talking to a few of our men. As soon as he sees me, he dismisses the others. He must realize something is up because he usually makes me wait.
“Is it true?” I hiss at him. “Are you going to trade Lucia straight to Pavone?”
Victor takes a slow sip of his drink before he answers. “I might have said that to Lucia, yes.”
A wave of anger crashes over me. I don’t always agree with Victor’s actions, but this is the first one that has pissed me off in years. “What the hell? And you didn’t think to consult me and Angel first?”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “I didn’t realize you two were in charge here.”
“That’s not—” I make a frustrated sound. “Come on, Victor, you know this is different. Lucia’s not just yours. And if you hand her over to him, she’s done for. He’ll ruin her completely, if he doesn’t outright kill her. Do you know what happened to his third wife?”
“He had her murdered.” Victor sits down on one of the chairs, the same one he’d used when he made Lucia warm his cock. “Lucia’s smart. She’ll survive for a few years, at least. It’s not that dire.”
“Jesus Christ, Victor! Just because you were right about Angel, doesn’t mean you can actually predict everything! Anda few years?”
And Victor actually laughs at that. “Santino, listen to yourself. We’ve had Lucia for less than two weeks, and you’re already this smitten? Anyway, I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do with her.”
“So why did you tell her that?” I demand, seething. I purposely ignore the part about beingsmitten, about the fact that it’s only been a few weeks and I already care this much.
“To test something.” Victor closes his eyes and turns his head up, looking like he’s just relaxing in the sun and wasn’t talking about possibly sending Lucia to be tortured and killed.
“To testwhat?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Victor holds his glass up in my direction, eyes still closed. “Get somebody to bring me a refill, would you?”
I stare at him in utter frustration. None of this is surprising, but it still pisses me off. “No,” I say stubbornly. “Not unless you tell me what the fuck you’re doing. I deserve to know.”
Victor shrugs and sets his glass down on the side table. He doesn’t say anything else, just continues to bask in the sun. It’s infuriating, but then, that’s just Victor.
If it was just a test, he won’t really sell out Lucia to Pavone.
Then again, I don’t know what it was a testof.
I have to believe that he won’t really do it. Lucia’s so determined not to return to her father, but she’s even more scared of being sent straight to Pavone. I can only guess that she has a plan for if she goes back to Daddy Dearest, but she hasn’t figured out a contingency plan for Pavone himself yet.
But she will. Sheissmart, but Pavone’s twice her age. He hasn’t gotten to where he is by being easily outmaneuvered.
A lump in my throat, I swallow hard then turn to leave.
Victor doesn’t say anything as I go.
And his fucking glass stays empty.
