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No response.
As if I’d never spoken, he continues, “The news I’ve found my queen has already spread like wildfire in my circle. You’re not safe anymore on your own. Unfortunately, you’ve become a highly priced target.”
Cold shivers run through my body. “What do you mean?”
“My rivals will stop at nothing to take you in order to get to me. You’re my Achilles’ heel. But even though I’m more vulnerable with you in my life, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Is that meant to reassure me?
If it is, it’s not working.
“It just means we have to take certain precautions to ensure your safety.”
“What sort of precautions?” I whisper, still in shock at what I’m hearing.
“I want to be able to locate you at all times.”
I eye him suspiciously. “Meaning?”
“A chip in your arm transmitting your GPS coordinates.”
What the hell?! Over my dead body.
The blood drains from my head. Nauseated, the need to puke is overwhelming. Thanks to Gualtiero, this is becoming a regular occurrence.
I swallow down the bile and say through clenched teeth. “I am not a dog you can microchip. You are deranged, Gualtiero.”
“This might save your life should you ever be taken,” he counters.
“If they ever succeed with that, I would imagine they expect such a chip and just cut it out… no thank you!!!”
Tiero takes an annoyed breath in. “We’ll talk about this some more, when you’ve calmed down and adjusted to your new life. For the time being, security has been stepped up around us. You’re not allowed to go anywhere without guards,” he says, his voice hard and unyielding. “And this isn’t negotiable. So don’t even think about arguing.”
I wasn’t going to. While the extra security means any future escape attempts need to be well thought through, it also means staying safe… if he’s telling the truth, that is.
At this stage, I’m not sure what to believe anymore. He might just be trying to manipulate me.
This entire situation seems so far-fetched. It’s like I’m right in the middle of a Mafia romance gone bad.
Did I attract this by reading all these steamy Mafia books over the years? It doesn’t really work like that, does it? I like the steam, but the rest I really can live without.
One thing is for sure, I don’t want to be a bargaining tool for Tiero’s foes. God only knows what they’d do to me, and I prefer for God to keep that a secret.
“Why are your enemies so determined to bring you down? Why am I not safe? Who exactly are you?”
“Youaresafe. I had you shadowed from the moment we met to ensure you were protected. No harm will come to you on my watch.”
From the first afternoon?!
Unbelievable.
Something dawns on me, and I need to know. “The day of our first dinner, did you have us followed to Messina?”
At his affirmative nod, I let out a humorless laugh.
“The car following us down the one-way street… it didn’t do it the second time. Why not?”
“They were more prepared for your friend’s erratic driving and went the right way so you wouldn’t discover them. Your car had a tracker, so it was easy to find you again.”
