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“Then let’s go.”
After a quick stop in the kitchen to throw together a few sandwiches and some fruit, they made their way out to the gardens. She’d never seen them in the daylight, only at night when he occasionally allowed guests to wander onto the patio during the warmer months. They were enchanting at night, but absolutely breathtaking in broad daylight. Explosions of color surrounded them as they strolled to the large koi pond in the center of the gardens.
They sat on a blanket Emilio had snagged from a linen closet on the way down the stairs and nibbled at their mini-feast. When she’d eaten her fill, Amara leaned back on her elbows and lifted her face to the warm summer sun. “It’s so easy to forget the outside world even exists in a place like this.”
“Good. You deserve that.” He fell silent again before quietly calling her name. “Amara.”
Intrigued by the uncertainty she heard in his voice, she opened her eyes and gave him her full attention. “Yes?”
“We need to talk.”
“You sound so serious,” she teased, trying to keep her voice light to cover the jumping of her stomach.
“Because I am. I’ve asked Benny to call Father Russo so we can be married. Perhaps as early as tomorrow.”
“Married?” Despite his casual declaration when he’d been paddling her raw earlier, the word sent her head spinning. She’d assumed he’d been exaggerating his intention to marry her. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Another heavy pause. “How much do you know of Gio’s business?”
The jarring subject change made her head hurt. “What does that have to do with marrying you?”
“Answer the question, Amara.” The whip-crack of anger in his voice had her jerking away from him.
“I know he deals in drugs. Cocaine, mostly. He’s dabbled in other areas, but that’s the big seller. Why are you asking me this?”
“What other areas?”
“I don’t know, I don’t keep track of his inventory,” she snapped.
“That’s all you’re aware of, then, is drugs?”
“Drugs, weapons. The usual. What is this about, Emilio?”
His eyes flashed, but he didn’t correct her. “I’ll get to that in a minute. Who does Gio use when he needs someone... removed from the equation?”
Her stomach pitched and for a moment she worried she would lose her lunch all over his expensive shoes. “Why?” She could barely force the question past her lips.
Grief clouded his eyes. “Oh, baby. I hoped I was wrong. How long have you been doing his dirty work?”
“It’s not like that. He only uses me for certain targets.”
“Certain targets? Like who?”
“Sex traffickers, mostly.” It was a relief to finally be able to tell him, at least this part of it. “Uncle Gio has a strong moral code and he doesn’t approve. He says they give the rest of us a bad name.”
“How long,piccolina?”
“Ten years.” God, had it really been that long ago? Had she really been killing for a decade? Ignoring the sickness coating her stomach, she continued. “I was seventeen the first time. None of his men had been able to get close enough, but the target had a preference for teenage girls. I don’t know if you remember, but at seventeen I still looked rather young. I could easily pass for fourteen, perhaps a little younger without makeup and the right outfit.”
“I remember. You were a gangly little thing, right up until your twenties.”
“Yes. Well. I was terrified, but Uncle Gio told the man he had a present for him and he sent me to his house. I waited until we were alone, which didn’t take long. He was very... eager.” Just recalling the events brought back the icy fear that had gripped her that first time. “I had a syringe filled with poison. I don’t even know what kind. Uncle Gio provided it and I never asked. Anyway, I let him take me to bed. I was shaking I was so nervous, but luckily he thought it was just because of—you know.”
“Because he thought you were a fourteen-year-old girl and he was going to rape you?”
Hearing it said so baldly brought tears to her eyes. “Yes. I dropped the syringe, and he picked it up. I had to fight him for it. He—I thought he might kill me when he realized what I was about.”
“My precious girl. Come here.” As if she weighed nothing, he plucked her up and settled her on his lap.
