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With strength I never knew I had, I rip my hand out from under Sebastian and bring the heel of my palm flying up to catch him under his chin, making his head snap up and his teeth to clink together violently. He curses but holds tight to the syringe, so with a twist of my arm, I elbow him in the temple. He cries out and teeters to the side, and I’m so focused on twisting my body out from beneath him that I don’t feel the needle’s sting in my bicep until the plunger is pressed and the liquid inside sends a sickly-sweet taste tomy mouth.
I pull the syringe from my arm with lank hands, but it’s too late. The heavy pull of whatever drug this maniac created takes effect, and my limbs drop to the bed. “You son of a…” My words slur before trailing off.
Sebastian strokes my hair and looks down at me in victory. “Sleep,Piccolo Uccello. Tomorrow will be a new day, and this will all be like a bad dream.” I want to kick and scream when he kisses my lips, but my body won’t obey my brain’s demand to move.
And with a villain’s kiss upon my lips, my eyelids slide shut, and darknesstakes me.
8
Emiliano
The meeting with Bernardo is set for two days from now. After further discussion––and a fuck ton of hesitation on my part––we agreed that it will be Xander who will meet with him under the guise of being an up-and-coming arms dealer while my team and I listen outside in one of my armored Jeeps. Xander assures me that the video and audio devices he’ll be wearing are undetectable, and the gun he’ll carry is made from a unique material undetectable to metaldetectors.
I hate to admit it, but I’m relieved to have the man’s help and believe him when he assures me neither he nor the Marron House army will be raining hellfire on my home… At least until Greta is found, then all gloves are off if I try to keep her against her wishes––a war I am more than willingto fight.
My work is yet again interrupted by the low humming sound coming from my desk drawer, and I know immediately what––or more likewho––it is.
Over the last few days, “Greta” hasn’t communicated with her sisters, and their calls have become more persistent.
Pulling the phone from the drawer, I eye the wide grin of Miriam White while she flips the camera off. “They’re not going to stop. I’ve already gotten half a dozen calls from MHS informing me they’re blowing up their phones. Not only that, we’ve had to intercept a couple of calls to local law enforcement here and in Texas,” Xander enlightens me from his place on the couch across my office, never lifting his eyes from his laptop.
I know he’s right, but fuck me, what am I supposed to say? “And what exactly am I supposed to tell them? I kidnapped your sister for a debt you knew nothing about, and now she has been taken by a rival faction and has been off the grid for over a month?”I grouse.
Xander shrugs. “Exactly. Although, let’s leave out the kidnapping part. As of right now, they’re under the impression that Greta came here on a whim, then met someone. We will keep to that narrative.” The phone stops vibrating, only to immediately start up again. “Here, let me talk to her.”
“Fine. Fuck it.” I hand him the phone, and to my surprise, he puts it on speaker.
“Hey, Mir––”
“Don’t ‘hey me,’ you Italian-speaking fucker! I know some shit is going on, and I want to speak to my sister, Right. The. Fuck. Now!” the youngest sister spits, and I can’t stop the grin from stretching my lips.
Ilike her.
“Miriam, it’s me, Xander Cain, from MHS. I was sent to Rome to check on your sister.”
“Oh. Good. Where is she then?” Her snippy tone turns to one of desperation. It seems her sisters are this hothead’sweakness.
“That’s a long story.”
“Bullshi––”
“A story I plan on telling you, but I need you to be calm and level-headed, but most of all, I need you to trust me, Miriam. Can you do that?” We wait to see if the firecracker will relent.
Finally, she relents. “I trust you. Now tell me what’s going on.” Xander lets out a breath of relief and does as she demands. He starts from our love affair and goes from there. Xander plays me off as a low-level thug rather than the mafia don I am, but I put my ego aside for now. He tells Miriam that Greta was abducted while sightseeing and that we’ve been searching for her and believe we’ve found a lead.
The whole time Miriam remains so quiet that Xander has to check to ensure the call is still connected. “Miriam, you still there?”
Miriam clears her throat, and her tone is painted with vulnerability when she finally speaks. And fury. “I’m comingto Rome.”
“Miriam, Idon’t ––”
“Save it, Xander. We’re talking aboutmy sister, and I don’t care if I have to scrape together every penny I’ve saved. I’m coming to Rome to helpfind her.”
Shaking my head at Xander, I silently convey not to bother trying to convince her to stay in Texas. Instead, I extend an olive branch. “I’ll send my plane for you. It will be faster and more comfortable foryour son.”
Xander cuts aggravated eyes my way, and I answer it with a challenging tip of a brow. The man may be an asset to finding Greta, but this is still my world, and he’ll need to learn to play bymy rules.
“Your plane.” It’s not a question. “Never knew a low-level thug could afford their own plane.”
