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I’m about to pluck Stephen King’sItfrom its slot when a series of books set behind glass catches my eye or rather the author’s name on the covers. “SignoreCalvano has read all of your books and keeps them here as a source of pride,” Alto answers the curious tilt of my head.
My head whips in his direction, my eyes wide in disbelief. Emiliano Calvano, don of the Roma mafia, murderer, drug trafficker, and no telling what else, reads Rom-Com?
“No,” Alto laughs, and I realize I asked the question out loud. “He readsyourRom Com.” I smile at how the words “Rom Com” sound in his heavy accent, but my smile drops when I feel rather than see him enter the room. Like a cloud drifting over the sun, his presence sends a shadow over my soul and a shiver up my spine, and I can’t seem to dislike the feeling. Because while there’s trepidation, there’s also the excitement of danger, the thrill of the fight. It’s the same feeling I would get before I sparred with my trainer–– only my clit never tingled, my nipples never begged to be sucked, and my heart never pounded like a jackhammer in my chest when my trainer stepped in the room. In fact, no other man haseverelicited the type of reaction that Emiliano’s mere presence does.
“Mia perla, how are you feeling?” His deep, sultry accent makes little fireworks explode under my skin.
Taking a calming breath, I prepare to face his golden eyes, strong jaw, and unruly black curls. But when I turn to face him, there’s no amount of preparation that can ready me for the look of possession and genuine concern in those eyes. Or the pinch in my chest and the profound pull of desire for the bad man.
I square my shoulders and wince with the deep ache in my wound. “Sore, but otherwise fine.”
“Fine,” he mumbles with a smile. “Is that code for ‘notso good’?”
“No, it’s not,” I guffaw. “Not all women are passive-aggressive, Mr. Calvano. If I say I’m fine, it means I’m not great, but I’m not bad. I’m … fine. And if you knew me like you say you do, then you would know that.” I finish with a lift of my chin.
He lifts his hands in surrender, a placating smile perched on his handsome face.Jerk.“You’re right. You have always been, how do you say?” He contemplates for a second. “A straight shooter,” he finishes, and for some reason, I find the statement hilarious.
Laughter explodes from my lungs, and two of the three men stand silently amused as I get out all my giggles. The man behind a smiling Emiliano––Boian, I believe––stands completely emotionless. I’m sure I look insane, but I don’t care. It feels goodto laugh.
I wipe my eyes and take deep breaths to calm my laughter. “Sorry. I’m not sure why that tickled me so much.” With one last deep breath, I compose myself. “Alto said you wanted to speakwith me?”
A still smiling Emiliano steps forward. “Yes…” He pauses when his eyes zero in on my injured arm. “Why are you not wearing your sling?”
I roll my eyes. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Did Alto tattle on me?” I turn to my guard. “You know what they say, Alto. Snitches get stitches.”
Alto chuckles. “It was not me,my dear.”
With narrowed eyes, Emiliano looks between Alto and me before he schools his features and decides that my arm is a battle for another day. “Vasile… Sebastian escaped, thanks to the help of an army.” My heart plummets to my stomach, and I have to swallow around the lump in my throat. “An army that couldn’t have beenhis men.”
“Why do yousay that?”
“Because we slaughtered every man in his employ,” Boian answers without remorse, and when his words should sicken me, I feel nothing but a sense of justice. “Is there anything you remember from your timewith him?”
“Such as?”
“Building alliances, locations he may own, people in government he may have in his pocket?” Boian clarifies, and I mentally curse myself when nothing immediately comesto mind.
I begin pacing the length of the library as I try to think of anything useful but still come up blank. Sebastian may have said I was involved with the business, but he never disclosed any details. Granted, I found out he was full of shit, but I wish he had told me something. The name of an ally, co-conspirator…
I halt in my pacing when It hits me like a brick to the head. I swing around to face the three men. “What about a woman? Was a woman among the dead the day you came for me?”
Three sets of eyes look from one to the other. “We aren’t in the business of killing women andchildren.”
“So that’s a no.”
“What are you getting at,mia perla?” Emiliano asks impatiently.
“Sebastian had a maid. No, she was more like an assistant.”
“Like Camil?”
I shrug, not recognizing the name. “I don’t know. This woman was in charge of taking care of my needs and setting appointments for Sebastian. She sometimes brought him paperwork to sign and even gave his men orders in his absence. More importantly, she was in love with him. He didn’t show any signs of feeling the same, but he obviously trusted her.”
“You think she orchestrated the attack?” Boian asks, his tone dripping with disbelief that makes myback rise.
“Don’t underestimate what a woman would do for the man she loves.” I turn my back on the man and address Emiliano and Alto instead. “Think about it. Sebastian always thought ahead. I would bet he was counting on his enemies dismissing the idea or being completely blind to the possibility that awomancould pull off an escape of this magnitude.” To punctuate my point, I approach the sizable violet-eyed man. “And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.” I stare at him with a condescending smirk before turning back to Emiliano. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. Find Maria Rossi, and you may find Sebastian.”
Emiliano studies me for a moment before looking to his second-in-command. “Do as she says. Keep looking for Vasile but add Rossi tothe list.”
