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“I thought their moms were friends.”
“I don’t know about that. I was warned not to get too close to Mario. He is bad news, and it wouldn’t help my career if I was considered his friend. I was to marry Abigail and our families would pull together and make sure I was given a position of power.”
“What can you tell me about the Dark Lords?” I drop the name into the conversation like a cluster bomb.
Jefferson acts as if I just killed his pet and says in a whisper, “Our fathers belong to it. It’s an organization made up of powerful men, a club of sorts, that helps one another out. I swear that’s all I know.”
“So, you weren’t involved in their sick rituals.”
“I don’t understand.”
I glance across at Clarice, who knows only too well what they involve, and I growl, “What about, Clarice? You promised her Abi’s ring on her finger if she got her away from me. What was that all about?”
Jefferson peers across at Clarice and shrugs. “She was convenient. Mario came to me and told me that unless I cooperated, his father would make sure my father was ruined and any future I had would be on the streets. He told me to use Clarice to get to Abigail and promise her the world in return for her cooperation.”
He sneers. “She was always a willing fuck, anyway, and would do anything to be my girl, so it was easy.”
He yells when Cesare punches him again and it makes me smile because Cesare hates disrespecting women more than anyone I’ve ever met, and Jefferson’s words are like a red rag to a bull.
Clarice sobs louder and I shake my head as I regard the foolish woman who believed everything they told her and I turn back to Jefferson and say calmly, “Well, Mario’s dead, so what now?”
I’m interested to watch his reaction and note the blood draining from an already pale face as he says in disbelief, “How?”
I shrug. “He was a victim of his own sick games. He won’t be missed.”
Jefferson stares at me in shock and whispers, “I don’t understand.”
It’s obvious to me he doesn’t, and he says slowly, “My father always spoke of another man. A friend of Sam who he appeared to fear.”
“Did he give you a name?” Now I’m interested and Jefferson shakes his head.
“No. I overheard him talking to Jared one day when they thought nobody was listening. They said that Sam was out of control and Mario’s father wouldn’t be happy about that but I don’t know his identity.”
“Can you find out?” I say sharply and Jefferson looks worried.
I lean a little closer and say darkly, “Let me rephrase that question. The only way you get out of this is to work for me. You head home, do some digging and find me a name. When it checks out, you’re off the hook and nothing more will be said. The recording I have of you will be returned and you won’t see me again.”
I turn to Clarice and snarl. “Same for you. Work together if you must but find what I need. Mario is dead and you will be next if I don’t have that information in hours. Tell anyone about this and you’ll be saying hi to Mario in the afterlife and like his passing, yours won’t be pleasant.”
I nod to Cesare, who unties Jefferson before doing the same to Clarice, and we stare at their shivering bodies as I say darkly, “Don’t make me come and find you again. There will be no second chances next time. All I want is a name and you can sleep easy at night.”
Cesare places my business card on the table, and we leave without a backward glance.
Something is telling me that name will be mine in a matter of hours.
CHAPTER34
ABIGAIL
When Matteo returns, I am relaxing in the tub, trying to ease the burn. It’s as if my entire body is on fire and it hurts inside and out. The beating I was gifted by Mario is starting to reveal itself, and the way Matteo tore through my body leaves a different kind of pain.
He enters the room and drops down on his heels beside the bath, staring at me with lust in his eyes.
“Hey, beautiful. Did you miss me?”
“Of course.” I gaze up at him shyly, which is a joke when I think back on what we’ve done and he lightly touches his lips to mine and whispers, “We need to eat.”
I nod, grateful for food because I can’t remember the last meal I ate and as he helps me from the tub, he wraps a warm towel around me and pulls me close, kissing me softly which banishes any thought of food from my mind in an instance.
