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“Juliana was just fine with my caveman tactics. She married me, didn’t she?”
“Believe me, this girl will be of no use to us unless we do things my way. She can stay in my bedroom, and I’ll sleep on the couch in there—that way I can keep an eye on her concussion and at the same time make sure she doesn’t try to escape.”
“You’ve spent five minutes with her, and you already think you know her?” He looked hard at me. “Look, fine, but I need answers by tomorrow. Or we’re doing it my way and I won’t care that she’s a woman.”
I nodded. “I hear Ovidio is being taken to the clinic,” I said, changing the subject.
“The doctor says he needs emergency surgery if he’s to stay alive longer than the next couple of hours. The soldiers are taking him there right now.”
The clinic was a private facility that asked no questions in exchange for copious amounts of money. In a normal hospital, the sorts of injuries we encountered in our line of work would attract the attention of the FBI all too quickly, and that was a risk we couldn’t take.
Marco continued, “That fucker better not die on us. We just need to keep him alive long enough to find out what’s been going on.”
I went back into my bedroom.
The sedative was wearing off now, and the girl was getting out of my bed.
I strode toward her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I want to go home...” Her words were strained, and she stumbled in her haste to get away from me.
I caught her in my arms before she hit the floor and pushed her back onto the bed.
I felt my temper flare.
There was no way she was going home before I got what I needed out of her.
And she could give me that either willingly or unwillingly.
CHAPTER 5
ALESSIO
“You can’t go home yet. The doctor says you have a pretty bad concussion. Someone needs to keep an eye on you for the next twenty-four hours, so you will be staying here until then.”
“I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want anything to do with the Fratellanza.” She didn’t even try to hide the bitterness or hatred in her voice.
“You’re in no state to argue. You’re staying for the next twenty-four hours, so you better get used to it.”
She frowned at me, but despite that, I could see she looked exhausted and scared.
Damnit, I couldn’t have her scared of me if my plan was going to work. Irrespective of her involvement in her father’s dealings, I had to remember that she was only twenty-one, and she had just been kidnapped by the Bratva.
I deliberately made my voice gentler. “You’re safe here. We’ve found out some more about what happened, and I believe you that you don’t know anything about it. You’ve already passed out once, and concussions can have serious complications, so we just need to check that everything’s okay over the next day or so. The doctor says you need to rest.” When she didn’t object any further, I carried on, “Do you want to take a shower—it might make you feel more comfortable?”
She hesitated, but then she nodded. “O-okay.”
I opened a drawer in my dresser and grabbed one of my t-shirts for her to put on after her shower. Her nightgown was ripped and only fit for the trash can.
I handed the t-shirt to her. “Don’t lock the door. I’ll be nearby. Call out and let me know if you need help. You have a nasty cut on your back, probably from when you fell down the stairs—the doctor cleaned it and put a dressing over it.”
She nodded at me before carefully removing my leather jacket from her body while at the same time clutching the torn corners of her nightgown to cover up her breasts. “Um, thanks for the loan of the jacket.”
“You’re welcome.”
She slowly made her way into my attached bathroom and closed the door behind her, not locking the door as I had instructed. Good, at least she knew how to follow an order.
I waited outside the bathroom door and after a minute, I heard the water start running in the shower.
