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"They planted it."
She picks herself up off the floor. "They had no reason to do that."
"Oh, yes they did. You blew it, remember?" She winces, and I feel glad inside. Pleased to see her squirm. "By the time you vermin arrived to scurry around the Ruby, there wasn't a trace of anything there to find—not that there was in the first place, of course."
At that bald-faced lie, Natalie gives me a skeptical look. "If not the casino, they must have found something else."
"They found the evidence they planted themselves," I insist. "But it doesn't matter now. Myveryfucking expensive lawyer is going to get this case laughed out of court, and that's all that matters. As for you—"
I stalk over and grab her arm, steering her firmly toward the door. She drags her heels, slowing me down.
"Alessa, wait. If what you're saying is true, we need to investigate it, get to the truth—"
"We?" I whirl on her. "There is nowe."
Being this close is definitely a mistake. Natalie's nearness clouds my head, even after all she's done. Her lips are just inches away. It would be so easy to close the tiny gap between us, lose myself in her kiss for a few stolen moments...
What in the hell iswrongwith me?
Daddy was right. I should have let him handle this.
With a growl of frustration, I seize her arm tighter and tug Natalie toward the door. She's fighting me now, twisting in my grip.
"Let go of me! We can't just leave it like this, you have to—"
"Quiet," I snap. "You'll wake my mother if you keep shrieking like that, and there'll be no peace at all if you do." I drag her up the stairs and wave at the waiting guard outside, one of my father's men. He takes hold of a struggling Natalie firmly.
I fix her with an icy stare. "We're done, Agent Miller. This is the last time our paths cross. The score is settled."
Even as the words leave my lips, they ring hollow. There's no settling this score that has left us both scarred. The man drags her over to a waiting car, and I slam the door on her with an air of finality.
And I don't stand and watch as she's driven away. I turn and leave immediately. Let her be the one to stare longingly after me.
Inside the house again, I sag back against the door after I close it. Natalie's presence lingers, her scent teasing my senses. I swipe an angry hand over my eyes.Damn herfor this weakness she's awakened in me.
With a few deep breaths, I straighten my spine and smooth my tangled hair back into place. I am Alessa goddamn de Luca. I bend this world to my will, never the reverse. This is just another trial to endure, like the corrupt one the FBI is trying to build against me.
And Iwillendure it. Natalie Miller brought chaos into my world once. I won't let it happen again.
I turn despite myself, watching through the window as the car taking her home is lost from view.
There. She's gone.
And I have important work to do: shoring up my empire, yes, but also freeing the girls and women enslaved by the Mancini Family. And I have to find a way to do that while depending on the Family for my own legal defense.
It will be tricky. Very tricky.
But at least Natalie Miller is history. Soon enough I won't even remember the sound of her voice, the warmth in her eyes, the taste of her…
Soon enough I'll forget her completely.
CHAPTER6
NATALIE
I stare blankly at the swirling darkness of my coffee, lost in thought. The buzz of diners in the bistro fades into white noise as my mind replays the dizzying encounter with Alessa over and over, just like I have for the past two days.
I was dropped off back at my building. That's where they'd kidnapped me from, after all.
