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He gives a soft chuckle, and leans forward again to cup my chin in his hand, leaning down so his face is only a few inches from mine again. What is it with this man and always being so damn close to me? “You know, if anyone else kicked me in the head like that and fled, I’d have hunted them down and beat their ass,” he tells me casually. “But you, my little mouse, have done the exact thing I thought you would, and you’ve shown me that you’re not so timid and quiet like everyone would believe. Good thing for you, I’m in a forgiving mood where you’re concerned at the moment, but try it again, and my goodwill will be a thing of the past. Understood?” I stare at him, saying nothing. His lips tilt up as he murmurs, “Now go to sleep so I can get some work done,Giulia.”
I go completely still. And I know it’s my own damn fault for saying it out loud over his shoulder. I silently curse myself, but force myself to reply, “Since you know my name, then I think it’s only fair that I know yours.”
He doesn’t respond right away, just watches me. Until finally, he replies with a hint of amusement, “Nico Armani.”
I manage to not react, barely. I know exactly who this man is, and how dangerous he can be. I’ve overheard my father and brothers talking about him many times. My family is second behind the Armani empire and it’s rumored that he murdered his parents in a fit of rage one night.
If I didn’t know I needed to get out of here before, I definitely do now. Nico Armani may be good looking, but he’s the devil himself, and nothing good will come from me staying here.
He thankfully lets go of my chin, straightens, and backs away. Then he says, “Get some sleep,topolina. And if you behave, I’ll come back and release you.” Then he turns and walks away. I hear the door shut, the key in the lock, and then the click of it echoing through the room.
I immediately get to work on trying to get free of the tie. Unknown to my captor, this isn’t the first time I’ve been tied down, and I’m very adept at getting loose. I just have to pray he doesn’t realize it and come back.
I have some secret passageways to find, because I’m getting out of here as soon as I can.
CHAPTER11
Nico
My fist smashesinto Alonso’s face again, though he barely makes a sound. No, the motherfucker is pretty much done. His face looks like ground meat at this point, and his body drips with blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids that I don’t care to think about. He knows he’s as good as dead, and he gave up those who helped him almost as soon as we got started. The fucking pussy couldn’t even hold out for longer than a few punches.
I step back and away from him, barely having broken a sweat, and order Dante, “Finish him.” While I would normally be the one to deal the kill shot into his pathetic skull, I won’t waste one of my bullets on this pathetic piece of shit. Dante doesn’t hesitate as he lifts his gun and fires right between Alonso’s eyes. His body swings from the chains holding him up, and I gesture at Tomasso to get this place cleaned up. He moves forward without a word.
I go up the old stone steps that lead to the basement, coming out into an open room we use for storage. My father tended toward the dramatic, wanting to hide even the torture room. Or the dungeon as he used to call it, the crazy bastard. Still, he hid it away behind a false wall so one of the staff wouldn’t accidentally stumble onto it.
As far as I’m concerned, if any of my staff are stupid enough to come down here when myself or my men head down, then they deserve to witness everything, and then they can join whatever bastard is down there. A clear message to anyone else that wants to stick their noses where they shouldn’t be.
Dante comes out behind me moments later and says, “Eion contacted me while we were dealing with the fuckwad in there. Says he has some more information for us and is wondering if we can meet in an hour. He has a contact that will get him into the library again.”
“Fine. I’ll get changed and we’ll head over there in half an hour.” Dante nods and we walk out in silence.
Though before long, Dante casts a sideways glance at me and asks, “So how’s your little prisoner doing? Heard she tried to make a grand escape today.” There’s a thread of amusement in his voice that I ignore.
“She did, but she didn’t get farther than my office. She’s currently tied to the bed.”
He snorts. “Bet she’s loving that.”
I shrug, uncaring. “I also have her name,” I add, making him turn his head to look at me sharply.
“You do? How did you manage that?” he demands.
I let a small smirk pull at my lips. “She was quite annoyed at herself for getting caught, and muttered it under her breath. Her name is Giulia De Luca. So now your job is to find out everything else you can about her now that we have a name.”
He pulls out his phone. “And does she know who you are?”
“She does. Though I’m not sure that she knows who I am, considering her blank stare when I said it. Though, I suppose it doesn’t matter. She’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Something tells me that if she’s a De Luca, she knows exactly who you are and she’s trying to play it cool. I doubt those fuckers are quiet when they curse your name.”
On that we can agree. And it seems my little mouse is very adept at hiding her thoughts and feelings. Eventually, I probably could persuade her to tell me all about her family’s secrets, but I doubt she’d know much. Those men and their views on women are well known, so they would make sure she doesn’t know anything they don’t want her to. Especially their business deals and my association with them.
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave,” I tell Dante absently as I head for my wing of the house. I pull out my phone to look in on my little mouse. Or, rather, Giulia. Though I doubt I’ll be calling her that much.
I narrow my eyes when the camera comes on screen and I see an empty bed. Anger burns in my gut as I start flipping through the screens trying to figure out where she’s gone. When I don’t see her, I shove my phone in my pocket and head up the steps to her room. If someone let her go, more people are going to die today. I angrily unlock the door and shove it open, but shut and lock it quietly behind me. If she is still in here, no point in announcing my presence, or letting her think she can try to escape again.
I immediately head for the closet, but unsurprisingly don’t find her there. I head to the stairs for the library. When I get to the top of the steps, I check around the sitting area before heading down the hallway to the final room. And that’s where I find her. She’s curled up against one of the shelves, fast asleep, and her arms wrapped around herself protectively.
I frown as I stare at her. Especially when I see the red mark on her wrist from where she must have worked to get out of the tie. Damn foolish woman. Why the hell does she want to sleep with a bunch of books instead of a comfy bed? I have half a mind to put her back there, but instead, I grab one of the reading blankets off the arm of the couch, and gently put it over her. I barely resist the urge to run my hands over her hair, but somehow manage to tamp it down before heading back out of the room.
