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By the time I go to my room to change, wash off the blood that still stains my hands, and then head down to meet Dante in the car, I’m back to business.
We make it down to the library in record time, and Dante checks Eion over before nodding at me and standing in front of the locked door. We sit down as I stare at Eion, waiting for him to give me the information. He looks tired, worn down, but that fiery determination is still burning bright, so I have to figure he’s not broken yet.
He leans forward and says, “Seamus figures that the Russians stole his guns and is planning to hit them back where it hurts by taking a large shipment they have coming in. In the meantime, he’s pulling resources to make sure the attack is successful. Which means a couple of our warehouses will be on a skeleton crew.”
“What’s in the warehouse?” I need specifics before I tell him what I want him to do for me. After all, it doesn’t pay to act irrationally in these situations.
“You have a choice. Two contain weapons and the other is the drug warehouse. Your choice of coke, meth, or heroin.”
I look at Dante, who pulls out a pen and piece of paper from his suit coat pocket and moves to place it in front of Eion. “Write down the exact locations. Including the layouts and where the guards are posted.”
Eion gets to work. I wait patiently, my mind already spinning on how to make this work to my advantage. Because if Seamus is attacking the Russians, then it stands to reason that he won’t think it is the Russians after his things this time. It could lead them right to me, and I’m not ready for that. Especially since I have so many other plans to set in motion first.
When he finishes and slides the paper across the table to me, I take it, look at it quickly, and then hand it over to Dante. Surprisingly, he’s given me far more information than I thought he would, but a man bent on revenge often takes things as far as he can before he’s dead. Because I have no doubt that Eion’s days are numbered. Either by Seamus or me.
I stand and nod at Eion before heading to the door. “Oh, and one more thing,” Eion adds, making me stop to look over my shoulder at him. “There’s rumors going around that the De Lucas are up to something. Seamus’s kept mum about it, but I heard him talking to someone on the phone the other night. Something about a woman. I don’t know any more than that, but if Seamus’s got information, then it’s probably something of importance.”
I don’t react to that, but I instantly know who they’re talking about. Instead I turn away, heading for the door. Dante opens the door and walks out behind me. When we get into the car, I remark, “It seems the secret is out about our guest. Make sure you keep your ears to the ground and let me know if anyone suspects it is us who took her. Or if anyone on our side is blabbing something they shouldn’t be.”
Dante agrees. “We’ve only had her one day, I’m not surprised they haven’t noticed her missing. As far as I can tell the family never sees her.”
I shake my head. “She got those bruises recently, which means someone does, and no one would dare touch her that way unless it was her family. So they’re getting in and out somewhere. Stands to reason someone went to check on her, or deliver something and saw she was gone.”
“I’ll have our men go back and watch all sides of the building this time.”
“Make sure they aren’t spotted. I don’t need any more De Lucas in my home as it is.”
“At least the one we have now is pretty enough,” he remarks. “Not a hardship to have her around.”
Jealousy burns in my gut and I clench my fists in my lap. What I really want to do is reach for my gun and shoot him for even thinking about her, but that would be irrational. Instead, I say tightly, “You have a woman of your own.”
He snorts. “And she’s hot as fuck but I’m allowed to notice a woman is pretty. Hell, Sofia says all the time it’s too damn bad you’re such a bastard because you’re easy on the eyes. Not as easy as me, of course,” he says with a smirk.
I unclench my fists but give him a cool look. “Perhaps you’re not doing enough to keep your woman’s attention if she’s looking at another man. Even me. Losing your touch, huh?”
He doesn’t rise to the bait of my question. Instead he replies, “Unlike some people, I don’t care if she looks at another man, as long as she comes to me every night. Besides, Sofia knows the score, and she’s been in the life long enough to know that getting in my face about women or what I’m doing isn’t going to sit well. Instead, I fuck her into the mattress every night, and she’s fine.” He grins wickedly at that, making me roll my eyes. Something I rarely do, but since it’s just us at the moment, well, I’m allowed to let down my guard.
“And apparently against some walls too,” I add drolly.
He shrugs. “What can I say? We take the moments we have.” He gives me a sly look. “Or is that your way of saying you’re jealous because you can’t do the same with your prisoner? Though from what I’ve heard, you already had a bit of a run-in with her today.”
“How a woman can be so small but have that kind of strength is beyond me,” I remark, ignoring his questions. I don’t answer to him, and I’m not ready to share my thoughts on Giulia De Luca just yet. I’m still working through them myself.
“She’s probably been fighting her whole life,” Dante suggests. “Living with the De Luca boys couldn’t have been easy. From what I saw when I took her, she’s been abused by them for a long time.” He glances over at me and then continues, “If you’re trying to get her to cooperate, you are going to have to try a different approach. She’s not going to trust you. Especially now that she knows your name.”
I don’t reply to that, just continue to stare out the window, effectively ending the discussion. There are many things I still need to figure out where my captive is concerned.
When we reach the house, I order Dante to have my dinner along with hers sent up to her room in half an hour, and then I head to my bedroom to quickly change. And as I make my way down to her room, I feel a sense of anticipation starting to build.
Will she fight me again? Try to escape? Or will she sit and watch me like she did earlier, no expression on her face as she tries to figure out her next move? Who knew that a woman showing a little fire would be something I wouldn’t immediately want to quell? Still, it never hurts to remind her of her place. Until I decide otherwise, she’s my prisoner, and that means she needs to follow my rules. Otherwise, I’ll make sure she does.
Though, she’s apparently far more clever than I realized, considering she still got out of the knot on her wrist. And I tied that tight enough that it wouldn’t have been easy for her to unravel. Next time, I’ll have to be more thorough.
When I reach her door, I stop and pull out my phone to see where she is. No surprise, she’s back to looking at the books in the library, but this time, she’s started pulling them all out of the shelves and setting them in nice, neat stacks around the room. I narrow my eyes. What is she up to now?
I put my phone away, unlock the door, and step inside, locking it behind me, and walking toward the stairs. When I reach the library section, I stand in the entrance of the room and just watch her. Completely unaware of my presence, she pulls out another book on the shelf, flipping the pages quickly, before setting it aside in the new pile she’s starting to build.
She’s mumbling to herself, but not loud or clear enough that I can make out the words. Since she’s woken from her nap, she’s clearly showered and changed again, if her damp hair and new clothes are anything to go by. This time, she’s chosen a pair of black gym shorts that hug her ass, thighs, and hips, in all the right places, showing off the slim curves and muscles. On her feet are running shoes, and a hint of amusement runs through me. If she’s thinking of running again, then she’s going to be disappointed.
