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“This is your last warning, angel,” I tell her. “Behave, or I’m going to have to take drastic measures.”
I don’t have to outline what those measures might be since she’s already had a taste of what I’m capable of. Emilia swallows hard and nods once. I usually prefer verbal communication, but her wide, glossy eyes betray her fear, so I let it slide.
As we drive away from the picturesque town, Emilia twists her body away from me and looks out into the darkened skies. Her body language makes it clear she doesn’t want to talk, and that’s fine with me. Right now, I wouldn’t know what to say to her.
Up front, Stefan’s cellphone rings. He answers it, speaking in hushed tones, giving monosyllabic responses to whatever he’s being told. I suspect he’s receiving an update from our contact in the San Vicente police department, letting us know what’s happened to Ernesto. I won’t ask him about it in front of Emilia. It’s obvious from the way she sits, head tilted to one side, that she’s trying to listen in on the call. She huffs out a breath asStefan hangs up and continues to stare at the road ahead. He gives nothing away.
“Was that about my family?” she demands. “I have a right to know.”
“You have whatever rights I choose to grant you.”
I know that makes me sound like a total dick, but I need for Emilia to understand I am the one in charge now. Every aspect of her life will be subject to my rule. The sooner she comes to grips with that, the easier things will be for both of us. If she misbehaves when I bring her home, my brothers are going to have a few things to say about it. I wouldn’t put it past Antonio or Leo to punish her themselves. It isn’t a thought I want to entertain.
Emilia glowers at me for several long seconds and then turns away once more. I’ve got to hand it to the girl, she’s got a backbone. Few men would dare throw such a filthy look at me.
As we drive toward the airport, I finally understand what people mean when they refer to a deafening silence. The atmosphere in the car becomes so tense I worry my eardrums will burst. Thankfully, it only takes us twenty minutes to get to the airstrip where my family’s jet sits on the tarmac, ready to go. The car rolls to a stop, and Stefan jumps out.
After a quick scan of our surroundings to check for potential danger, he opens my door.
“Survivors?” I ask quietly as I step out of the vehicle.
“They took out the old man, his guards, and the household staff. Ernesto’s sons are unharmed.”
Shit. That means it could be any or all of them who betrayed their father. I’m going to have to tell Emilia about this, but not until we’re safely in the air. I don’t want to deal with hysterics on the runway.
Schooling my features into a blank expression, I turn and hold a hand out to Emilia.
“Come.”
She unclips her safety belt, slides across the seat, and climbs down without accepting my help. Before I can reprimand her for being rude, she takes off running. There’s nowhere for her to go, but I don’t have time for this nonsense, so I immediately give chase.
She’s fast and if I wasn’t in a hurry to get out of here, I might take a moment to be impressed by how well she sprints in those slip-on shoes. She makes it almost to the control tower before I finally get close enough to grab her shoulder.
Swinging Emilia around, I pull her against me. She raises her hands and I think she’s going to hit me, but she just presses them against my chest to keep some distance between us.
“Let me go!” she wails. “I need to go back.”
“You can’t go back. There’s nothing for you in San Vicente now,dolcezza, nothing.”
Her breath hitches as she grasps what I’m telling her.
“But Maria…” Her chest heaves as sobs rack her body.
Seeing her genuine distress, I find my anger dissipating. I wrap my arms around her and stroke her hair. I wish I could tell hereverything will be okay, but I can’t bring myself to lie. It seems I have something of a conscience after all.
“Who’s Maria?”
“Our housekeeper.”
It’s interesting that her concern is for a member of the staff and not her own flesh and blood. I guess Ernesto Conti was not an easy man.
I shake my head. “I’m sorry. There’s no one left.”
After a few seconds of holding her stiffly against me while she refuses to soften, I step back.
“Come. We need to get on the plane.”
Apparently resigned to her fate, she lets me take her hand and lead her to the plane. She climbs the steps ahead of me and goes to the back of the cabin, dropping onto the last seat before the partition that separates this area from the galley kitchen. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her face is pale. Yet her defiance remains. She folds her arms across her chest and glares up at me.
