AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The kind of cocky confidence you can’t fake, the one inherently bred into your bone. He comes by it naturally as well because I’ve never seen a man more composed than his uncle. At least, until anything threatens Mia’s safety, and then Carter becomes a beast wearing the skin of a man.
Ricardo, for the time I’ve known him, has never cared about a woman enough to let any cracks show in his playboy veneer. I have to remind myself of the fact as we drive, and I’m ridiculously close to getting swept away in safer fantasies where his head between my legs actually means something to both of us.
There are no guards with us in this vehicle, either; two follow in a separate vehicle. Leaving us entirely too alone for my peace of mind. If I were braver, I might actually try to push the conversation.
My nerves get the better of me, and I swallow it all down. “How do you even know where we’re going?” I ask into the too-heavy hush.
“Trust me when I tell you we’ve had our eye on Drago and his syndicate for a while now. Yes, I know where we’re going. And if I hadn’t before, then some digging brought me the address. Not to mention the letter addressed to you.” Ricardo tapped his fingers on his knees.
“But you've never moved on him, even with your suspicions? Odd.” It made no sense to me.
“They’ve never given us a reason to.” Ricardo makes it sound simple.
“I’d say moving in on your territory is reason enough.”
“It never pays to get too big that you stifle any burgeoning competition.”
“Don’t let my father hear you say it,” I warn him.
“Your father, whether he wants to admit it or not, is of the same mind. He allowed the Vittorios to get large enough to challenge him.” He flashes me a smile. “Your daddy is just lucky that my uncle is a persuasive man, and I’m an even better face of our operation.”
The car slowly pulls to a stop long enough to flick on a blinker and take a right turn down a smaller road. Only one lane this time and several driveways offshoot on either side before we come to the end of a cul-de-sac. There is nothing but trees around here. It seems this family opted not for lake views but for privacy away from the prying lights of the city near the water’s edge.
The chill in my bones has grown roots, colder and more biting than anything I’ve ever experienced as we make our way up the long asphalt drive toward the house of my nightmares.
The leash around my neck, invisible though it is, grows tighter with each tire rotation. My stomach clenches, and my gorge rises and falls swift enough to have me breaking out in a queasy sweat.
“I want you to try the best you can to keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.” Ricardo says it without a hint of condescension, and judging by the tightness in his shoulders, I’d say he might actually be right about needing this time to prepare.
I watch him compose himself, the change coming over him quickly enough that if I hadn’t been so focused, I might have missed it.
Rather than the vulnerability he offered, I see the ruthless prince ready to hold court. There is nothing in his eyes except a wicked grin, his lips peeled back enough to show a glint of dangerously white teeth, and his posture relaxed. Even his hands are dropped openly on his knees, no hint of strain.
“I will do the bulk of the talking. Limit your answers if you're approached directly to a casual yes or no. If you’re unsure which way to lean, say nothing. Even a small murmur might be taken the wrong way. There are signs and signals you know nothing about.”
“And I’m supposed to trust you to navigate me through this?” It hurts to swallow now.
“It’s a little late to ask.”
I huff in a breath and hold it until my lungs burn, and the car rolls to a stop in front of a massive set of double doors made of thick dark wood. “I know,” I tell him when the motor cuts off. “I know you’ll get me out of this.”
“Us. We’re in it together,” he reminds me.
It’s unspoken at this point, but we’re on the same page. Neither one of us knows if we will be able to leave this place once we step inside.
I swallow over the giant, rough rock blocking the back of my throat. One of Drago’s men comes up and opens the door for us, and Ricardo steps out first before he holds a hand back for me.
They’re waiting for us.
And as we’re ushered into the mansion, the show begins, and the outside world fades away into a darkness I pray to god I’ll see again.
13
RICARDO
Cheap.
There is nothing solid or sacred about this house. The first glance shows nothing of substance; it’s as though most of the furnishings came from a designer’s eye and were picked out without a care for sentiment, only gaudiness. Bigger and bolder and gold, gold, gold.
