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“Great question, Clarissa,” Claudine chimed. “I’m sure you have a husband, boyfriend, or significant other that wants some of your time, right?”
Zsanine’s brow furrowed slightly. She wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was going, but it seemed inappropriate for a business meeting.
“I’m not sure what my personal life has to do with whether or not my company can fulfill a contract.”
“It doesn’t,” Claudine answered with a smile that failed to reach her eyes. “But it has everything to do with why you’re here.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Zsanine replied.
“Zander St. Clair,” Claudine spat coldly. “That’s why you’re here.” The smile returned to her lips, but there was a tinge in her voice that was unsettling. Internally, Zsanine’s alarms started to go off. That troubling feeling occurred just milliseconds before several men stepped into the room. It was then that Zsanine saw a completely different side of Claudine.
“I’m sure your mind is reeling, trying to figure out what’s happening right now,” she said, standing up from the chair and repositioning herself on the dining room table, legs crossed.
“Let me clue you in, Zsanine,” she continued. “My name is Bella, Bella Di’Carlo. This is my sister, Bianca.”
Zsanine’s back was flat against the chair. The look on her face must have given some indication of her thoughts.
“Is that last name unfamiliar to you? No problem. I don’t mind explaining, so you understand exactly why you are here,” Bella emphasized. “The Di’Carlo family is in the same line of business as Zander’s family, legal and otherwise.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Zsanine asked.
“You’re his girl, aren’t you? You’re his newest flavor of the day, aren’t you?”
Zsanine didn’t allow this woman’s commentary to get under her skin.
“Why aren’t you taking up your concerns, whatever they are, with Zander?” Zsanine challenged.
“Because, bitch, we’re taking them up with you,” Bella snapped. “I think you’re missing something here, and maybe it's because I haven’t explained myself very well.”
Bella eased from the table and slowly crossed the room to where Zsanine sat.
“Zander… I know him,” she seethed, leaning in, evaporating most of the distance between them.
“I had him.”
That hurt.
If there was any truth to what this woman said, it hurt. Yet, Zsanine refused to allow that hurt to show on her face. This was not the time to show any sign of weakness, even in the face of extreme adversity. She was outnumbered. She was alone. She hadn’t been gone long enough for anyone to miss her, so this was not the time to show fear. This was the time to be patient and see what the hell she could do to safely get out of this situation she couldn’t have imagined finding herself in.
The smile on Bella’s face this time was wide and genuine. She was pleased with herself.
“Let me say something,” Bianca began, moving toward the center of the room. “This is not just about Bella fucking your man. It’s bigger than that, so much bigger than that.”
Zsanine didn’t hear the kind of cockiness in Bianca’s voice that reverberated in Bella’s.
“Our brothers are dead because of him. Our family is ruined because of his family.” She took another step forward, obviously fighting back angry tears.
“You are going to pay because of your affiliation with him.”
“Get her ass out of here,” Bella huffed. “I’m sick of looking at her.”
Zsanine’s eyes widened. She stood up quickly from her seat and tried to get to the front door. She was stopped and grabbed by two of the men who had been standing guard.
“Let me go!”
“Let me go,” she insisted. The men had no intention of complying as they’d been given an order they fully intended to follow.
As Zsanine was escorted out of the back of the house they’d been in, Bella got the attention of one of the other guards.
“Find her car keys. Take her car far away from here. Destroy it, so the GPS data is lost.”
“Got it,” the guard said.
Bella folded her arms across her artificially inflated chest. She was feeling pretty good. She had no intention of letting Zsanine go. She was their captive. Bella had every intention of teasing and torturing her, compelling that son of a bitch Zander to show himself.
“He’ll show up for that bitch,” Bella commented aloud. She knew her statement was true. It was painfully true. But if she got what she wanted at the end of it, retribution, and revenge for everything he’d done to her, then the pain she felt was worth it.
