Chapter 4
Harmony
SHE COULDN’T BELIEVEhe just left her there! And what was that about not escaping? And who the hell would want Gio dead anyway? Well, that’s a stupid question to ask. I do. She already finished her apple and started getting to work on the grapes. She explored the room, seeing that many of her clothes were in the closet. She needed more answers than what he gave her, and she’d get them. Harmony walked over to her purse sitting on the desk and pulled out some cream, squeezing it on her palms and rubbing it on her body, especially her tattoos. She paid good money for them and always wanted them at their finest. She rubbed the cream over her shoulder, gently rubbing it over the pawprint tattoo. She then lifted her leg up onto the chair Darius had sat on and pulled up her nightgown slightly, fully exposing her thigh. A garter belt tattoo encircled her leg, red lace with a classic Sailor Moon locket in the center and charms hanging down from the garter. She smiled. Harmony was a sucker for anime, and Sailor Moon was one of her favorites growing up.
After applying the lotion, she pulled the nightgown back down and walked over to the bed. She could see a door slightly ajar off to the side of the bed. Peeking in, she found a large master bathroom complete with a separate shower and clawfoot tub. Towels were stacked on a built-in shelf. Soaps and lotions—brands she could never dream of owning—were stacked in a cabinet next to the shower. The large walk-in shower featured a waterfall over jutting rocks and a showerhead that was built into the ceiling, covering the pebbled ground behind the glass wall. The huge clawfoot tub was marbled with Victorian-style fixings. Next to the tub was a variety of candles and bathbombs. Looking up, she saw another sliding glass door leading out to another balcony. On the balcony was a jacuzzi.
“I wasn’t sure what all you’d like, so I got a little of everything.”
Harmony jumped at the sound of the liquid voice that soothed and caressed like Neil Patrick Harris but had perfect Robert De Niro grit. She was so enthralled by the gorgeous bathroom that she hadn’t heard the lock click on the door and Darius come into the room. She quickly turned around and saw him leaning up against the bathroom doorway.
“I’m sorry...it’s just so gorgeous!”
He slowly stepped inside.
“If there’s anything you need, let me know and I’ll get you anything you want.”
Why the hell was this god of a man being so nice to her? Harmony stamped her foot down and crossed her arms.
“I need to know why else I’m here. You can’t tell me you kidnapped me just to pull Gio out of hiding. The man doesn’t hide, and you don’t need me.”
Darius looked away then looked back into her eyes. “It seems as though my assistant made a mistake. The man I’m after is Alessandro.”
Harmony couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wasn’t surprised that disgusting fucker had gotten into some trouble. “My sister’s boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
Now she was angry. She was angry that Sofia ever got into a relationship with that creep in the first place. She warned her about fucking him, and now look. Once again Sofia and her stupidity got her into a mess.
Harmony huffed and threw her arms. “This is just fucking great.”
“I understand you’re upset...”
Harmony held up her hand and cut Darius off. “It’s not you. It’s this whole situation. My sister constantly fucks up her life and mine because she lacks enough cognitive development to do anything right.”
She wanted to let the hot tears flow down her face, but she was stronger than that. And she certainly wasn’t going to look vulnerable in front of him. Quickly wiping her eyes, she looked back up at him.
“What did he do that you want to kill him?”
“Simple. He harmed a Don’s daughter. Raped her.”
Suddenly, it clicked. He was a master sicario.
“Who do you work for?”
“No one.”
He was quick to answer.
“It was Paola Tagliatti, wasn’t it?”
Darius stood silent, watching her.
“Yes,” he finally admitted.
Harmony shook her head. “Fucking knew it.”
“Care to share?” He quipped.
Harmony looked away, tapping her foot. She didn’t know if she should be telling Darius all of this, but something in her Sicilian gut told her it was the right thing.
“I don’t know anything outside of what my sister mentioned. The son of a bitch mentioned to her a few times if she didn’t ‘act right’, he’d do to her like he did Paola. Funny enough, Paola is an old friend from college. We met in our freshman year. She called me the night he raped her.”
Darius stood listening to her story about how Paola begged her to come to Chicago to stay with her and help her tell her father. She was very close with Don Tagliatti, he even saw her as his adopted daughter.
“When Sofia got involved with him, I didn’t know it was the same person. Not until he mentioned Paola, and I called her up, asking her that cazzo’s name. She told me it was Alessandro, my sister’s new boyfriend. I tried to get her to leave him, telling her he was no good. She didn’t listen. She doesn’t know he’s been cheating on her, and I see the bruises he leaves on her.”
Darius lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry you got mixed up in this.”
Harmony waved her hand. “It’s done.”
Harmony watched as he stood for a moment, then turned to walk away.
“Darius.” She called.
He turned back around to face her.
“What if I help you find him?”
Darius
DID SHE JUST OFFERto help him? In all the years he’d been a hired hit man for the mafia around the world, not once had someone involved with the victim offer to help him. There was more to this woman than he knew, and he wanted to explore every bit of it.
“Do you really want to help? You don’t understand the work I’m in.”
Harmony stepped closer to him, the little negligee leaving nothing to the imagination as to what was beneath it. He felt his cock grow and it ached against his Versace custom dress pants. He had to remain strong, no matter how much he wanted to unleash it and show her a good time. He sucked in his breath as she was only inches from him. He had to change the subject, fast.
“Who is this Gio you were talking about?”
She stopped in her tracks and looked away. “He’s my ex. He decided that multiple women was more his style...and he’s not poly.”
Darius felt his blood boiling. Who would ever harm this perfect deity? What sick, twisted, demented fuck would cheat on this delicate rose? Once the business with Alessandro was done, he wanted to take care of this Gio himself, with or without a contract. He could tell by the way she spoke and her manners in the little time of knowing her that she was not only beautiful, but there was a soft and caring side. The way she spoke about Gio and Alessandro proved this rose had thorns.
“Mia rosa.” He whispered.
“What was that?”
“You.” He didn’t know what possessed him to do it, but he gently took her hand in his. It was creamy, the feel of cashmere. He clasped her hand in his. “You are a rose. It’s my job to read people. I can see you have a caring heart until someone hurts you, then you pull out the thorns.”
Harmony smiled. “That’s what my mother always says.”
Darius gently lifted her hand to his lips. “You’re still willing to help even after my mistake, mia rosa?”
Harmony smiled so wickedly, he wanted to take her right there on the bathroom floor.
“Absolutely.”