Chapter 4
Anna
If I thought the fuckwad was going to deny cozying up with me at the club or getting me to trust him only to lure me out once he’d procured a lucrative deal to hand me over to the Gallinis, I was wrong.
Not one fucking word of regret, or even a half-assed attempt at an unfelt I’m sorry, Anna but I don’t have a choice.
Not that he would have meant it, but still.
Nothing ... except that undeniable smoldering magnetism that still lingers between us.
Just stared at me with those dark brown eyes that seem to look straight through my soul, turned around, and left.
Heartless bastard.
A tear slips down the side of my face, and then another and another. All that I’ve been through, and I tried hard not to shed one fucking tear in front of my sister while I was healing, but now it all seems like a huge waste of fucking time.
They’re going to get to me anyway.
I crawl out of bed and walk to the window, swiping angrily as tears continue to stream down my face. Thinking of being in his arms just mere days ago, feeling the butterflies dance before he made me come alive in the most intimate of ways.
The lights from the yachts twinkle in the distance.
So close to freedom but so far… There has to be a way to get from this ivory tower they’re keeping me in to the casino below, and out to sea.
Away from the man who once saved me, then made my world spark before learning he’d had a change of a heart due to a billion dollar offer.
If I could talk to Addie, she and her family could reach Massimo, they even have secure connections set up because of her father’s handling of his legal affairs.
They could get me onto a ship, and far, far away from here.
If I could somehow get a message out, I would have options.
But of course the fuckers took my phone.
Now, I just sit and wait for a fate that should make me tremble at the knees, unless I can find one opportunity out.
And that’s all it will take because the minute I see it, I’m gone.
I should have taken Sophia and Massimo’s suggestion to heart, and let him have his family relocate me, protect me in a different place, with a new name and new everything.
They have the connections, but I wanted to stay in my own city, see my sister, and my future nieces and nephews.
Who knows, now, maybe I’ve even brought trouble to their door.
Never again. If I’m lucky enough to escape I need to go far, far away from here.
One loud rap on the door is all the warning I get before a tattooed soldier walks in, carefully opening the door before scanning the room.
No doubt I’ll not get the advantage of surprise on anyone else walking through that door again.
He gestures to the bed. “Sit, while I deliver your tray.”
The curve of my lips is impossible to contain as I slowly make my way across the room. If Massimo hadn’t taken my pipe, this guy’s right, I may be tempted to use it again and make my way down the hallway just visible over his shoulder.
There’s no sense fighting when I don’t have the advantage though. Far better to refrain, wait until an opportunity presents itself, because no one’s perfect, even well-trained soldiers of the most notorious mafia families slip, and someone inevitably will.
And when they do, I’ll be ready.
I slide closer to the headboard and farther away from him, slipping my legs beneath my gown with my feet flat against the mattress, ready to leap if I get the chance.
He places my food tray on the table and walks toward the bed, observing me closely while making the little hairs on the back of my neck that warn you of danger when it’s present stand right on end.
Self-preservation.
Papa and Delz taught us always to rely on and pay close attention to our internal instincts.
We’ve been given the instinct to protect ourselves from pending danger, and this man looks like he could do a hell of a lot of damage in a very short amount of time.
And something about his eyes sends a shiver right down my spine.
Well bring your best, asshole…
Instead of grabbing me, something all women are conditioned to expect in a situation like this, he keeps staring at me. And not in a leery sexual way. No, this is almost more intimidating and like a bolt of lightning, it registers.
He recognizes me. I can see it in his eyes, and the dollar signs it could bring before he even says a word.
“Well, what the hell do we have here?” he says, keeping his voice low while seemingly assessing the stroke of dumb luck he’s encountered in his boss’s home and probably wondering just how he can capitalize on the surprise windfall that’s landed within his reach.
“Anna fucking Cassone. The woman everyone thought was dead, what do you know, very much alive and well.”
He waits without a care in the world, moments of silence passing while he probably contemplates how he’s going to get me out of here and into the hands of the Gallinis to get that billion-dollar reward himself.
It’s a lot of money. Even if Vincenzo pays him well, I doubt he hands over a billion-dollar payday to his top soldiers much less this fuck who was sent to deliver a food tray.
As though reading my mind he sneers, leans forward, and runs his fingers through my hair. I cringe, drawing myself farther against the headboard. “Don’t touch me.”
He laughs. “Anna Cassone, I’m going to do much more than touch you. Your father is a bastard, his daughters are whores, and now you’re going to get what’s coming to you, little bitch.”
My heart beats rapidly as I keep my eyes focused on him, trying not to say a word or let my eyes wander to the six-foot-something shadow that’s walked into the room, stealth as a panther, and has made his way behind the man who suddenly leans in so close I can smell his foul breath permeating my senses and almost causing me to retch.
The beast has animal instincts too, feeling the dark-haired predator behind him, having enough self-preservation to know he’s about ready to come up against someone extremely dangerous.
His eyes widen and his head turns slightly, but it’s far too late for him. A strong pair of hands grasp him around the neck from behind, slowly squeezing so tight that it cuts off his air supply without much for delay.
My heart races with anxiety watching him squeeze, but something fleeting passes across Vincenzo’s face and he abruptly releases the man’s neck but keeps a firm grip on the back of his scruff. “Say you’re sorry, and fucking mean it,” he growls.
The man tries unsuccessfully to get garbled words out, but I know exactly what it feels like to try and talk after being half strangled to death by a strong massive set of hands.
Lord knows Barcelo liked to see me turn a dark shade of blue.
At least it always felt that way to me, squeezing until I almost couldn’t feel a thing at all.
That’s not getting him off the hook with Vincenzo though, who now has a Glock to the back of the guy’s head. “Last chance.”
This time, the man gets his words out on a croak. “I’m sorry.”
Vincenzo smacks him in the back of the head with the barrel of his gun.
“Walk to the door,” he growls. Another dark-haired man who looks very much like Vincenzo takes the man off his hands as they reach it.
I don’t miss the gun in his hand either, forcing the guy to do exactly as he says before closing the door.
Those dark eyes meet mine, but don’t stay there long before scanning every inch of my skin down the length of my neck, and over the length of my arms. “Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head.
His voice is barely contained. “I need words.”
Fine. “No, he didn’t hurt me.” I don’t tell him the man only wants the same thing that Vincenzo does, that the whole damn criminal underworld probably wants. Bastian knew exactly what he was doing putting a bounty of that many dollars on my head.
He ensured without a doubt that anyone coming in contact with me, realizing who I was, would be enticed to turn me over without a second’s hesitation. Money talks, especially an amount like that. And he knew it would mean if I were alive, I’d never remain hidden or safe.
Vincenzo doesn’t move and doesn’t look like he’s planning to anytime soon. I inhale a deep breath summoning perhaps more courage than I have. “When are you planning to turn me over to Bastian?”
His dark brow arches. “You wound me deeply, princessa. You still believe I have ill intentions?”
I shrug. “I know what I heard, Vincenzo. And you kind of confirmed it the moment you had me drugged and kidnapped. I’m clearly in your penthouse above the club and casino, right? You deny any of that?”
He contemplates what I’ve said for a moment. “You’ve made up your mind. I don’t know if denying it would do any good. But I do know that you’re not leaving the confines of my home until I know for certain that you’re safe.”
There’s a part of me deep inside that wants to believe him, cling to the idea that he’s keeping me confined and away from my family for some reason that’s honorable, but I’m not the dumb na?ve girl I once was with Barcelo. Delz’s voice plays over and over in my mind. Trust no one.
I won’t let the same thing that occurred with Barcelo happen twice. “Surely you don’t think I’m that gullible. Did they get delayed? Just biding your time? You just want to get me to trust you again so you can finish what you started and fuck me this time?”
His eyes darken. “If memory serves you were a warm and willing partner, princessa. If I had wanted to take you that night, you were more than willing to oblige.”
My cheeks heat with indignation. Maybe I did like it, crave it even. I’m not about to let him know he has that power over me. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to get into my pants again. It was a mistake.”
His eyes narrow, assessing me so closely I can barely breathe as he gets closer. Just thinking about his lips and tongue down below causes my center to tingle. “No matter how willing I was before. I know better than to trust you now. You’re a DeLuca, and a liar.”
The enemy bends, leaning so close that I can smell the minty aroma of his toothpaste and the fresh scent of his soap.
His breath floats across the delicate shell of my ear causing a shiver to run down the length of my spine.
“I’m going to do more than get in your pants.
I’m going to make you beg me to touch you, princessa.
But only when I’m ready,” he says before heading straight for the door, closing it, and clicking the lock into place.