“Answers. I want to know exactly what happened to the Russian woman you were telling me about, exactly how she died. And where she’s buried.”
Renzo’s pause is long enough that I have to assume he has the information I want, but won’t give it to me for free. “And what will you give me in return?”
“What do you want?”
“Easy. I want you.”
His answer makes me nervous as hell but doesn’t surprise me. I knew what was coming; knew there was no way of ending this without coming face-to-face with the monster again. I glance back at the bedroom, hating what I have to do but knowing I have no choice. “I’ll come to you. Where and when?”
Renzo doesn’t miss a beat. “Tonight. Thirty minutes. You get to the lake. My men will take you from there.”
The lake. Of course. That’s how he got onto the property. I’m already shivering at the idea of being out on that ice-cold water with Renzo’s goons. “I’ll be there.”
“See that you are, or your guard and boyfriend won’t be so lucky the next time.”
“Uh-uh. You don’t get to threaten them.”
On the other end of the phone, Renzo makes a sound I’ve never heard before. It takes me a second to realize what it is: he’s laughing at me.
“You know that’s not how this works,Principessa. You called me. You’re forfeiting to me. You renege on this little deal, I get to retaliate any way I see fit. Killing your boyfriend and bodyguard seem like a good place to start.” The weird rumbling sound he’s making gets louder. “Though, if I’m being completely honest, I was planning to do that anyway.”
Vaffanculo!I’ve set the wheels in motion; there’s no stopping them now. My war with Renzo di Salvo is coming to an end tonight. I just have to work like hell to survive.
“Fuck you,” I mutter under my breath, before saying into the phone, “Fine. I’ll be at the lake in thirty minutes.”
“Wise decision, Princess. The only one you’ve ever made.” With that Renzo kills the line.
For a moment, I stand in the dark living room and wonder what the hell I’ve just done, my heart pounding like I’ve sprinted toward a precipice and screeched to a halt only inches from the edge.
Behind me, the bedroom is silent. Alik is still asleep. I don’t dare go back in. If I do, I won’t be able to stop myself from touching him, kissing him. From saying goodbye. Then Alik will wake up, he won’t let me leave, Renzo will follow through on his promise and come after us all, and everything will get a million times worse.
It’s the only way, I tell myself. I shove my phone down the back of my underwear before grabbing my gun and concealing it beneath the waistband of my jeans. With any luck, Renzo’s guard will be so focused on stripping me of the gun he won’t realize the phone is hidden beneath it. If everything goes wrong and all else fails, at least Alik will be able to track it to find my body.
I tiptoe to the suite door, grabbing my only footwear—those stupid slippers—and winter coat along the way.
Hand on the knob, I hesitate. It would be so easy to climb back into bed and fall asleep in Alik’s arms. To just hide under the covers and pretend that everything will be less dire in the morning. But as much as I want to stay, I can’t.
What I said to Alik earlier is true. He is a good man. Maybe not in a clear-cut way that society at large understands, but in all the ways that matter to me. He’s loyal, protective, thoughtful. Passionate. Maddeningly highhanded and so committed to doing what’s right by Rina, and me, and all the other girls trafficked by my family that I can’t hate him for being such an autocrat. I love him for it. And that is why I can’t stay.
I can’t endure Alik getting hurt because of me. It’s horrible enough that Dimitri got shot protecting me, I can’t be the reason Alik or anyone else gets hurt or killed. Renzo has been terrorizing me my whole life. It’s time I return the favor and permanently delete him from mine. I need to move on, to live, to find my place in the world, free from my family’s tyranny. Once I deal with Renzo, I’ll be ready to do that, and give Alik the gift of closure at the same time.
Resolved, I steel my spine and slip out of the suite. The hall is empty. Maybe because Alik was inside and therefore all the protection I needed. Maybe because the guards are still down with Dimitri. Either way, I take advantage of the unexpected good luck and hustle down the nearby rear staircase.
Things are less straightforward once I reach the ground floor. There’s a group of guards clustered near the patio doors. They’re deep in conversation but one of them spots me out of the corner of his eye and goes silent. The rest turn in unison. I don’t know any of them, but they definitely know me.
The closest one speaks first, “Can we help you with something, Miss Sera?” He’s respectful but suspicious. Between my standoff with Alik about going to the club and the attack at the mansion, I’m sure Alik’s guards view me as little more than a necessary evil. There’s no reason to change their minds now.
I level them with my haughtiest mafia princess glare. “I need to see Dimitri. Take me to him.”
The guards share a look between them before the first one steps forward. “I’m sorry, Miss Sera, but the boss said?—”
“Your boss isn’t here,” I say, cutting him off. I put on my coat, pretending there’s nothing odd about wearing it inside, and shove my hands into my pockets. Better to hide the nervous twitch. “Dimitri was shot while protecting me. I want to see him, so you’re going to take me to him.Andiamo.”
The main guard scrunches up his nose at the Italian, but nods and gestures for me to follow.
Our path to the medical wing takes me through a part of the house I’ve never seen before. Long dark hallways that seem endless, and closed doors hiding God knows what. It’s a true labyrinth and it makes me wonder if there’s an exit hidden down here.
A rhythmic beeping interrupts my thoughts. The guard stops in front of an open door and gives me an impatient look. I hustle to join him. He wants to get back to what he’s doing and that suits me perfectly.