“Who’s Antonia?”
Jesus, this is complicated. I lick my lips, tasting the salt from my tears. “What do you want to know first?”
He glances over at the man but just as quickly returns to me. “The wedding. Tell me about the wedding, I guess.”
“They wanted intel on what people were saying about Samil, if the queen genuinely loved the king or if she was after his money and title, and if we could use her against the king. We also wanted to know how easy it would be to break through your security and gain access to the royal family.”
“We?”
I swallow and nod. “Yes. We. That includes me.”
“And me?” he barks, heat rising up his face. “What was fucking me? What about giving me your virginity, or was that part of the act and all bullshit too?”
I glance at the man by the door, and this pisses Rowan off.
“Don’t look at him,” he snaps, his tone mocking and mean. “He doesn’t give a shit about who you fuck or how you use your body to get what you need. But I do.”
Ouch. Not that I can blame him for that. “I didn’t use you, and my virginity was real. I had no intention of even meeting you that night. I was to break in, blend in, listen, watch, then leave with intelligence we could use.”
“And after that?” he growls.
“I hacked into your system, changed my face on your videos and how you had it in your facial recognition software. I was given a set of IDs that could pass any security. A family that owes the Signoria a lot of money became my family and references, and I started working in the palace.”
“With the goal of…”
I swallow. Here it comes. “With the goal of taking down the king.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” He paces away from me and collapses back into the chair, his elbows on his knees, his hands over his mouth as he appraises me with disbelief and anger. “Jesus fucking Christ, Marcella. I’m the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. I knew you were dangerous. Hell, you told me you were, and I was stupid enough to believe that there was good in you. That you were under the thumb of someone else. Love and lust really are blind, aren’t they?”
I can’t stop my grimace or the way his words sear through me. My insides rattle, and my heart that was barely held together comes apart, bleeding me dry with no way to hide it. I could tell him I changed course after getting to know the family and him. I could tell him that I wasn’t going to do any of it. That I was going to kill the Signoria and Antonia.
But what’s the point?
It’s better if he hates me. Nothing was ever going to come of us anyway. Obviously. I mean, how could it?
“I knew you broke into the wedding. I knew you were up to no good. And yet I allowed you near my family.”
“I wasn’t going to hurt them,” I whisper under my breath, though I don’t know why I bother. Maybe because I can’t stand to see him blaming himself for the position I put him in.
He laughs bitterly. “Right. Just my brother then. The king of my country.”
“Is there a reason the woman wanted to meet you at the hotel today?” the man asks, his voice rich and deep.
“Yes. I have a midnight deadline to plant something on the king’s computer.” And kill him, but what’s the point in saying that? I wasn’t going to do that part of this anyway. Hell, I wasn’t going to do any part of it.
“You have to plant—” Rowan’s phone rings, cutting him off. He checks it and answers immediately, his eyes on me. “Hey. Ihave her in one of the prisoner rooms. Sebastian, this is so fucked I hardly know where to begin.” He listens for a moment. “No, you’re not coming back here. Bellamy had surgery not even six hours ago, and the twins are in the NICU.”
I gasp. Oh my god. “Are they okay?”
He scoffs at me. “Like you give a shit.”
My chin drops, and shame spirals through me along with a bone-deep sadness.
“Fine. I’ll see you soon.” He ends the call. “Congratulations. You’ve pulled my brother out of the hospital and away from his wife and newborn children.”
He stands, his gaze colder than ice and filled with a loathing there is no coming back from.
“You can explain the rest to us when he returns. As for your Jaqueline, she’s likely as evil as you are. Right now, I see no reason to help you with anything. If she dies, it’ll be on your conscience, not mine.”