The taste of wedding cake still lingers in my mouth, but it no longer tastes like defeat. It tastes like fuel for the fire building inside me.
Less than two days until his deadline expires.
Outside my window, the lake reflects the stars like scattered diamonds. Somewhere in this villa, Renato Vitiello thinks he owns me.
He's about to learn exactly how wrong he is.
Chapter 6: Renato
She's potentially dangerous.
I watch Camilla through the security monitors in my study as she systematically searches her room for weapons. Most people would call her search pathetic. Nothing but a desperate woman grasping at straws. But I see something different in those calculated movements.
I see a potential predator learning her new territory.
The fountain pen disappears into her pocket. Smart choice. It’s heavy enough to do damage, sharp enough to penetrate if modified. Then the nail files from the vanity, tested against her thumb until they draw blood. She even finds the hairpin I deliberately left in the jewelry box, though she doesn't know it's a test.
Everything in that room is a test.
The cameras are obvious enough for someone with her intelligence to spot eventually. The blind spot near the armoire is intentional. Even the weapons she's collecting, I placed them there to see what she'd choose, how she'd prioritize.
She's exceeded my expectations on every level.
I check my watch. Eleven PM. Late enough that she'll be tired, vulnerable.
Perfect timing for the real evaluation.
I pocket the camera remote and head upstairs. Matteo intercepts me in the hallway, his scarred face concerned.
"Boss? You sure about going in there alone? She's been busy."
"Busy how?"
"I’m not sure. I could hear her pacing back and forth. Opening drawers. Knocking on the window. She has the kind of weird energy that makes people do rash, stupid things."
I almost smile. "Like what? Attack me with a fountain pen?"
"Like try to take you hostage. Use you as leverage to get out."
The suggestion should concern me. Instead, it's oddly amusing to think about. "And go where? You think she'd consider trying something that crazy?"
"She's desperate. And desperate people with nothing to lose are the most dangerous kind."
I shake my head. “She’s not desperate. Far from it.”
He's not seeing what I'm seeing in those security feeds. The methodical way she catalogs information. The strategic thinking behind every choice. The way she's performing defeat for the cameras while her mind works furiously.
She's not desperate. She's calculating.
"I can handle one kidnapped socialite, Matteo."
"Don’t kid yourself, boss. This one's different. You know it and I know it."
“You’re right and that’s exactly why I'm going in there. If I'm not out in thirty minutes, you have permission to intervene."
"And if she tries to hurt you?"
I can’t help smiling at that. I pull back my suit jacket to show him the gun holstered there. "Then she'll learn why that's a very bad idea."
