And as she disappears under the dark mountain of dirt, I make her a promise.
I will make them pay.
Chapter twelve Caterina
Itake my time getting ready, using the minutes to pick through the myriad of thoughts wrestling for space inside my head. Mindful of the current atmosphere on campus, I select black, fitted leather trousers, sliding my feet into my custom crimson heels. I have them made every year as a gift to myself, with a little addedextra.
The thin steel daggers, ornately carved with engraved wooden handles, slip perfectly into place, sliding into the sheath at the back of each heel. Easy to reach if I need them, but they look fucking phenomenal even if I don’t.
Adding a second pair to the thin wraps strapped to the underside of my arms, I slip on a black satin camisole and my holster, adding two Ruger-57s and covering them with a fitted blazer.
With my hair scraped back, away from my face, my eyeliner in a perfect flick and my lips painted to match my shoes, I look ready.
Ready to kill, or ready to fuck.
I was taught a long time ago that my appearance is a weapon in itself, and I’m not a fool. I’ll use every weapon at my disposal if I need to.
And it’s the look that counts. Especially today, as the whispers dog my footsteps through the campus. I keep my head high, maintaining eye contact with anyone brave enough to try to stare me out.
Nobody dares for longer than a few seconds. Even my own Crows give me a wide berth, and Vincent catches my eye as he corrals a handful of junior soldiers towards the training rooms. They all gawp, before he smacks one in the back of the head and they stumble inside.
Dom is already waiting when I arrive, leaning against the brick wall. He scans me as I walk up. “You already know.”
“Inside.”
Dom does a sweep of the room first before locking the door and crossing his arms. “Fucking hell. It’s true, isn’t it?”
Unbuttoning my blazer, I hang it over the back of my leather chair. “It is. Who told you?”
For him to be so certain, the source must have been a good one. When he hesitates, my suspicions rise. “Domenico.”
His chin tips up. “Dante V’Arezzo.”
My lips part. Dante left my apartment barely an hour ago. “He came back?”
Dom nods. “He wanted to speak to me. Gave me the heads up.”
Leaning back in my seat, I tap my fingers in a rhythm on the desk. “Did you have fun discussing my protection detail without me?”
There’s no remorse in his eyes when he meets my gaze. “He passed on the information, and that’s it. That discussion is for us to have. The Fuscos aren’t going to mess around, Cat. They want blood. And yours would send the best message.”
I tap the guns strapped to my body. “I’m not unaware. And I don’t plan to be unprepared.”
“You can’t hold them all off,” Dom points out. “I’m putting a rota on you, twenty-four seven. Four guards, swapped in and out.”
“We don’t have the senior headcount for that.” There are thirty-eight Crows on campus and only twelve have senior soldier status, not including me and Dom. The Fuscos have a little more than that.
“I’ll speak to Aldo, see if he’ll send some men down here for cover.”
“He won’t.” My eyes drop. “My father expects me to handle this.”
“Then we’ll add some of the more promising juniors to the rota. It’ll be experience for them, and I’ll pair them with a senior.” His face is uncompromising. “I’m not fucking around here, Cat. You’re taking the guards.”
I hate having eyes on me at all times, and he knows it. “That’s not a permanent solution.”
“No,” he agrees, leaning forward. “So, what’s the plan?”
I can already feel the beginning of a headache. Rubbing my temples, I talk him through the conversation I had with my father. “I need to get a handle on Giovanni. And he’s not a man to be reasoned with at the best of times. For now, we wait. He’s not even here yet. I don’t want to make a move that pushes him in a direction he might not be planning.”
