He sighed and set his Captain’s white shirt on the plain wooden shelf. “This place is top secret, but since my uncle decided to give you clearance and order you to stay with me, you will be with me for this trip.”
“Your uncle.” I kicked off my heels, then removed the jacket he’d wrapped me in and set it next to his shirt. “Luca Fausti. I do need to change, right?” I asked when I noticed the look on his face.
He nodded, and I assumed he was answering my first question about Luca being the uncle who gave me clearance. “I can change first and then leave so you can. I do not want to leave you alone with the men—even outside of this room.”
“No worries. I don’t mind changing at the same time so we can stick together.” I lifted my shirt and set it next to our growing pile. He hesitated for a second before he started to undo his pants. “Let me try to straighten this out. This place—Malum—is a…well, at first, I thought it was a military base, but now I get the feeling it’s a maximum-security prison?”
“Sì, for members of my family who have broken our laws.”
“So, basically, men who have gone rabid and can’t be controlled?”
“Sì.”
“So…death is too good for them then? They’re here to suffer.”
“You know more than you should about us, Ava Girardi.”
“Maybe, but I’ve always had an…intuition about your family. I’ve studied them so much, even took a class about them when they offered it at the university in New York, and Edna has taught me so much, not to mention all the criminal families I’ve dealt with at home, which…some of them base their families off yours… I can piece together what isn’t said. Maybe you can just call me fluent in Fausti symbolism.”
He looked at me like I had truly lost my fucking mind. I ignored it.
“Back to Luca. He gave me clearance and gave you an order to take me with you. That means…he either has something against me or you, and he stuck you with me and is not letting me off the hook here. I could have waited with the molds on the plane. Because I’m assuming this place isn’t ‘fit’ for women?”
He set his hands on his hips, his nostrils flaring.
That was when I noticed.
He was in nothing but a T-shirt and boxers. His dick bobbed behind the curtain.
Maybe that was when he noticed me too.
I was only in my bra and underwear, and water streamed down my body from the walk. My hair was almost dried but sticking to my shoulders.
His dick was not hiding anymore.
The monster was about to tear free from the fabric and come after me.
I wasn’t running.
He was so fucking gorgeous. And again,gorgeouswasn’t a strong enough adjective for him.
He didn’t rush to grab for the pants that were given, but he slid them on nonetheless, which prompted me to start moving too.
“Assuming all I said was correct,” I continued, “why are we here in the first place? Why even give Luca a chance to do this?”
His sigh was heavier this time, but more resigned. “My father challenged him. Lost his legs.ZioLuca rules the family now. The Ponte dei Pugni was attacked as we were leaving Venice—perhaps more of the family who are againstZioLuca ruling were in on the coup. I received a call from my middle brother on the way that my younger brother is here—possibly searching for a man who is brave enough to try to escape and destroy Luca Fausti.
“After the man here killsZioLuca, my brother will show him favor. My brother has been told by my father that he has it in him to rule. Add that toZioLuca telling me in Venice that my father tried to have Luca’s son and daughter-in-law killed while he was in prison. Now, from all of that, tell me why we are both going into this prison.”
He was challenging me, wanting to see if I could come up with the reasons why Luca would do this after Naz had given me the facts.
I lifted my pointer finger. “Let’s start with me. He’s doing this because he wants to teach me a lesson. He thinks giving me clearance and bringing me where no woman has gone before is going to scare the journalist out of me. He thinks I know too much already, but he’s not going to poison me,yet, because I somewhat intrigue him.”
I slipped the plain white T-shirt over my arms while I waited for him to give me confirmation or denial. The shirt was ten times too big, landing below my knees, but I didn’t complain. It was probably for the best if I resembled a guy, which was why they gave me the clothes in the first place—and why Naz had wanted the hat. I had a feeling it was for me to tuck my hair into.
“Continua,” he nodded, slipping a shirt over his head.
I lifted two fingers, then started to slip the pants on. “As far as what this means for you…it’s a little more complicated. The bad blood between Luca and your father has been brewing since Lothario was born. It just came to a head at the event in Venice. Your father refused to hand over power, and Luca had no choice but to rise to the challenge. Which he did.
