I refused to keep eye contact, refusing to disrespect my wife in that way. It was meant to be flirtatious.
Between the dangerous woman and the two women staring at Stella like they didn’t recognize her, I could feel my wife harden and shrink at the same time. We were still connected by our hands, but at the Russian woman’s incessant stare, she was trying to glue us together. I kissed her forehead and concentrated on the two women who had been cruel to mine. I stared at them until they looked away.
“Tell me,” was all I said to my men in Italian.
Armando cleared his throat. “They want to make a deal. Information on where the Russians are hiding in return for their safety.”
“Getting too close, ah?”
One of them took a deep breath and rushed out in panicked French. “Oui!” Then she went on to say that it was all Boris’s idea to keep Stella locked up—and any Russian before him.
“English,” my wife said from beside me, staring at them. “Speak in English, Henriette.”
“Oh,” this Henriette said, like she was surprised Stella had a voice.
The other sister, Odette, who thought she was fucking sneaky enough for me not to notice how she kept throwing daggers at my wife, told her sister to shut up in French.
“Tell me,” I said in English to Odette, as calm as the eye of a storm, “do you value your life.”
“Yes, good, sir,” she whispered, blinking her lashes at me, playing the innocent doe part. “That is why my sister and I came here.”
“To ask for immunity for the right reasons, or because you were forced to?”
She looked me in the eyes and knew I wasn’t fucking playing. Not with two women who could have helped my wife, and by doing so, could have saved their own lives. And by doing so, just being good fucking women to another women in need. Instead, they chose to be cruel to my heart, breaking it when they attacked her for the things that meant the most to her.
“Choose your words wisely,” I said.
Odette started to cry. “I do not know!”
I couldn’t stand a fucking liar, but my wife wanted to be here for a reason. She just kept staring at them, like she was trying to forget what they’d done to her, her special things, but she was having a hard time forgiving.
“Stella,” I said, and she knew why I’d said her name. This was her call or not.
After a few seconds, she nodded, wiped her eyes with her free hand, though she wasn’t crying. “Send them to a place where they can experience the things I did.”
Henriette screeched like she was in agony. She started to speak to her sister in rushed French again. It was almost toofast to follow along, but mamma was fluent in French, and she’d taught us well. Henriette was pissed at her sister for thinking this was a good idea. Odette started to scream back at her, telling her they had no choice. Between our men, Lev and his, they were caught in a trap!
I looked at Placido, and he nodded. He gave one of the other men the same look, then ordered them to follow his lead in Italian. The men grabbed tape and wrapped it around their mouths. My wife wanted English. She’d get it or else.
Odette and Henriette were sweating, their hair sticking to their temples, and tears ran in rivers down their cheeks, their noses running.
Stella squeezed my hand. “I’ve seen enough, Matteo,” she whispered.
I nodded, kissing her temple, and then walked her back to thecastello. Her eyes were dim, her spirit sunken in, and she climbed into bed, covering herself up. I watched her, my fists balling and releasing, balling and releasing, tempted to break both of their necks. The only reason I didn’t—my wife had given an order, and linked by blood, hers more powerful than mine, I had to listen to it.
“Matteo?” she whispered after a few minutes.
“Yeah, baby.”
“I can’t wait for winter.” Her voice was even lower than before.
“I’ll keep you warm.”
“Yes.” She sighed, and it sounded so heavy, like even something that was supposed to be soft was almost too much to bear. “The first time I felt warm in years was when you gave me your coat.”
“And they took it away from you.” I kept my voice even, but I was breaking on the inside. I was breaking so fucking hard for her.
“They did. It’ll be so nice to have more than just a coat.”
