“Yes—yes, Alessandro, please—”
“What kind of fool do you take me for?”
He lets me go, and I tumble out of his arms, my legs only just holding me up as I sag against the wall. “But I wanted to tell you! I nearly did, that night we talked about family, about mothers… I just didn’t know how. I’m sorry, Alessandro.”
His hand wraps around my mouth, my nose, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. “Do not say my name.”
His eyes are not just glowing, but shining, as he blinks angrily.
He’s not crying, but he’s close to it…
“Not only do you betray me,” he says in a furious whisper, “you betray your own mother as well. You have no honor at all. What could I ever want with someone like you?”
I can’t stop my own tears now as they sting my eyes. He holds me there for another few seconds, then lets me go and takes a step back as I gasp for air.
He keeps his head down, pulls his tuxedo front back into place, straightens his bow tie. “I am the one who should be sorry. I made a catastrophic error in judgment.” His voice drops so low I strain to hear him. “God help me, Julian was right,” he whispers, staring at the floor. And then: “Your mother was right, too,” he tells me, his gaze moving just past my ear. He won’t look straight at me, and his eyes are stone-dry. “You should get out of here. Get away from me, and never come near me again. My mercy toward you has come to an end.”
He turns and leaves without another word.
CHAPTER39
SANDRO
The noiseof the party is a faint roar in my ears as I re-enter the room. My bodyguards dog my steps again, having waited outside discreetly while I was in there with Teddy, but I can’t see Jacopo anywhere. I don’t know whether I’m relieved or disappointed.
From the corner of my eye I see Teddy’s mother, the Ice Maiden, Monica Anderson—howdid I not see the resemblance between them before now?—in furious conversation with the Barbarian. And now I see where Jacopo has been: skulking near the two of them, listening in.
Damn him. He knows how to be useful. When the time comes to kill him, itwillbe a loss to the Family.
My bodyguards are still milling around, but with a gesture, I shed them. I head for Ms. Anderson.
Teddy’s mother.
I’m without a clear plan of what to say. Do I intend to threaten? To reassure? Or simply to tell her exactly what I was doing with her precious son for a whole week?
There’s an ugly part of me that wants to watch her learn how completely her son has betrayed her. How completely he has belonged tome.
But he doesn’t belong to me.
And she’s not the only one he betrayed.
My footsteps slow. A moment later, a hand grasps my arm, and Jacopo is heading me off, leading me away from Monica Anderson and her colleague. All I hear as we move away is the Barbarian hissing, “…so we need to get the hell out of here.” His eyes follow me, but she…
She looks as dazed as I feel.
Jacopo pulls me with him all the way across the room, saying nothing until we are in a small, dark alcove staring at a triptych of abstract war scenes under three stark spotlights. We’re alone, probably because this piece is not very good. Even I can see that, and the distaste in Jacopo’s face as he glances at it confirms my opinion.
“Okay,” he says quietly. “What the hell is going on? Why was Teddy here, and did you know his mother was—”
“Of course I fucking didn’t,” I hiss at him, wrenching my arm out of his grip. The hazy, drowning sensation I’ve had since I left Teddy in that antechamber is receding. In its place, a tide of rage lifts me up. “I should go back in there and—”
“Let’s not be hasty, Boss. Did he explain himself?”
“What is there to explain?” I demand hoarsely. “He was a plant, and I missed it.Youmissed it.”
“If you’d let me contact Messina like I asked—”
“Can’t you doanythingright?”
