“Yes.” His eyes move to Stefano before coming back to me. “A shame.”
“Arturo,” Stefano says. “We have Gina here; she’s his security and hisprize.”
I don’t like how he said prize, and I have absolutely no idea who ‘he’ is, but I remain quiet.
“I’m ready for this to be over with so I can deal with my wayward son,” Stefano growls. He nods toward Rosa. “And proceed with our arrangement.”
Arturo looks at his watch. “He’ll be here any minute.”
“Well, in the meantime, drinks?” Vittorio eyes my stomach before lifting his gaze back to mine. “I’d offer you something, but I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Until they abort her baby,” Rosa hisses, and my hand instinctively falls to my stomach. “A pregnant whore won’t go for much.”
“Oh, you’re wrong.” Arturo’s soldier eyes me with a gleam in his eye and licks his lips. “A pregnant woman is top-dollar for some.”
Bile rushes into my throat and burns, making my eyes water.
Stefano ignores what’s being said to me—his son’s wife and the mother of his grandchild—and goes to help Vittorio with pouring and handing out the drinks to the men.
Arturo looks at his watch and takes a gulp of his whiskey. “He’ll be here any minute,” he says, taking another drink while he eyes me. “He’s waited a long time for you.”
“Who?” I ask, forcing the word out through my parched throat.
And what will happen to me when the man gets here?
A shudder wracks through me, and I try to control it so it’s not noticeable. I was chilled before, but I’m breaking out into a sweat now.
It looks like I’m not the only one, because sweat is dotting the brows of both Arturo’s guards. Then one of them holds his chest while the other pulls at the collar of his jacket, and Arturo flashes them a warning look.
I hear the sound of shoes walking on the marble floor, each step coming closer. My heart rate accelerates, knowing that when the mystery man arrives, my future is going to take a drastic turn for the worse.
I spin around, feeling like prey caught in the lion’s den, and frantically search for a way to escape. A body stumbles into me, almost taking both of us to the floor.
I turn to see it’s one of Arturo’s men. Sweat drips down the side of his face, and his eyes are bloodshot. Blood starts to dribble out from his nose as I stare at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Arturo demands, then gasps when he gets a better look at him.
The other soldier falls to his knees, clutching his stomach and crying out in pain. Both my eyes and Rosa’s are wide in shock, but Arturo whirls to Vittorio.
“What the hell did you give them?” he shouts.
Vittorio shrugs and sips his whiskey. “I call it Seraphin Extract…a nice little poison that causes internal bleeding and organ shutdown.” He nods at the two men now lying on the floor. “I’d say it works remarkably well.”
Arturo stares at the drink in his hand, then throws it across the room. The echo of the shoes on the marble floor gets closer.
He glares menacingly at Stefano. “Are you fucking double crossing me?”
“Your dogs needed to be put down,” Stefano answers impassively. “The deal still stands.”
I back away instinctively from everyone in the room. The shock that Vittorio just emotionlessly andeasilykilled two men only adds to my panic, which grows with every footstep on the marble floor.
I’m almost hyperventilating, my back pressed against the wall when the door swings open. A man—nearly as wide as he is tall—walks in. His eyes immediately fall on me.
His smile makes it feel like snakes are slithering over my skin. “Gina. My love.”
I have absolutely no clue who this man is.
“Finally, I have you.”
