He speaks up a moment later.
"Let's finish the game," he says.
"Okay," I whisper.
"Tell me about the dungeons at your childhood home," he says.
I take a deep breath. My mind has deleted many memories from my childhood, but some events can never be erased.
“My mother kept her prisoners there," I say. "It was for anyone who displeased her. Most of them never made it out."
I vividly remember the wasted bodies and skeletons. I've seen a lot of horrifying things, but the worst of all was the room with the abducted children.
"But some did?" he asks.
"There were children," I say. "A whole school bus of kids had vanished in New York City a few years ago. My mother was behind the whole operation. She was keeping them captive in thedungeons. They were being groomed for...unthinkable crimes. My sister's fiancé helped get them out. They're safe now, even if their life will never be the same again."
"I heard about this case," he says. "Was it just children? Or were there other women too?"
"They were all kids," I say. "I don't remember seeing any older girls or women. There were other men in the dungeons, though. These were the people my mother believed had wronged her somehow. All of them were set free when there was a raid on the compound.”
"Good," he says.
I look at him.
"So you're opposed to the trafficking of human beings?"
"You must have a very low opinion of me to even ask that question."
I take a sip of the orange juice. "The circumstances under which we met and all the things that followed don't exactly paint you in the best light."
He watches me. “That's fair."
"What were you even doing at the auction, Dante?" I ask.
His eyes snap up to meet mine. There's a flare of something possessive in his eyes. He likes it when I say his name out loud.
"If I told you it wasn't to bid on vulnerable women, would you believe me?" he asks.
A deeper part of me already knows the truth. He's part of a dark world, but his heart isn't all black.
"Yes," I say. "I believe you."
"Do you think I'm a good man, Grace?"
I take a moment to look at him. Out here on this private beach in the middle of nowhere, it feels permissible to say exactly what's on my mind.
"I think there are things you are hiding from the world," I say. "I don't know what it is, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough."
Something dark blooms in his gaze. He leans forward, pinning me in place with his eyes.
"Make no mistake,piccola," he says. "I decided I wanted you the second I saw you. Even without external circumstances, I still would have found a way to make you mine."
It's like I can see right through him. Even when he's being intimidating, I know it's to camouflage other parts of him.
"Do you know who killed your parents?" I ask.
His eyes flash with malice. "Yes."
