Carlo’s eyes locked on mine, his finger jabbing the air between us. “You tried to escape. Twice.”
“No,” I shot back. “I lost control. Twice. I ran outside like an idiot, in front of a hundred-armed men, without a plan. What Tony and Lucia did, that was escaping. And where are they now? Not here.”
Carlo’s gaze darkened. “Tony runs the most powerful illegal organization in Chicago. He had an army backing his getaway. You’ve got nothing. Even if, by some miracle, you made it past the gates, my men would drag you back before you hit a hundred steps. So don’t even think about it.”
A sharppingcut through the air. Carlo glanced at his phone, scrolling through a message.
After a beat of silence, I spoke again, quieter. “I’m not trying to escape.”
He didn’t lift his head, but his eyes slid toward me.
“I’ve thought about what you said, Carlo.” My voice stayed steady. “I don’t want to live on the run, always looking over my shoulder. But if I’m stuck here, I’d at least like to be comfortable. I know earning your trust will take time, and I’m okay with that. But I’m compromising. So now it’s your turn to show some leniency.”
He lifted his head, one eyebrow raised as he studied me. I didn’t look away. I needed him to see I had nothing to hide.
After a beat, he looked back down at his phone, thumbs moving across the screen as he spoke. “No leniency until you prove yourself.”
“What do I have to do to make you believe me?”
He stood up, his full height towering over me, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. Sliding his phone into his pocket, he calmly pulled out his gun and checked the magazine with practiced ease.
Then, in that same low, commanding tone, he said, “Pack your things and move into my room.”
He slid the gun back into its holster before striding out of the room, his long steps echoing in the silence.
THIRTEEN
Emily
I’d left the door open and was lying on my bed, flipping through one of the books Giorgio had brought me. That open door gave me a sense of freedom. It’d been two days since I’d last seen Carlo. I was even taking my meals alone in my room.
Giorgio stood leaning against the doorframe, eyes on his phone. At first, he’d insisted I keep the door closed. But when he realized I wasn’t backing down on this tiny little freedom, he let it slide. Sometimes, he even chatted with me. I rolled onto my stomach, resting my chin in my hands.
“Texting your girlfriend?” I asked, playfully.
“Mafia soldiers don’t do the girlfriend thing,” he said, still staring at his screen.
I teased him. “You’re saying you’re still a virgin?”
He finally set his phone down and smirked, his eyes glinting with amusement. “I don’t need a relationship to fuck someone. Actually, it’s better without one. No drama, no bullshit. We own every brothel in this city. The most beautiful girls work for us, and the best ones are always on call. If I weren’t stuck here babysitting you, I’d probably have one of them on her knees right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “A simple‘no’would’ve worked fine. Don’t worry, there’s no label on your face that says ‘virgin,’ even if you don’t look a day over twenty.So, how old are you, really?”
He frowned. “Twenty-five.”
“Come on. Be honest.”
“Whatever,” he muttered with a shrug. “Not like it’s your business. I’m twenty.”
“So we’re about the same age. Do Mafia guys even go to college?”
“If they’re aiming to be the family’s lawyer or accountant, yeah. The rest of us barely bother finishing high school. No need. Our college is out there, fighting Giuliano and Sardini scumbags. The more of those bastards we take out, the better our grades.”
“Giuliano and Sardini? They’re Mafia too?”
“They wish,” he scoffed. “Each one runs his own little operation, but they’ll never come close to the Bruni family. Every now and then, they try to mess with us, planting bombs in our labs, kidnapping and torturing our guys, shit like that.”
He said“shit like that”so casually, like bombing and torture were no big deal.
