I kept my eyes on the plate.
“Lenora.”
My eyes snapped up. “What?”
“I’ve had my face in your cunt. There’s no need for you to be embarrassed about that,” he said totally nonchalantly, as if having his face between a woman’s legs was something he discussed all the time with his lovers.
“I guess that’s true.” I frowned. My chest burned at the thought of him and his lovers — the past, future, and maybe even the present ones.
He sighed heavily, tossing the remote aside. “What now?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head and swallowed back my jealousy. It was pointless anyway. “Does my brother know you’re here?”
“Yes.”
“How did you find me?” I started eating one of the chicken tenders.
I’d ordered chicken tenders, french fries, and a chocolate milkshake for dinner. If he didn’t think I was young and inexperienced before, I was sure this meal would do it. I didn’t care anymore. I couldn’t afford to.
“The USB drive you stole from your dad,” he said. “Where is it?”
My ears swooshed with the beat of my pulse. My heart slowed down. Oh my God. Oh my God. My father knew. My father saw me steal his things. I wanted that, didn’t I? I wanted to use this as a bargaining tool. I wanted him to know what I was capable of. Now that it was happening and Rocco freaking Marchetti was sitting across from me, I wasn’t sure I wanted that anymore. My hands shook as I set the half-eaten chicken tender down. He was looking at me expectantly. There was no point in lying.
“I hid it under the mattress.”
He gave a nod and stood up. I stayed in the kitchen/living room area and waited with my heart in my throat. If he took this from me, I would have nothing. He could use this and me as blackmail. I could be his bargaining chip if it turned out he wanted something from my dad and I had to be honest. Everyone wanted something from my dad. Fuck. I genuinely didn’t think any of this would blow up in my face. He sat down across from me again, looking through the ledger.
“Do you understand it?” I asked. “It looks like it’s written in code.”
“What was on the USB drive?” He looked at me, his blue eyes no longer caring, lustful, or even scary. They were just blank — another side of him I hadn’t seen.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked, letting out a breath. “You plugging that USB drive into your computer was how they knew where to look for you.”
My heart pounded. “They’re coming? My dad is coming?”
“Soon enough, they’ll show up. His men. Adriano’s men.”
Oh my God. Fuck it all to hell. They’d kill me. Or worse. People feared death, but there were things worse than dying, and my father knew how to execute them. Adriano’s men wouldn’t be any better. For all I knew, he’d let them rape me. My leg bounced. I was fucked.
“They’re going to kill me,” I whispered.
“They won’t.”
“They’ll do worse. They’ll pass me around. They’ll rape me. They’ll let them,” I said brokenly.
“No one is going to fucking touch you, Lenora.” His eyes darkened. “What’s on the USB drive?”
“I didn’t look. I was going to, but I was too scared to.” I bit my lip. “I swear that’s the truth.”
He gave a nod, shut the ledger, and stood up. “You’ll finish eating while I shower, and then we’re leaving.”
My jaw dropped. “Leaving? It’s already night.”
He looked outside as if needing to confirm this. Instead of replying, he turned around.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we left tomorrow? No one knows about this place. I mean, you just found out about it. It’ll take my father at least another few days.”
