Damiano says nothing, instead letting his gaze trail over me. He's stripping me bare, exposing me in ways I can't resist. Eventually, the silence becomes too much.
"Where am I?" Speaking first has probably handed him more power, but I don't care.
"You're at my home, the Palazzo del Sangue Antico."
A shiver runs down my spine. Palace of Ancient Blood? "Did you name it?"
Damiano shakes his head. "No, but I couldn't resist buying it when I heard its name."
"Like your brother did with his vineyard," I muse. Casa di Lupo suits Lorenzo Volante perfectly.
"Indeed."
Silence falls again. Damiano is trying to put me on edge and it's working. I scan the dingy cell. "I don't like what you've done with the place." I'm pleased my voice doesn't shake.
He quirks an eyebrow, a veritable outpouring of emotion for this man. "You're going with insolence when you should be throwing yourself at my feet and begging for mercy?"
My cheeks heat as I recall how I dropped to my knees in his office last night. I refuse to allow such weakness again. A man like Damiano won't respect it.
"I'm not going to beg, so whatever you plan to do with me, get it over with."
"Oh, you will beg, believe me." His voice is terrifyingly calm. He steps closer and my entire body tenses. Damiano smirks as he notices. "But my plans can wait. For now, I want to talk about Adamo Gianotti."
"I already told you I don't know him." I stare him straight in the eye. "Last night was the first time I saw the boy."
"He's not a boy," Damiano says tightly. "He's a full-grown man and he's a threat to my family."
"You mean Signorina Costanza?"
She didn't seem to be afraid of him last night, but admittedly I wasn't close enough to tell.
"That's not your concern. Now, suppose I believe you didn't alert him to Giulia's presence at the club. It still doesn't explain why you would help some man you don't know to get away."
"Your men were hurting him."
Damiano's gaze bores into my defenses and I wrap my arms tighter around my knees. "If you don't know Gianotti, why do you care?"
"Because it's wrong to hurt people like that."
"Oh, Violetta, how naïve you are."
"I'd rather be naïve than …" My brain is too scrambled to come up with an argument that won't land me in deeper trouble.
"Are you judging me?" Damiano waits for my reaction, and I shake my head. "Because it seems to me you disapprove of my methods."
"It's not my place to judge you," I say quietly.
He stares at me, his expression unreadable. The man is so cold I'm in danger of getting freezer burn.
"You forgot that last night, but don't worry, Violetta, I'll make sure you remember your place from now on."
His words send a shudder of unease through me. What the hell does he mean by that? What is my place? I swallow hard as I absorb the threat.
"Look, Damiano." I get to my feet and tug at the corset, trying to make it cover more of me. "I made a mistake and I'm sorry."
He ignores my apology. "Did you tell anyone else about Giulia coming to the club?"
"No." I obeyed his instruction not to share details of who his guest would be. When Paolo asked me who I was setting up Damiano's table with champagne and flowers for, I said I had no idea.
