"Perhaps you should look outside the club and consider who else knew she was coming. She was with friends. One of them might have mentioned it to someone. And she came with a security team. Are you sure none of them leaked the information?"
"Those possibilities are being investigated."
"So, what am I supposed to do while you play detective? Do I just sit in this dungeon and rot?"
"It's hardly a dungeon."
"Well, it's not the fucking Ritz either, is it?" I have no idea where I summoned the nerve to lash out at him like that.
"Don't curse." A scowl briefly darkens his face before his inscrutable expression settles once more. "I wouldn't dream of allowing such an exquisite creature as you to languish in my basement."
He reaches out and curves his hand around my cheek. His palm is warm, a contrast to his chilly demeanor.
As he caresses me with his thumb, my body reacts independently of my brain, and I lean into him before I realize what I'm doing and pull away. Heat rushes to my cheeks as Damiano allows me to step back.
"I have a wedding to attend. Someone will bring you food and later you'll be moved to more appropriate accommodations."
"You're not letting me go?" I hate the note of desperation in my voice.
"We will discuss that when I return. Behave while I'm gone. If you give my staff trouble, you will not like the consequences."
A shudder goes through me at the dark threat in his voice. I relax a fraction when he closes the door. The key scrapes in the lock just in case I forgot I'm his prisoner. He could have left it open and I wouldn't try to leave.
I may have acted recklessly when I helped Adamo Gianotti escape, but I'm not a fool. Running would give Damiano an excuse to treat me more harshly than he already is. So far, he hasn't harmed me. Not really. I can't give him a reason to start.
So I curl up on the bed and work on calming my nerves. Panic won't serve me. I need to be a good little captive. For now.
FOUR
Damiano
Churches are supposedto be off-limits. It's an unwritten rule in our world that conflict is kept away from holy ground. Weddings, christenings, funerals are all sacrosanct. At least, they're meant to be.
The Rossis violated that today when they attacked just as Matteo and Giulia began to walk back up the aisle as husband and wife. Fortunately, we had plenty of men on hand to deal with what could easily have become a massacre.
When the Rossi soldiers burst through the door of the church along with Adamo Gianotti and opened fire, we were able to subdue them quickly and with minimal casualties on our side. A couple of Piotr Reznov's men were killed, and we suffered a couple of injuries.
My arm was dislocated, something Matteo rectified for me without hesitation. Lacking any bedside manner, my cousin was none too gentle. From experience, I know the throbbing ache will trouble me for days. Pain is a small price to pay for our survival.
Lorenzo was also hurt.
A bullet grazed his head, causing a nasty gash. It's a testament to his sheer stubbornness that he's still standing.
Both Olivia and Giulia escaped unscathed. No-one should have to witness such things during a wedding. Those Rossi assholes have no respect. They never have. We sent the women away with Reznov while Lorenzo, Matteo, and I brought the surviving attackers here to a warehouse on the outskirts of the city to deal with them.
While my cousin interrogates the other Rossi soldier, Lorenzo and I have sought answers from Gianotti,
"This maggot knows nothing," Lorenzo murmurs as Gianotti stares down at the floor. "He just got in over his head."
"Seems that way."
Gianotti isn't a hardened mafioso. He put up no resistance when we started to question him. From what we've learned, he wasn't even inducted into the Rossi family before they sent him out to attack us. He was merely a boy seeking revenge for the death of the girl he loved.
It's ironic that the people he went to for help are the ones who are actually responsible for her death. We've already learned from our other prisoner that Mario Rossi ordered the girl killed because she rejected him. Assuming he was the target of the hit, Matteo has carried guilt that doesn't belong to him.
Gianotti should never have got caught up in this mess but sparing him isn't an option.
He signed his death warrant the moment he set foot inside Santa Maria's with a gun.
