Page 107 of Diary of a Mafia Princess

He shot me a glance and shook his head ever so slightly.

I pressed my lips together and widened my eyes, trying to silently convey that no wasn’t an acceptable answer.

Virginia’s warnings had scared me. I didn’t want to be the reason Dax was hurt. Or worse, killed. I’d done all of this to keep him safe, and now he was walking right into the lion’s den willingly.

I didn’t know whether to be mad at him or kiss him.

We had just reached the door when Carlos’s hand wrapped around my wrist. “Not you, my future wife. You remain behind and say goodbye to all our guests. Don’t be rude.”

I blinked at him and ducked my head subserviently, knowing that was what was expected of me. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Guerra. Of course.”

I stared at Dax’s back as he walked out the doors, willing him not to turn back around, for him to let Carlos treat me like his property, even though his fingers flexed and curled into fists.

I breathed a sigh of relief when he disappeared down the hallway without looking my way.

Mr. MacGregor’s gaze was not as subtle as Dax’s though. MacGregor stopped in front of Carlos, but his attention was all for me. “I hope you and your fiancé will come stay with us in Scotland, Mrs. Guerra. I’d like to show you my home.”

I nodded and forced a smile for the big man whose words were all politeness and charm, but whose eyes held the promise of something darker. I’d never seen anyone so openly unconcerned by Carlos. Everyone in my father’s circles spoke of the Mafia king in hushed tones, like saying his name too loud might summon a demon. We had existed only because Carlos allowed it, and I knew how much me marrying into the Guerras secured my family’s future.

Too bad they’d had to sacrifice me to do it.

But MacGregor had no respect for what was Carlos’s. That much was clear.

And Carlos knew it. I could feel it in the way he stiffened beside me. Hear it in the way Enzo spoke into his older brother’s ear, the words unclear but the tone telling me everything I needed to know about the two of them.

MacGregor had disrespected the Guerra throne. And I knew deep in my gut that Carlos would make him pay for it. Maybe not now. Or even next week.

But at some point, MacGregor would learn who to bow to.

Just like the rest of us had.

When everyone had left the room, I waited, eyes downcast, for Carlos to dismiss me.

He didn’t. He stared at me for the longest time. I knew it even though I didn’t lift my gaze from the polished tips of his shoes. The tension in the air radiated between us, and the silence drew out until he eventually murmured something to his brother, and Enzo left the two of us alone.

“Do you know what’s on the floor beneath these rooms, Nyah?” Carlos asked.

I paused for a second, wondering if it was a trick question. “No, sir. I don’t. I thought this was the lowest level of the house.”

“Then you don’t even know the house you live in. Come.”

He walked out of the room and through the laundry, down a hallway and to another set of stairs I had no idea existed because I had no reason to be down here, what with Virginia taking care of all my clothes.

The room was dark when we got to the bottom of the steps, and colder, the air changing noticeably, reminding me we were most definitely underground.

My heartrate picked up, and my footsteps got slower. The darkness crept in, reminding me of another time I’d been inside a fancy house with a room beneath the floors. My breath quickened, and I stopped dead, panic creeping up my throat.

Carlos flicked the light on, and for a second, pure relief rushed in, sweet and warm. Only to be replaced by a sinking feeling of dread. “What is this?”

Carlos leaned back on the wall. “The staff likes to call it my dungeon. All good castles should have one, don’t you think?”

The walls were lined with cages. Some small. Some big, like the one Dax had fought in at the warehouse the other night.

I stared at my future husband. “Why do you have a room full of cages?”

He wasn’t bothered by the question. “We hold women down here, if we aren’t ready to pass them on or auction them off.” He shrugged. “And I’ve been known to keep a few of my enemies down here too.” He pointed at a cage on the left. “This one is a favorite of mine. It’s the cage I held my third wife’s lover in.”

He ran his fingers over the bars in an almost loving way.