“He killed my father.”
She gasps, as if she’s truly shocked. “Your husband killed your father!”
I don’t speak or nod or do anything. I remain perfectly still, fingers balling into fists now. She’s good. I have to remember she’s trying to make me tick. She wants to find a reason to hurt me—make me crack.
“That is some foul shit,” she laughs, rounding her finger around the rim of her glass. She sits back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other and showing off her heels. “I didn’t care about my father, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt me as much if that were to happen to me. But I assume you were close to yours?”
Still nothing.
She looks down at her half-eaten food. “Yes. You were. And let me guess. Draco told you the news? That’s why you’re so keen to him? So loyal? He was close with the Nicoteras, if I’m recalling it correctly.”
Again, I don’t supply an answer.
Not that she cares. She already knows the answers to all of it.
“Sucks.” Her tone is nonchalant. She finishes off her wine then sits forward, dropping her leg and shooting to a stand. She walks to the window, fluffing her hair. “I wonder what he’s doing now? He’s probably flipping everything upside down, searching the city high and low for his little pet. Or maybe not. Maybe he doesn’t even care.”
“He cares, and he’ll come.”
She looks over her shoulder at me, smirking. “What makes you so sure?”
“He will.”
“Aw, sweet girl.” She makes a clucking noise, coming up to me, her heels clicking on the floor. “He makes you feel special? You think he’ll come in here like Superman and save the day.” She wags a degrading finger at me. “No, see, Draco Molina is no Superman. He’s the man that Superman has to take down because he’s so fucked up and vile. He makes you feel these things—like you owe him—but truthfully you don’t owe him shit. Trust me, I know all too well.”
“How do you know?” I demand, searching her eyes for the truth.
Her upper lip quirks up. “Draco has had plenty of women before you, Gia Nicotera. You wouldn’t be the first to go through the Molina Experiment. And an experiment is just what it is. It’s a test to see how long you’ll last with him. To see when you will crack and fold under his pressure, until he no longer finds you useful. Until you are nothing but a piece of meat he can fuck whenever he feels the urge.” Each sentence comes out angrier than the last.
And then it hits me.
“You were with him,” I say in a small voice, eyes expanding.
She grins, pressing a hand down on the table and leaning on it. “Oh,” she exhales. “I breathed Draco. I dreamed about him. I worshipped him. I wanted to be just like him . . . but then I realized something amazing. I realized,” she murmurs, “that I could be so much better.” She looks around, holding up her free hand. “And now I have all of this, plus more.” A light shrug. “Turns out I didn’t need the almighty Jefe after all. But I do miss that angry sex. God, he was so good in bed. So daunting yet so fucking satisfying. That’s a hard combination to acquire these days.”
I curl my fingers around my fork now, pulling my eyes away. I feel her staring down at me, and then I hear a throaty laugh come from her.
“I’m sure you think the same, no?” She stands up straight again, huffing. “Well, you should rest up. It’s been a long day for all of us. David here will be staying in a bedroom with you, just to make sure you don’t try to run away or anything. There are pajamas and there’s even a shower. Make use of it. Be the beautiful doll you are.” Her heels click as she walks toward the arched doorway in the wall that leads to the hall. “Have a good night, Gia.”
When she’s gone, I drop my fork, looking out the window. My heart pounds in my chest, my mouth dryer now. I’m pissed, and I need to find a way out of here right now, but it’s fucking hopeless. This place is locked down. The guards are all over the place. There are people everywhere, and I’ve noticed cameras in each room, through each hall.
Shit.
I’ve never needed Draco more.
24
I don’t sleep a wink.
I made use of the shower, but of course David stood in the bathroom with me with the door wide open, staring out of it. He didn’t watch me undress or wash, but it still bugged me he was there at all.
Still, I was relieved she sent this trained guard up and not that clown Alonso. He would have ogled like a fucking maniac.