I could feel the warmth of it running down my neck, and each small tic of my muscles felt like it was tearing it apart even more. “I need a tissue,” I groaned out. I was ignored, yet again, and dragged into a building that looked like a tower of offices. Was this where the headquarters was? Hiding in plain sight. Or was this somewhere different, somewhere that no one knew about?
Several people stood around, earpieces in their ears, their faces forward, not making a single move as we walked by them. The female agent who had tackled me to the floor back at the mansion gripped my arm harder, veering me to the left and into an open elevator.
The doors pinged shut, and then we were going up, the numbers above the doors flashing by at lightning speed. Everything was a blur as the doors opened back up. We traveled through several hallways, into a room, and then another hallway. Finally, I was pushed into a room, and they slammed the door behind me.
“Fuck you very much,” I groaned, wishing I hadn’t spoken as my lip burned and more blood trickled out of the cut.
I spun around in a circle, taking stock of the room. Three concrete walls surrounded me along with one mirrored one. I rolled my eyes. They couldn’t have been more predictable if they tried. A lone table sat in the middle of the room, bolted to the floor. I moved toward it, sitting on one of the two chairs. I was debating going to the mirror and seeing how bad my lip was, but there was no way I was going to give them the satisfaction. They were probably watching me.
I smirked. What would Lorenzo do in this situation? I’d been asking myself that a lot lately. I was who I was, and there was no changing that. I hated hard, but I loved harder. I stood up for what I believed in, and I surrendered when I knew it was the right time. And maybe back at the mansion should have been one of those times, but my gut told me it wasn’t.
The door clicked open, and I snapped my head to face it. I wasn’t prepared for a new agent to enter, so when a tall, good-looking man strode in, I raised a brow. He had that bad-boy vibe, the kind Lorenzo had, only Lorenzo’s wasn’t an act—it was just who he was. This guy…this guy was playing make-believe.
“Mrs. Beretta,” he said, his tone silky smooth. He stared down at a folder in his hands as he made his way to the chair opposite mine. “I see here that you resisted arrest while we were executing a warrant at…”
He paused, glancing up at me, then searching whatever papers he was holding. He was acting like he didn’t know, but both he and I knew this probably would have been their biggest operation all year. You didn’t execute a search warrant on a Mafia boss’s house on just any day of the week.
“The residence of the Beretta family. Mainly, Lorenzo Beretta.”
I stared at him, waiting for him to ask me a real question. He leaned back in his seat, tilting his head to the side. “What is a nice young woman like you doing marrying a scumbag like him?” I stared, not giving anything away. I’d watched enough true crime documentaries to know staying silent was my best bet. “Is it the money?” He placed his arms on the table, leaning closer to me and trying to disarm me with a smile. “Or is it the power?”
I pursed my lips, glancing around the room, acting like everything he said was boring. And it was. People always assumed things, but no one really knew what happened behind closed doors. To everyone else, Lorenzo was a lion, prowling around and taking whatever he wanted. But when it was just him and me, I saw a different side. I saw the wolf who protected his pack, the wolf who did anything for the people he loved.
“Staying quiet won’t get you anywhere,” the agent said, and I realized I didn’t know his name.
“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice sickly sweet.
“None of your business,” he said, narrowing his eyes on me and letting his fake facade slip.
I nodded. “Just like my life is none of yours.” I leaned forward, my shoulders screaming at the move because I still had the cuffs on behind my back. “I know my rights. I want a lawyer.”
“Are you sure about that, Mrs. Beretta?” the agent asked, his lip curling up in disgust. “If we get you a lawyer, then you forfeit the deal.”
“Deal?” I asked, figuring I may as well play along.
He sighed like I was too much work and taking up his valuable time. While I was over here with blood still trickling from my lip and numb hands. “If you cooperate, then we won’t charge you with murder after the fact.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was absurd. This entire thing was nuts. And then I realized they had every intention of bringing me here, whether I resisted or not.
“You think this is funny?” He slammed his hand on the desk, standing up. “A man is dead. Murdered. And not just any man, but an FBI agent.”
“Oh.” I fluttered my lashes at him. “I’m sorry. How did he die?” His nostrils flared, his hands clenching. “Is that a hard question?” I asked, feeling something bubbling up inside me. The longer he was in here with me, the easier it was to read him. “You have his body, right? So, it can’t be that hard to tell what he died of. Sorry, what he was murdered of.”
He backed away a step, his chest heaving with breaths, and for a second, I doubted myself. I didn’t know who this person was. I wasn’t in an official police station. I was here on my own, still cuffed, with no one to help me. But the fight in me didn’t wane. I wasn’t standing for this.
“You don’t have the body, do you?” I waited for him to answer, but when he didn’t, I leaned back. “So, you want to offer me a deal for the murder of someone who you’re not even sure is dead?” I paused. “Am I hearing that right?” When he still didn’t answer me, I gritted out, “I’m not saying another word to you until I see my lawyer, or you let me go.”
“You will say a word!” he shouted, causing me to jump from the way it bounced off the walls. “You’ll tell me where the agent is, and you’ll assist in the investigation. Otherwise, I’ll see to it myself that you don’t leave this room until you’re about to be charged.”
I raised my brows and shrugged. I was done talking. Not just because he was talking out of his ass, but also because my lip was throbbing so badly, I could barely stand it.
He paced the room in front of me, jabbering on like I was listening to what he was saying, but it went in one ear and then straight back out of the other. Finally, after what felt like hours, he left the room, slamming the door behind him, giving me a break from his incessant chatter. I was sure he thought the more he talked, the more likely I was to bite back, but I’d already found out what I wanted to know—the reason they’d turned up to the mansion. They were looking for one of their agents, and slowly as the time passed by, I started to piece the last couple of weeks together. Was this what Lorenzo had put us on lockdown for? I groaned. Of course, it was.
The door swung open, and I turned my head just enough to see another agent standing in the doorway. My back straightened as I recognized him from back at the mansion. He was the one who had pistol-whipped Lorenzo and grinned while he did it. “Let’s go,” he barked, holding the door open for me.
I stood, feeling my legs wobble from the position I’d been in for who knew how many hours, and stumbled toward him. If I was anywhere else, I would have spat my words and told him exactly what I thought of him. But right then, I felt like I couldn’t. I was trapped, trying to do what I was told so I could get the hell out of here.
He gripped my bicep, pulling me along through the maze of hallways again, and then the elevators came into view. We waited for the doors to open, then walked inside, all the while I was trying to keep my bubbling emotions under control. Were they taking