“I can’t help it. Any man in my place would make the same move.”
“Enough, I don’t want to hear any more.” Her nostrils flare as she stands, staring me down. “I want my life back.” And as if a switch has flipped, she declares, “I don’t want to meet him. If I don’t meet him, I can go back to life the way it was before you kidnapped me.”
She smiles triumphantly, like she’s found her solution and feels she’s in control of her own life for a full minute before she reads my face.
“You promised him something.” Her voice falters.
“A meet, with you, to seal the deal.”
“So, I’m paying the price for your lavish penthouse and cars and—” She runs out of material objects too soon.
“Look, it’s a lot to take in, and I’m sorry, truly, but it needs to be done.” I take the folder from her, put it in my desk, lock it with a push of a button, and get up.
My wall of indifference is up. I can’t let emotions and consequences of what this will do to her life interfere with my family’s objective. The port is worth billions in new revenue for us as they run it like a military operation, right under the noses of authorities who are either bought or threatened.
“I thought you were better than this, Dante,” she whispers before she turns to go, but she stops at the door. “You’ll not have me again. I deserve more . . . so much more.”
I can hear her voice waver and I can tell she’s close to tears, but she refuses to let me see them. With that, she squares her shoulders and walks from the room with her head held high to turn in for the night.
In my heart, I have a bad feeling, but a deal with the worst devil in the world is still a deal. The meet has to happen or it’s certain war. I poked the bear, now the bear wants more than the bear can have, and he might have to be put down.
How did I get into this mess? Women and children were never on my list of targets until I discovered Conti’s secret. I run my hand over my stubbled chin. My phone vibrates and it’s Alessia. I look at the name for a couple of rings, then answer.
“Sure, I’ll be on the road in a few and let you know where to find me.”
She’s lonely and I let her down hard the last time we spoke. I think if I see her and tell her I’ve found someone else, even if that’s a lie, she’ll move on. Sometimes people just need a push in the right direction.
I call out to Flavio, to let him know I’ll be back in a few hours, and he acknowledges.
I go to the old garage beside the house, open the door, and I smile. Time for my yellow Lamborghini Aventador.
I slide into it and listen to the engine purr as I throw it in gear. This will be a good way to take my mind off the only woman I can’t have, the woman who could bring down my empire, the woman who makes my cock jump while I’m just watching her shopping for Christ’s sake. The woman who dares to challenge me. The woman who secretly makes me smile, but I have to hide it to keep her safe, to keep us both safe.
My headlights swivel around the narrow turns as I make my way down the mountainside. Oncoming traffic is honking at me for drifting over the median and I cross back into my lane. One would think I had a death wish, but it’s just what I do to feel a thrill that’s not related to work.
Now, as I take each dangerous bend, I’m kicking myself for ruining Juliet’s life. No matter what the outcome is, she will never have a normal existence and will be forever looking over her shoulder as long as Conti is alive. And it’s all my fault for setting this in motion.
I pull into a pub that I like in downtown Florence. The locals frequent it and there aren’t many tourists. It’s a casual pizza, beer, and wine joint, and I know Alessia would rather go to a fancier place where we can be seen, but I’m just not in the mood.
We greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and take a seat.
“Dante,” she puts her hand on mine, “I’ve missed you. What have you been up to?”
I spread my hands in appeal. “Work. It’s been very busy. I got some new contracts for renovating an apartment building, and my bother got a few new clients redoing multi-million condos along the River.”
“That’s great, but you need a vacation.” She lets her shoulders slump forward as she gives a tiny laugh, a subtle suggestion that she wants to have a weekend shopping getaway with me.
It’s fine, we’ve known each other a few years, so she needs to get something out of our arrangement before I cut her loose. I’m just not that into her anymore.
It’s hard to focus on the conversation with Alessia. The afternoon with Juliet keeps replaying in my head like a slow-motion movie, with me grabbing her thighs, lifting her, holding her against the wall. I’m quite impressed with my muscles to hold her up that long and I’m amazed that I didn’t break my cock because we were going at it so hard and so fast. Truth be told, I found it exciting to dominate her so much. Maybe I’m more of a control freak than I imagined.
“Let’s go out, the night’s young.” Alessia nudges me.
“You want a beer?” She knows me, so this will tell her I’ve made up my mind that I want to hang here for now.
I’m not sure why I even agreed to see her this evening. Maybe it’s because I need to distance myself from Juliet and I talked myself into the belief that if I dipped my dick in someone else, I’d forget her. Not a chance. As I slide back into my chair, I rest my index finger on my chin and take in the woman sitting across from me. She’s perfect, model quality, and I should be putting a ring on her finger, but I can’t.
I want someone real, someone with goals, that special someone currently sleeping under my roof. And now, I have to figure out how to not only keep her for myself but keep her safe.