The Next Day
I haven’t felt this good in twenty years.
As I go down to the cellar, I think about the fractional shift in the dynamic between Renata and me. One thing remains obvious: it’s going to be a tug of war, a fight for dominance and control. Hell, it’s always been like that—before I even knew it was happening. It began the day I killed her father. It probably won’t end until one or both of us is dead, too.
It’s surprising how much that turns me on.
Donovan is standing guard outside Drago’s door. He stifles a yawn when he notices me. “Boss,” he greets.
“How’s the prisoner?”
“Fucker complains a lot, especially about his broken arm,” Donovan replies. “I told him, ‘What do you need it for anyway? You aren’t goin’ anywhere.’ He’s whiny for a mafia brat.”
“‘Brat’ is definitely the right word.”
“Boss, you should know that his sister was down here earlier.”
I frown. Maybe I should have thought twice before giving her freedom of the entire fucking house.
“Don’t worry,” Donovan reassures me. “I didn’t let her into the cell.”
“Did they speak?”
“A little, through the partition,” he replies. “I tried to stop her and she threatened to cut off my balls.”
I smirk. “She’s a feisty one.”
“You don’t even know the half of it.”
I walk past Donovan’s post and over to Drago’s cell, pushing the door open on silent hinges. Drago groans loudly, his body seizing up as though bracing for a hit. His eyes land on me. The fear in them is obvious.
“Had a good night’s sleep?” I ask innocently.
“Let me go,” he says. There’s no threat in his tone. It’s just desperation, pain and fatigue all rolled into one.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
“Where’s Renata?” he croaks. “I want to speak to my sister.”
“Your sister isn’t really in the mood to talk to you.”
“She came down here earlier, you know,” Drago tells me. “She wanted to check on me.”
“Your point?”
“She cares.”
I scoff. “What good does that do you?” I ask. “She can care about you as much as she wants. Doesn’t mean I do.”
“You want her,” snarls Drago. “I can see it in your eyes. Do you really think she’d accept you if you killed me?” He must really be desperate if he’s pulling out the big guns.
Unfortunately for him, all I do is laugh. “I’ll take the risk.”
Despite the lack of light filtering into the cell, I can still see Drago pale. “My men will attack if they don’t hear from me soon.”
“It’s been over twenty-four hours. What are they waiting for? A red carpet welcome?”
“My men are loyal to me. And there’s more of them than you know.”