When they were gone, he pulled his cell from his pocket and hit one of the few numbers he kept on speed dial.
“The fuck do you want, Rinaldi,” a gruff voice answered.
“Good afternoon to you, too, Detective Franks.”
“Yeah, yeah. You only call when you need a favor, so what do ya want?”
“I need you to do some digging for me. But it’s very sensitive, so I need you to make sure you don’t send up any flags.”
“Who do you need dirt on?”
“Giorgio Vitali. I just want to know if there have been any, let’s say rumblings, in his organization.”
His request was met with a long, heavy silence before Franks responded. “All right. It’s gonna cost ya.”
“Name your price.”
Chapter Six
Minutes dragged intohours as she waited for Emilio to come upstairs. The room he’d put her in was larger than her bedroom at home, but it felt like the walls were closing in on her with every tick of the clock. And the worst part was Benny had stayed planted in her room for every second of her incarceration, so she couldn’t even search for an escape. Not that she would have found one anyway, but it would have been nice to at least be able to try. To feel like she was doing something other than waiting for her execution.
After what seemed like eternity, she heard the telltale sound of footsteps on the hardwood floors outside her bedroom, moments before the door swung open, revealing the man himself standing in the doorway.
Fuck her, did he have to be so damn handsome? Maybe she wouldn’t have all these conflicting feelings if he could just tone down the sex appeal a smidge. As it was, the mere sight of him gave her pussy its own heartbeat.
Eyes locked on hers, he started across the room. “Benny, you’re dismissed. I’ll ring when we’re ready for dinner.”
With a silent nod, Benny slipped out of the bedroom door, leaving her alone with her captor. There was something different about him. She could sense the power he was keeping so carefully in check, the beast he normally kept locked away prowling just beneath the surface. Was he going to unleash that monster on her?
The idea was far more alluring than it should have been.
“I have some questions for you,piccolina.” Shrugging out of his immaculately cut suit jacket, he took a step forward. She answered with a step backward. “Your answers will determine how we proceed tonight.”
Another step forward for him, another backward for her. “How we proceed?” Confused, she frowned up at him. “You’re not going to punish me?”
“I have every intention of punishing you, but not before I have the full story of why you were really in my room last night. Let’s start with this: How long has Gio been sampling his inventory?”