My stomach twisted painfully and nausea rose. Adrenaline rushed through my body. At least with the other men, they’d shown who they were right from the beginning, never hiding the type of asshole they were.
But Fredo? It was very clear he wore a mask when he needed to pretend. It was obvious he was the worst out of them all. Just like Father.
“It’s time for you to leave.”
He sucked on his teeth in the most obnoxious way. It was clear he wasn’t used to a woman speaking to him in such a manner or dismissing him.
“And you better hope I don’t tell Gio the shit you said to me. He’ll rip out your heart and feed it to the dogs.”
He grinned the most nasty smile I’d ever seen, and I took a step back, everything in me saying to get far away.
“You’re pretty to look at. Would be good enough to fuck and pop out a few of my kids, but that’s it. You’re mouthy as fuck, aren’t you?” He curled his lip in a sneer. “When you’re mine, I’ll break you in until you won’t even think about blinking without my permission, you little bitch.”
He was in my face a second later, so close I could smell the whiskey on his breath that he’d had with dinner.
“Just wait,” he seethed. “I’ll break that disobedience out of you real fast.” He reached out and touched my hair, rubbing the strands between his fingers before lifting it to his nose and inhaling deeply.
I stared at the gold ring on his pinky. His gaze was locked on me the entire time. He pulled on the locks. A sting raced along my scalp.
I slapped his hand away hard enough I knew it had to have stung. The anger on his face instantly flared.
A shadow passed over us, and I turned to see Gio standing a few feet away, a dark expression on his face. “The fuck you just say, Fredo?”
Fredo straightened and faced my brother as he lifted a hand and smoothed it over his tie. “Nothing. Nothing. Just talking with Claudia.” The mask was slammed right back in place over Fredo’s face.
But Gio could read people as if he were looking in the mirror at himself. “Is that right?” He took a step forward, getting all up in Fredo’s personal space. Gio glanced at me. “You were just talking, Claudia?”
I slowly shook my head. Fredo dug his own grave with this.
Gio faced Fredo again. “I didn’t think so.”
For as tough as Fredo acted, I could see the unease on his face as he swallowed and took a step back.
“Say good night to my sister. Tell Claudia it was a pleasure meeting her.” Gio stepped even closer to Fredo until the other man was wedged between my hulking, pissed-off brother and the railing. “Apologize for wasting her time and insulting her because you’re a piece of fucking shit.” Gio clenched his jaw, waiting for Fredo to obey.
Fredo swallowed again before glancing over at me. I could see on his face he knew he’d fucked up. Good. Let him piss his pants because he didn’t know what Gio was going to do to him.
The amount of disrespect he’d shown in our own house, and the things he’d said… he deserved a swift kick in the ass.
“It was a lovely evening. Thank you for having me, and I apologize if I offended you.”
The words were forced through his clenched teeth. It was clear his pride had been cut in half having to apologize to a lowly female.
I said nothing, just crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.
“Let me walk you to your car,” Gio said in his signature deep, menacing voice. Before Fredo could even move, Gio grabbed his upper arm hard enough I saw Fredo wince before he was being dragged away.
I stared at the landscaping, knowing I couldn’t do this. I’d have to tell Gio I wouldn’t do this. Even if that meant disappearing… so be it.
I didn’t know how long I stood on the patio, but the chill had seeped into my bones before I finally went back inside. Once the French doors were shut, I listened to the sound of the grandfather clock in the foyer ticking away the seconds.
“Gio?” I called out, and when I didn’t hear a reply, I headed toward his office.
Might as well get this conversation done and over with.
Gio was standing by the bar when I entered the room, his back to me, his head down as he wiped something off his hands.
“We need to talk.”
He didn’t answer as he turned around facing me. I looked at his hands as he slowly dragged a rag over his knuckles. Wiping off the blood. When I glanced into his eyes, I could see he was completely emotionless, a mask in its place.