CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: WINTER
Somethingbigisgoing down.
I sit down on the spiral staircase, watching as Giovanni ushers Lorenzo and Polo into the house. He shoots me a long look and I’m pretty sure he isn’t a fan of my casual lounging. But I pretend not to see the look.
The truth is, I’d been at the top of the stairs, trying to listen to the hushed voices of Vito, Giovanni, Enzo, and Maximo. But when I’d hear Giovanni tell Enzo to retrieve me, I’d come down the stairs on my own, not wanting to get caught lurking at the top and knowing he’d see me closing my door if I tried to go back that way.
This way it seems like more of a coincidence than anything. And technically I have permission to free roam around the compound. Until Givoanni decides to take the privilege away again, at least.
Vito and Maximo follow the group and they disappear down the corridor. I have a feeling they’re going to Giovanni’s office.
The front door opens again and Lucia strides in. She’s wearing a power suit, the top buttons undone so you can see the black lacy bra that she’s wearing underneath. Her lips are painted their usual black and her hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She’s wearing a pair of red heels that make her look taller than what she already is.
The little black purse she’s carrying dangles from her arm and there’s just this combination of masculine and feminine energy that draws you into the woman as she walks. She offers me a crooked grin before looking over at Enzo, who I guess is my prison guard until the others return.
“Gio’s office?” she asks Enzo.
“Yes.” Enzo nods and Lucia disappears down the hall.
“Why did he order me down here if I was going to just be left here?” I ask.
Enzo’s brows narrow slightly. “Probably because he got tired of you lurking upstairs, eavesdropping.”
Oh.
My lips part slightly. Enzo tries to hide the smirk on his face, but he does a horrible job of it.
“Well, he could have just told me to go to my room,” I say.
Enzo shrugs his shoulders. “It has nothing to do with me. They’ll be back shortly and then I’m sure he’ll let you in on your imminent plans.”
My shoulders bunch out of instinct at that before I allow myself to relax.
“You’re getting better,” Enzo says, even as he lets his gaze wander around the corridor.
“At what?” I ask.
“At letting things just be. There’s not as much resistance or whining from you lately.”
I purse my lips, not offering him a reply.
A few moments later, voices drift down the hall and as they get closer, I realize there’s an argument going on.
Between… Lucia and Giovanni?
“I don’t know why in the hell you think it’s a good idea to leave me, of all people, behind. Oh wait, I already know the answer. It’s because I don’t have a dick between my legs.”
“Lucia, I don’t give a shit about you being a woman and you already know that. Women are just as dispensable as men in my eyes.”
“Then why in the hell am I being left behind?”
“Because it's what I’ve decided,” Giovanni snaps. “Now remember your place, Lucia.”
“I have no fucking place, that’s real clear,” she snaps at him as they come into view and I don’t miss the anger coming off of her, her shoulders tense.
Giovanni steps up to her, the tension in his body just as clear. “Keep mouthing off and this time not even Maximo will be able to get between my hand and your mouth.”
Silence.