Page 284 of The Devil's Fire

Right now, I was wondering how much damage I could do to his face with a fork before getting shot by his men.

He gestured for me to pick up the check, so I obliged. I saw the exorbitant amount of money he was offering for me to leave Damiano. Still, I couldn’t help but smile as I stared at the check.

“I see you’re pleased with the number.” Riccardo remarked, content. I said nothing; my smile widened as I locked eyes with him.

And then I ripped the check into tiny pieces.

“I’m not interested. You’ll just have to get used to me because I’m not going anywhere. Whoever you have in mind, consider them out of the picture. If I can’t be with him, then nobody will because I will be going on a killing spree.” I threw the small pieces on the table, raising a brow to see what else he had up his sleeve.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to kill Damiano then?”

“Nah, he’s impossible to kill.” I waved my hand with a sigh.

Riccardo let out a booming laugh, leaving me looking at him with confusion and surprise.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Althaia.” He smiled as he got up from his seat and left the table with his men.

“What the hell just happened?” I said out loud to no one in particular. Before I could call after him, Luca blocked my view and took a seat where Riccardo had previously sat.

“He was testing you.” Luca explained while grabbing a cornetto from the pastry platter.

“Testing me for what?” I asked.

“To figure out your intentions with Damiano. In other words, if you’re a power-hungry gold digger.” He said, taking a bite and nodding in satisfaction. I let out a snort.

“Well, if I were on a gold digging expedition, don’t you think I would’ve aimed for, I don’t know, someone who isn’t a criminal and kills for a living?

“That would make sense. It would be insane if you stayed around just for money after everything you have been through. You would be one hell of a desperate gold digger.” He chuckled.

“You knew he was testing me?” I asked.

“Yeah, I caught up on that pretty quickly, and I wanted to see what you had to say. Not that I think you’re a gold digger, but many women would do anything to be with Damiano because of the wealth and power he possesses.” Luca said as he finished eating.

“Well, he could have done it differently.” I muttered.

“Your true colors show when you’re angry, which made me realize you’re kind of psychotic.” He smirked, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table.

“How so? I didn’t even do anything.” I remarked, grabbing a cornetto as my appetite returned.

“You wanted to stab him with a fork, didn’t you?” Luca laughed when my eyes widened.

“How did you know?” I whispered.

“You tend to look at things for too long, giving away what you want to do. Plus, you were eyeing your fork like you really wanted to stab him. That’s bold to do so in front of the former Boss.” Luca grinned, and my face paled in mortification.

“Maybe he didn’t notice?” I asked. Luca shot me a ‘really’ look. “I know, long shot…” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it.” He tried to reassure me.

“Easier said than done! I apparently just showed a former Mafia Boss that I wanted to stab him! With a fork!” I exclaimed.

“It’s not that big of a deal. No offense, but you’re not really... a threat.” Luca gave an apologetic shrug. I opened my mouth, about to say something before clamping it shut.

“Eh, true.” I agreed, acknowledging his point. I had no fighting skills whatsoever, at least none that could ever be compared to theirs.

“I will teach you how to be a bit scary. Though your height makes it a bit difficult.” He snickered.

“So funny.” I gave him a sarcastic smile and flipped him off. “Anyway, where’s Damiano?”

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