Page 7 of My Merciless Don

AUDRY

My first night at Casa Cassio was not exactly comfortable. I was in a cell for one thing, a cold one. I was grateful for the sweats, but I’d have preferred some heat and maybe a mattress. Sleeping on a hard bench was not on my bingo card. Still, I curled up on myself, plotting and planning my next move.

I was in the death star and that was step one of my plan accomplished.

“Kylie? You still there?” I whispered into the neck of my new sweater, into the microphone masterfully hidden in my lingerie outfit.

“I’m here,” she replied quietly and I heaved a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t alone. You’d have had to waterboard me for at least a full day before I admitted it, but I was a little scared. Up close and personal, Marco Cassio might have been a little more intimidating than I was expecting. My stepfather always spoke of him in such deprecating terms, I’d come to think of him as weak and ineffectual.

He wasn’t giving off that vibe at the moment.

“You okay?” Kylie asked.

“Yeah. I’m cold though. They have me underground in some dungeon. The walls are made of stone. I don’t have a blanket or a pillow, just a plain wooden bench to sleep on and a tiny pillow.”

“Sounds like hell.”

I snorted. “Way to be comforting.”

“They probably figure that if you’re uncomfortable you’ll break faster.”

“Is that it? Damn, I’ll break now if they like. Just give me a blanket.”

Kylie laughed quietly, “Hey, if you don’t wanna do this we can figure out a way to extract you.”

“What? And lose to Benjy? No way.”

“Atta girl. Did they at least feed you?”

“A sandwich. And water. And an apple.”

“Nutritious.”

“Yeah. Also, boring.”

Kylie chuckled. “I’m surprised you haven’t managed to seduce your way into the master suite.”

“Yeah, me too. It’s not as if he was disinterested. I saw him looking at me.”

“Maybe he just likes to play hard to get.”

I shivered with cold. “That or… maybe it’s the money I stole.”

“Ya think?”

I sniggered. “Hey, I could have stolen company funds instead of just his personal stash.”

“You emptied his accounts.”

“Semantics.”

“Tell that to the mob boss.”

“I intend to. Just as soon as I can get him to listen.”

“Do you know what you’re gonna say?”

“I have a plan.”

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