Page 18 of The Sicilian Brotherhood I

He raised his palms up in surrender.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Dahlia.”

I let out another sob and buried my face in the pillow.

“I promise, I’m not going to hurt you.”

He moved closer to me but then sat on the foot of the bed, facing away from me.

“Did he hurt you?”

“What does it look like?!”

“I mean… Did he get…”

“No,” I whimpered, “He didn’t... Not yet.”

“I’m sorry,” Giac growled.

“Oh, like you care,” I snapped.

“I do care. I took you prisoner but you’re not here for that purpose.”

“Not here to be raped?”

He winced as I said the words out loud. I didn’t care. He should suffer. He should feel uncomfortable.

“Yes,” he replied, “You’re not here to be raped.”

He paused for a while, contemplating what to do next in the silence.

“I want you dressed,” he said, “You and I are getting out of here… alone.”

“To go where?”

“To get my diamond. The rest of the Brotherhood has screwed up too much to come along. So get dressed.”

“Where are we going?”

“That’s for you to tell me. Truce?”

He extended his hand and I noticed how large and firm his hands were. But he hadn’t hurt me. He’d kept his promise and he’d made sure no harm had come to me. A truce? With a guy like him? It was risky, but nothing could be riskier than spending another night alone in this house with Raimondo sniffing around.

“Truce,” I whispered, reaching my hand out to Giacomo for him to shake it.

He took my palm in his firm grasp and shook it hard. When we let go, I had a rush surge through me. This could be a huge mistake.

Giac

“Come,” I grunted at her.

She followed me towards the door, still gazing at me with a timid look as if by now she hadn’t figured out that I didn’t want to hurt her.

“We’re leaving now?”

“Yes,” I replied, “But first I need to teach him a lesson.”

“A lesson? What do you mean by that?”

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