Page 25 of Savage Heart

“I live here, for Christ’s sake, Alaric. I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I couldn’t speak the language of the locals. On top of that, I’d never hear anything about what goes on around here if I didn’t speak Italian. It’s just a matter of usefulness.”

Gideon Rule, jack of all trades.

Holding the invitation up in front of me, I say, “Thank you for this. I’m sure Sienna will be happy to thank you too once I get her out of there. I owe you, Gideon.”

He waves away any mention of being owed anything. “It was nothing. A quick ask, a giveaway of my best suite for a couple days, and voila! You’re invited to the party of the year. Just don’t expect it to be easy, Alaric. You may have been able to get into the Rossetti villa to kill her father two years ago, but Angeloni’s estate is going to be heavily guarded. I’ve gotten you in. Now you need to figure out how you’re going to get out with Sienna.”

“And not get us both killed,” I add with a chuckle.

With a serious look, Gideon leans toward me and whispers, “Laugh all you want, but I wasn’t kidding when I said the place is going to be heavily guarded. Angeloni may not be the kingpin like Salvatore Rossetti was and what his son is trying to be after his father’s death, but he’s vicious. In fact, I’d probably rather go up against Matteo than Lucius Angeloni, if I had a choice.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of things. I always do, don’t I?” I ask, confident in my ability to do my job like I always have.

Gideon thinks about my claim for a few seconds and then tilts his head left and right. “You do, but this is different, isn’t it? You aren’t usually riding in on your white horse and rescuing a damsel in distress.”

I roll my eyes at that ridiculous description. “First of all, I don’t ride horses, so let’s get that straight. Second of all, you can trust me when I say Sienna Rossetti is a lot of things, but a damsel in distress isn’t one of them. If I know her, she’s been a royal pain in the ass the whole time she’s been kept at her brother’s house. I’d bet he’s regretted bringing her back here more than once in the past few days. If it wasn’t that he was going to benefit so handsomely from this merger of his family with Angeloni’s, he probably would have cut her loose by now. Sienna is a handful. Trust me on that.”

“All that aside, just keep your eyes open tonight. I’ll be there to help with the Italian, but I can’t go helping you stealing Angeloni’s intended away from right under his eyes. Remember, I need to live here tomorrow.”

I lift my drink and smile across the table at my favorite cousin. “Got it. Get in, get the girl, and get the hell out without ruining the Rule family name and all you’ve got going on here. Piece of cake.”

He looks at me like he knows I’m being too cocky, but I’ve done harder jobs as this before. I just need to keep my emotions out of the job. I can do that.

I’ve always done it before.

CHAPTER TEN

Sienna

I can’t breathe in this ridiculous get-up my brother has me in tonight for this party. Not that it matters to him. My job is to look good. Breathing is optional, I guess.

Glancing down my body, I inwardly cringe at the silver dress hugging every inch of my curves. This is how I’m supposed to formally meet my future husband? Is he a pimp? Has my brother chosen to marry me off to a man who thinks women should parade around in tight dresses with slits up to their nether regions like I am tonight? One wrong move and everyone at this party, man or woman, is going to know me intimately.

When I lift my gaze to the room around me, I get the answer to my question. Beautiful women with bodies I think must be full of silicone and definitely have been bought and paid for stroll around in tiny outfits more suited to nightclubs or the beach than the home of a man Lucius Angeloni’s age and supposed standing in the community.

One woman smiles at me and gently pushes a silver tray of hors d’oeuvres toward me. “Would you like some? They’re calamari,” she says in a tiny voice that sounds like it belongs to a toddler and not a woman old enough to carry around enormous breasts that are barely being contained by the red fabric bikini top.

I cringe at the thought of trying to chew something rubbery at this moment. With a shake of my head, I beg off. “No, thank you.”

Leaning in toward me, she whispers almost sadly in my ear, “Your dress is beautiful.”

I force a smile and thank her before she strolls away to her next guest, now sure I must look like a hooker. Great. I used to live in this part of the world for a long time. There’s a real possibility that I’ll know someone here tonight. Imagine what they’ll think of me like this.

“Oh, she thought she was so special going off to some elite school in America, but look at her now. She’s nothing more than a made-up whore.” I can hear the insults already.

If they only knew how much I don’t want to be here dressed like anything tonight. I’m simply a pawn to be moved around my brother’s chessboard, and tonight the square I get to stand on is here at the Angeloni villa.

My brother’s men surround me like I’m a risk for flight. In this dress? They must be idiots. Likely, it’s more that they’re simply good soldiers obeying my brother’s orders to keep me in their sights at all time.

None of these men have to worry. Where would I be able to go in this dress? Two steps and every guest here will see what only a few select men in my life have laid eyes on.

My mind drifts to the question of whether Alaric even knows I’ve been taken yet. It’s been days. He must know, right?

But knowing and being able to save me from this nightmare are two very different stories.

From behind me, my brother leans in next to my left ear and whispers, “You better behave tonight, Sienna. There’s a lot riding on how things go here with Lucius.”

I spin my head to face him and snap, “Like my happiness? Is that what you’re referring to, Matteo?”

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