Page 18 of Ruthless King

Beatrice nods but doesn’t smile, even though there’s a slight appreciation in her gaze. “Good. Do you know how you’re going to kill him?”

“Here’s the thing …”

She lifts up her hand. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“You’re hesitating. I can feel it. You married this man, Aurora, so you could kill him. Don’t hesitate now.”

“But how do we know it’s truly him?”

“It’s him. Trust me.”

But that’s the thing—I don’t fully trust Beatrice.

“He seems … nice.”

She scoffs. “He’s not a nice man. He’s the head of the Italian Mafia, Aurora. That should tell you everything you need to know.”

“But my father worked for the Mafia, and he was a good man.”

“Your father was different.”

“I’m just not sure Nico killed my dad. I need to be sure before I can try.”

She shakes her head and begins pacing around the room. “No. We talked this through. Your job is to kill him, and to do that, you need to get close enough to him.”

“We slept in the same bed last night.”

“Good.”

“But we didn’t …”

She grabs my arms and shakes me. “You need to fuck him, Aurora.”

I flinch. “I’m a virgin. I?—”

“I don’t care. You seduce him. Get him to fall in love with you, then kill him.”

“What? The deal was for me to kill him. Not get him to fall in love with me.”

“The deal has changed,” she says, letting me go. “I want Nico to suffer. I want him to fall in love with you so good he’ll be heart broken when you betray him.”

“Beatrice, I could die. Don’t you care about that? He is surrounded by guards twenty-four seven. Even I am.” I nod at the door, where Enzo is waiting on the other side.

“You’ll find a way.”

“That’s no help. You want me to kill him. I’m doing this foryou.”

“No, you’re not. You want revenge for your daddy’s death just as much as I do. So don’t come at me with your holier-than-thou attitude. We’re in this together.”

“But I’m the one in actual danger.”

She sighs. “Fine. I’ll come up with a plan to get you out of there. But you need to let me know when you’re going to kill him so I can get you out. Understood?”

“All right. But I’m not sure I can make him fall in love with me, Beatrice.”

“Why not? You’re beautiful. Any man would fall in love with you.”

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