Page 108 of Charity's Redemption

Adams motioned the men forward.

Each man stepped up to Nico and me, then patted us down.

I’d been here before when Luca took me down to the basement at the auction. That man got a little handsy and almost lost his digits, whereas these men kept it respectable, skimming over each body part without so much as a twitch of their fingers in the wrong place.

Thank God I didn’t strap my knife to my back or thigh.

“We all know the type of events I attend… I’d rather there be no viable record of my activities.”

“Aren’t they for your protection, though?”

He slapped Nico on the shoulder, gripping him in a friendly hold. “She asks a lot of questions.”

Nico chuckled. “Curiosity. It’s both a curse and an adventure with this one.” He looked over his shoulder at me as the guard finished his search. I punched daggers in his direction, hoping he’d come away scarred.

“I thought it was always a blessing.” I straightened my dress after the guards resumed their positions and followed the men inside.

“With you, my dear, curiosity is far from a blessing.”

I cleared my throat as his words implied something far different from sexual.

“Welcome to my masterpiece.”

Senator Adams moved away with his arms wide, showcasing the penthouse I’d only seen from the outside like he was the woman in the TV show game Wheel Of Fortune.

The blinding interior white walls covered every surface with hints of gold flecks on the accented wall. A spiral staircase stretched to the very top of another floor I didn’t even know existed. The L-shaped cream-colored lounge sat in the middle of the room, next to a telescope that pointed towards the sky.

This place reeked of opulence and less of a prison. Did I have Zoe all wrong?

Water cascaded down a gold-plated wall with a Mayan emperor’s face crying with blue-tinted liquid. It splashed down to the floor, where rocks caught the tears and siphoned it back up to the top to start the depressing cycle again.

“Impressive,” I whispered as the water trickled over my fingertips.

This penthouse put Alejandro’s and Luca’s to shame. Although it felt sterile, uninhabitable with cold bright walls, you could never fill it with warmth. Instead, he’d filled it with beautiful objects, including the woman in the industrial kitchen.

“We’re over here.”

The sweet and nutty perfume from the cooking food consumed me, making my mouth water for what smelled like pasta. But I wasn’t here to eat. I had one job to do, and I needed to stay focused. Pinching the pad of my thumb, I walked towards Adams, who showed Nico the dining area.

I interlaced my fingers through his and placed my other on his wrist just above our clasped hands when we rounded the corner.

Before us was a long glass table, neatly decorated for dinner and a blonde woman sitting in the high back white chairs with medieval-style ornaments carved into them, her hands clasped in her lap, her head tilted down as though waiting for activation.

Again, another sterile room.

“Zoe. This is Nico and his pet.”

I narrowed my eyes at Nico, wondering what in the hell he told him. What made our encounter any different from the first time we met?

Taking a deep breath, readying myself to correct him.

“Charity is not my pet.”

“I apologize, I assumed your dynamic.”

Nico’s correction had my body buzzing with his assertiveness. There was nothing sexier than a man who held himself with a hue of confidence.

“That’s quite alright.”

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