Page 28 of The Deal

I chuckle at that. Chloe probably is hungry, but I’m pretty sure her anger has nothing to do with her lack of food.

“What time will dinner be ready?”

“I’ve been keeping it warm in the oven while I waited for you to come down.”

“Give us twenty minutes, and we’ll be down to eat.”

“Okay, Mr Mancini.”

I wait until Carmella has descended the stairs before approaching Chloe’s room. I’m unsure what I’ll face when I open her door, so it’s best if my housekeeper doesn’t have to witness it.

As I anticipated, the moment I let myself into her room, she leaps off the side of the bed where she was sitting and rushes me.

“You fucking bastard,” she yells, clenching her fists into balls and proceeding to beat them against my chest. I deserve that at the very least, so I give her a minute to release some pent-up frustration.

The shock of this afternoon has obviously now worn off, and the gravity of her situation has settled in.

When I feel like she’s had enough, I grasp her wrists,holding on tight. “Do you feel better now?” I ask, pinning her with a glare.

She thrashes in my hold, trying to free herself, but there’s no use. I have no intention of letting her go.Not now … not ever.

“Let me go, arsehole,” she seethes, her face bright red with anger.

“No. Not until you calm down.”

“Calm down! Calm fucking down!” she yells. “You kidnapped me, you piece of shit, and locked me away in this room for hours.”

“And this is exactly where you’ll stay until you learn how to behave yourself.”

I know I’ve pushed things too far when her angry eyes turn murderous, but I’m still taken aback when she does something completely unexpected. She spits in my face.

I grit my teeth, and my nostrils flare as I inhale a deep breath through my nose, fighting the fury that rages inside me.

In my world, it’s extremely rare for the mob to harm a woman—women and children are off-limits—but if my father witnessed what she just did, he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in her head. Respect is paramount within thefamiglia.

Without releasing her, I start moving and don’t stop until the back of her legs comes in contact with the bed. I shove her down onto the mattress, quickly covering her body with mine so she can’t escape.

I manoeuvre her arms above her head, pinning them there. “People have died for less than that in my world.”

“Your world! Listen to you. I don’t get what world you think you come from, but you are not above the law. What you have done is illegal. You can’t go around kidnapping people and holding them hostage against their will.”

“You chose to leave with me.”

“Because you were going to shoot my father if I didn’t.”

“Semantics,Tesoro.”

“I want to go home.”

“This is your home now.”

“No, it’s not,” she murmurs as tears rise to her eyes. I’m quickly realising I don’t like seeing her upset. “My home is with my father. He won’t survive for long without me.”

“I’ll make sure your father is looked after.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m a man of my word, Chloe.”

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