Page 126 of Brutal Legacy

“I said, got it?” I repeated, straightening up.

She followed in a daze. I lifted her off the wet table and placed her on the floor.

“I got it,” she said.

Her dark eyes were luminous, her cheeks rosy, and her hair a mess. I wanted to pull her close and consume her, take her to bed and spend the rest of the day there, but there was work to be done.

“Now, you have something else of mine, and it’s time to hand it over,” I told her. I stepped back and pulled my pants up, tucking my shirt in and returning myself to normal as best I could.

She leaned against the table. “What is it?”

“The flash drive. Your father’s insurance. It’s time to hand it over.” I held my hand out.

She stared at me, surprised I knew about it, but somehow not upset. She felt around in her pocket and took it out.

“Here. I was going to give it to you. I don’t care what’s on it. I wish he hadn’t sent it to me.”

I took the flash drive. “Forget he did. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“What are you going to do with it?” she asked.

I slipped it into my pocket. “Nothing too nefarious. As long as Alfredo does what he’s promised and keeps the De Sanctis name out of his mouth, there won’t be any problems.”

“And if he doesn’t? What if he decides to tell on Salvatore anyway? This whole marriage thing will have been pointless… What if he doesn’t care about me as much as you think he does?”

“Impossible,” I said shortly and grabbed my jacket.

“Why’s it impossible?” she asked and followed me.

“Because loving you isn’t something a man can recover from — or forget. It’s a lifelong condition.”

Her eyes widened at my words, my confession sitting starkly between us.

“I’ll see you later,” I bit out before leaving.

I metGiada at La Leonora and handed over the flash drive. She sat at her desk and plugged it into her computer.

“Now that we know that Bellisario is singing to the prosecution about the Ravellis, the question is, why are they still coming after us? Last night they nearly hurt her, Giada. It can’t happen again.”

Giada slanted her eyes toward me. “And this is the woman you hate, right?”

“Giada,” I growled at her.

She just laughed then sobered. “About that. We need to talk. My little electronic birdies have found something regarding the Ravellis. I’m not sure this is about Bellisario anymore… it seems more personal than that.”

“Personal? What could be personal? I’ve never met a Ravelli before.”

Giada wagged her finger. “That you remember… Take a trip down memory lane with me. You were twenty years old and incarcerated in Poggioreale Prison. You had a cellmate…”

The memory hit me like a ton of bricks. Sergio Ravelli. My cellmate when I was inside before Renato got me out.

“Fuck.” I sank onto the sofa across from her.

“And there it is. Apparently, Sergio rose through the ranks in the family after he served his time… and he holds a grudgeagainst you. What happened? Did you spurn his advances?” She smirked.

“I didn’t get him out when Renato offered me an escape… I left him to serve his sentence.”

I knew in my gut now that was what had started this. That was why they hadn’t stopped. Sergio wanted payback for that slight, and however many years he’d had to serve after I’d left. I’d never had the possibility of getting him out, of course, but he wouldn’t care about that.

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