Page 42 of Vincenzo
He stares at me as if he’s studying me, trying to figure out if my confusion is genuine or not. His grip tightens on his gun.
“It said, give us port access, or your wife and sister are dead.”
My breath hitches and my heart hammers. “W… what?”
Vincenzo remains silent, studying me again with his narrowed gaze, making me feel like I’m some organism on a petri dish being observed under a microscope.
“When did he receive that message?” I ask, looking through my phone. “You’re sure it came from me?”
“It came from your number.”
I slide my gaze up to Vincenzo’s. “I didn’t send that message.”
He’s quiet for a moment while he continues observing me, and I hate it. I’ve never felt so vulnerable in my life.
After what feels like a fucking eternity, he finally says, “I believe you.”
I go to release a sigh of relief, but it’s quickly caught in my throat when he takes the barrel of his gun and moves it across my cheek, brushing my hair back over my shoulder.
“Have you pissed anyone off lately?”
“That’s a loaded question when you’re a hitwoman for the cartel,” I say, my voice steady while I try to figure out his next move.
Vincenzo chuckles, somehow lessening the tension in the air even while there’s a gun in my face. “The way I see it, there’s only one person who could possibly have access to your phone right now.”
I slowly nod, already knowing where he’s going with this but not understanding why Carlos would do somethingso stupid.
“But why would he send that message off your phone?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Carlos was the one who suggested we kidnap your family, but it doesn’t make sense that he’d text your brother about it. Unless he’s gotten so impatient with my lack of a plan that he decided to take matters into his own hands.”Even so, this has got to be the dumbest thing that man has ever done.
“Unless he wants you dead,” Vincenzo suggests, sliding the barrel of the gun down the valley of my chest, his eyes still piercing mine.
“Why would he want me dead?” I ask, raising a brow at him.
He trails the gun down my stomach, pausing at my core for a brief second before moving to the hem of my skirt. The action has my heart racing a million beats per minute.
“After watching the full footage where Carlos suggested kidnapping my family to your uncle, I was coming to terms with everything you told me. I’ve spent the past few hours trying to figure out what Carlos’s plan is in all of this, but I keep drawing a blank.” He slides the gun under my skirt. “I was hoping you’d have that answer for me.”
My mouth falls open, but no words come out. The cool metal against my thigh has my mind blanking.
“You know … you look too fucking good in this outfit of yours. Drawing the attention of a lot of people in my club as soon as you walked in,” he says, his voice gravelly and like he might start to lose control. “I don’t fucking like that.”
“For someone who’s always claimed to not like me, you’re getting awfully possessive.”
Ignoring my remark, he removes his gun from under my skirt and falls back onto the couch. His hungry eyes never leave mine as I turn to face him, propping a hand on my hip.
“Damn,” he mumbles, running a hand over his scruff. “Do me a favor, Little Hellion.”
“Depends on what the favor is,” I say, quirking a brow at him.
He chuckles, then points his gun at me and says, “Take off your panties.”
I tilt my head at him, and a small smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth when I take in the desperate look in his eyes, but I don’t move a finger.
“Come on,” he says. “After putting on that show and leaving me cuffed to my bed, it’s the least you could do, don’t you think?”
I small laugh bubbles from my mouth. “I was wondering when you’d bring that up. Looks like you got out of it perfectly fine.”
