Page 14 of The Don

“Of course.” I stare at her with a darkening look. “You have spent your entire life from that point onwards planning your revenge. You trained with the deadliest assassins and learned your skill from the best. You lived on the streets and listened in shadows. You sought out thieves and criminals and learned their trade. Then you dragged yourself from the gutter and exploited men’s weaknesses. You gambled, stole, and manipulated your way to the top of your game, all with one aim in mind. Revenge. Does that sound like you, Miss. Blake?”

Her breathing is labored, which is the only sign I’ve rattled her, and as she licks her bottom lip, I note the slight shake to her hand as she lifts the glass to take a sip.

Leaning forward, I say with a hiss, “Your actions tell me I’ve shocked you. You try to remain impassive but there are subtle giveaways that tell me I’m correct. Right now, you want to retreat, to rebuild your defenses and gather your emotion and lock it away. You hate that I’ve seen right through you and are calculating your next move.”

She lowers her glass and her eyes flash as she turns her head to the window and stares out at the clouds as if the answer lies there.

I say smoothly, “Do you like the view now, Miss. Blake?”

She has nothing to say because she knows I’ve done my homework so I can pass the exam with distinction and so I lean forward and snarl, “The clock is ticking, Chastity. Carlos Matasso, or die. Your mission is simple.”

“You fucking bastard.”

Her voice is so low I almost don’t hear it and I smirk, raising my glass to hers.

“A contract was made, Chastity, and you agreed to honor it. I may be a bastard, but I need the bitch in you now because the person waiting to greet us at the other end is an even bigger one. So, drink up baby and gather your wits about you because this game is only just beginning and if we lose, it’s game over for both of us.”

I stand and turn my back on the woman who thinks she has the measure of me and I’m almost disappointed that she didn’t put up more of a fight. I head back to Ryan to go over the plan once more, knowing there will be plenty of time to play with my new toy when we get there, and I will play hard. Diana won’t know what hit her, Chastity won’t know what hit her, and Carlos Matasso definitely won’t see what I have planned coming.

CHAPTER9

CHASTITY

Ithought I had the measure of him. I was wrong. As soon as he left, I released the breath I was holding because he read me like a book. Somehow, he found a way into my darkest thoughts and revealed the monster I became. He was right. I did all those things and more and I’m not ashamed of it. It was necessary to create a monster, and I suppose it takes an even bigger one to recognize a kindred spirit when he sees one.

I’m not sure what to do now. I want to go to ground. To hide where nobody can see how weak I am. He has backed me into a corner and the only way out is to fight. To kill, to deceive and to chip away the last remaining piece of any humanity I have left.

For some reason, there’s a tear in my eye as I gaze out of the window, picturing my life when I didn’t know what pain was. I miss my parents so hard it physically hurts. Now I have no one. I’m alone and it’s at times like this I realize how hard that is.

For the rest of the flight, I sit quietly and try to regroup. To tidy my past and arrange my present. My future depends on it and just because for one fractured moment my weakness was laid bare, it won’t distract me from my mission, and I turn my thoughts to the man I’ve made it my life’s work to destroy.

He is always there, behind my eyes when they close and in my nightmares. When I’m walking, I catch a glimpse of him, and my heart flutters in fear before I realize it’s only a man who looks like him and the relief is hard to ignore. I am dreading seeing him again and worried about my reaction to that. Can I do this? Or will it all have been for nothing?

Occasionally, I glance toward the rear of the aircraft and see the bowed head of a man who has surprised me. I thought he was like every man I’ve ever met before. I underestimated him. He’s not. He played me at my own game and won and I hate the bitter taste of defeat. I always have.

Now he wants me to play his adoring girlfriend and I’m not sure I’m up to the challenge.

Eve stops by and throws me a concerned look. “Can I get you anything, Chastity? Some food perhaps, or another glass of champagne.”

The fact she’s friendly is a powerful thing for a woman like me because I don’t make friends. I’m never in a place long enough to form connections.

“May I have a coffee, please?”

I smile and she nods. “Of course, coming right up.”

She leaves with a sympathetic smile, and I lean my head against the window and stare out at the sun resting on the edge of the clouds. I could be forgiven for thinking I’m paying a brief visit to heaven. Seeing what could have been mine if I hadn’t fallen onto the dark side. When we head through those clouds, who knows what hell on earth is waiting and it’s so tempting to remain here and shut real life out.

Eve returns with the coffee and some fancy biscuits but leaves me in my solitude, recognizing that’s exactly what I need right now.

I’m a loner and I always have been and the lengths I’ve gone to train myself in the art of revenge are not making me feel any better about myself at all.

* * *

The plane landsin another private airfield and the sun shining tells me this place is a hot one. The brown grass and palm trees reinforce that, and as the aircraft taxis to a stop, I can already detect the heat from outside through the window.

I look up when Leo stops in front of me and says in a bored voice, “Come. You ride with me now.”

He offers me his hand that I purposefully ignore and shift off the seat and glare at him with the hatred he deserves.

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