Page 61 of Corrupted Seduction

“Both targets are out of my hands. Advise on how to proceed,”the note read.

“Both targets?” I asked.

Antonio shrugged. “Brando didn’t know what it meant either.”

The toolbox from the Regalton Arms had to be one of the targets, but the other? Heidi sprung to mind, but that didn’t make much sense. She’d inadvertently handed over the location of her father’s stash to Bianchi. There was no reason for her to still be a target. So, another stash Bianchi had been after? That was possible.

“But the blonde,” Antonio went on, “I know he’s got her at the cabin. Her shoes and purse were there, but I saw no sign of her.”

“You think he killed her?”

Antonio shrugged again. This time, the move seemed more reluctant. “I think he has it in him. Brando says he had his VP off two men for insubordination. And the woman you took from Bianchi’s apartment—Heidi Dawson–”

I nodded warily. I could feel my hands curling into fists. It felt like the guy had just ventured into dangerous territory.

“I have a feeling she’s not dead, am I right?” he asked, the tone of his voice almost hopeful.

I nodded again, watching him, looking for the slightest provocation to put a bullet in his head. If he was here trying to get to Heidi, he’d have a hard time doing that with half his brains on the car behind him.

“The thing is,” he continued, “when Bianchi sent those men after her, he didn’t send them there to retrieve her from you; he sent them there to kill her. When they asked him how he wanted it done, he told them to ‘get creative’.”

I hadn’t considered it. I’d been operating on the assumption that Bianchi was trying to retrieve Heidi, not kill her. But he’d been trying to silence her, the only sure way to keep her from spilling information about the money Bianchi was after.

“You’re sure?”

He nodded. “I was there with Brando when he gave the order.”

That was it. Promises be damned. Bianchi had just hammered the last nail into his coffin.

I nodded to Vito, then turned my attention back to Antonio.

“You’ll remain here,” I told him. “I’m afraid your accommodations won’t be pleasant. If your information is correct, then when Bianchi is dead, you’ll have what you want. But if you betray me—now or at any time in the future—you’ll be praying for death long before I grant you that escape.”

Antonio nodded. “Fine, but if this stay ends with your man here removing my toenails, I’m going to complain all over Yelp.”

I smiled. If I didn’t have to kill the man, he might just fit right in here.

“Take him downstairs,per favore,” I told Vito. “Then tell my father there’s no need to wait any longer.”

“You got it, boss,” he said, then motioned for our new guest to accompany him inside.

I stood outside a moment longer, then returned to the house and headed upstairs to my rooms. I closed the door behind me, then turned to see Heidi fast asleep on my bed.

Her hair was fanned out around her like a dark halo, her dark lashes stood out in sharp contrast against her cheeks, and her lips were slightly parted. I thought about all the other women I’d fucked, the blurred faces of countless blondes, brunettes, and redheads. I couldn’t remember any of their faces, couldn’t recall ever standing idle, just watching them sleep. It made me wonder how long it would be before Heidi became a blur just like the rest of them. It was too bad, really.

I shook off the odd sense of loss and headed for my closet to change, but by the time I came back out, she was awake.

Right away, her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?” she said as she sat up, pulling the sheets up with her like I hadn’t seen every naked inch of her less than an hour ago. It was cute. And it seemed that prim and proper shit was still intact.

“I’m going to kill Bianchi,” I said plainly. I might have been breaking my word, but I wasn’t going to lie about it.

“No.” She shook her head as she got out of the bed with the bedsheet firmly wrapped around her. “You gave me your word, Amadeo.”

Christ, I’d had the same goddamned name for a long time—my whole life, actually—but never before had it sounded likethatcoming from anyone else’s mouth. Not the point of this conversation, though.

“He’s holding a woman hostage. If he hasn’t already killed her, he’s going to,” I said as I shoved a spare gun into the holster around my ankle. “And more importantly, when those men attacked the cabin, they weren’t there to retrieve you; they were there to kill you—on Bianchi’s orders. That changes things.” Broken vows were a hell of a lot easier to carry around than blood. No fucking way was I going to have Heidi’s blood on my hands.

She was standing at the foot of my bed, her teeth digging into her plump bottom lip, conflicting emotions flooding across her face.

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