Page 49 of Cruel Lust

Niccolo is a cousin like Francesco, and he’s just as violent. Although, right now, he looks more sheepish than anything else.

One of the men guarding the room from outside closes the door, leaving me alone with the lions in their den. No, not alone. Luca is still by my side, and he holds my hand tighter than ever.

“Nice to see you up and about.” Rocco’s lips twitch, though there’s no humor behind his words. “You’ve caused me no small amount of trouble, young lady.”

“Our entire family,” Dante growls out.

“Was I speaking, or were you?” Rocco stares up at his son, almost daring him to talk back. All it does is make Dante look at the floor and clear his throat before Rocco adds, “Obviously, I’m talking about the family. Everything I do is for this family.”

“I already know what Vitali said,” Luca announces. “What I want to know is, what are you going to give him?”

Rocco scowls and grunts before shooting daggers at Niccolo, who’s suddenly interested in the floor between his feet. “As if I would speak of such matters with her in the room.” He gives Luca a mournful look. “Have I taught you nothing?”

“Can I ask a question?” Shock hits as the question leaves my mouth, and I can’t believe I whispered that. My mouth got ahead of my brain. Now everybody but Luca looks at me, wearing a sneer of disgust at my audacity.

Rocco’s brows lift. “You think you deserve to have your questions answered? You’re a cop. You’re the enemy.”

“Papa…” Luca murmurs.

“Say what you want,” Rocco decides, ignoring Luca.

“I’m only curious,” I blow out, pushing aside the nerves that ricochet in my stomach. Have I imagined a scenario like this a hundred times? Sure, but usually, I was the one asking the questions, and they were the ones handcuffed to a table in an interrogation room. “Do they know who I am? I know you do. But do they?” It’s obvious nobody wants to answer me, making me bite my tongue to hold back a frustrated scream.

Cesco purses his lips while Niccolo lifts an eyebrow in Rocco’s direction. Dante only scowls at me. “We’re still unsure,” Rocco finally admits. “Regardless, it’s a matter of principle now. They believe you are a spy for our family against their own.”

“You couldn’t have chosen a worse night to visit my brother’s club,” Dante informs me, cold with so much hate. I wouldn’t care the way I do if I didn’t feel like my life depended on the outcome of this meeting. Which, of course, it does, and the knowledge makes cold sweat bead at the back of my neck while I fight for every shaky breath. I could die tonight.

“Luca here was conducting business that had to do with the Vitali family,” Rocco explains. “Which you witnessed. This started with them wanting to get their hands on you to find out what you learned… about what may or may not have been confessed to my son. The more difficult it was for them to find you, the more determined they were to get their hands on you. And now, here we are.”

He shrugs like he is nothing more than a cog in the wheel with no control over anything. A leaf swept along in the wind. And it is complete bullshit. But I am also in no state to speak up for myself, standing here in what is probably Guilia’s hoodie and leggings.

I’ve never felt less like myself, less in control.

“Can’t you see what an asset she is?” Luca looks around the room, searching for backup. “She could be our inside connection. She could tell us what the cops know, keep them from getting too close. But more importantly,” he adds, raising his voice a little. “She can keep tabs on the Vitali. She’s worth her weight in gold. Don’t you see it?” I nod, even though the idea doesn’t thrill me. It doesn’t have to. Luca is fighting for me, and it’s an idea that only needs to keep me alive.

“We already have someone on the inside, remember?” Rocco counters without missing a beat. A man in his position is used to thinking five steps ahead at all times. It makes me sick to think we were trying to take them down when they’re busy paying someone off to stay one step ahead of us.

“We could use all the help we can get,” Luca stubbornly insists. “Especially when we’re practically in a war. Why would we want to rid ourselves of our assets? And Papa, you know this means more to me. Does that matter?”

“Here we go again.” Dante sighs, shaking his head.

If the tension and hostile looks are anything to go by, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Luca got into regular fistfights. I, for one, wouldn’t mind taking a swing at him myself.

“Shouldn’t you be off somewhere by now, getting fucked?” Luca snarls. “Unlike you, I have blood pumping through my veins. I’m a living, breathing person, and I didn’t bust my ass keeping her alive to hand her over now to be executed.”

“That was never your call, son,” Rocco points out, managing to sound slightly sad about it.

Luca’s growl raises the hair on the back of my neck. “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. End of story. I have told her nothing. She saw nothing she could make a case out of. Don’t you think she would’ve started shit for us if she could have? There is no evidence.”

“She’s still a detective. She has spent days with you, with us. I’m sorry, but we could never trust her.” Rocco won’t look at me now, saving his focus for Luca.

Is that because I don’t matter? Or because he’s trying like hell to convince his son this is the right thing to do?

“Besides,” Rocco adds, looking over the room. “We already have a plan in place. A story for what happened to her. Everything’s been worked out. There’s nothing else we can do.”

Shock wraps itself around my stomach and squeezes hard enough that I gag on the cold, hard fact that these men created a plan to kill me and cover it up. Men with the balls to stare blankly at me now like this is another day in the office.

“This is bullshit.” Luca drops my hand, flying to his father’s desk and slamming his hands on the surface. “She can’t hurt us! You don’t have to do this.”

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