Ruthless Monarch
“I found something.”
“What is it?”
“A call came through to her cell phone.”
“And?” I hate that my pulse kicks up at that.
“It was less than a minute long.” His fingers continue to type on the monitor. “The number is registered to Governor Marino.”
“Pull up sound from her phone.”
“That might take me a few minutes.”
“Well, I sure as shit am not going anywhere right now, am I?”
First, you see me naked, then you speak to your father.
What are you up to, little wife?
I pace the room as I wait. It only takes about ten minutes before Tony has the audio playing through the room of her phone call.
My fists form as I listen. It’s not that I like my wife, but a part of me enjoyed spending time with her. Part of me hoped that her father would call, and she would tell him where to stuff it. But apparently, I was wrong, and this all is just one big ruse.
This doesn’t change my plan. I will still go ahead with seducing her and then feeding her false information. Viviana is fire. Burning hot but not easily controlled.
I don’t care why she’s choosing to work with him. She didn’t come to me. Regardless of her reasons, a traitor is a traitor.
“Do not tell anyone what you heard on this tape.”
“Obviously, Boss.”
“I plan to deal with this in my own way.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”
“I know that, but I wanted you to know anyway that I will not let this go unanswered.”
“Sounds good.”
I walk out of the room and go find Lorenzo. He’s in one of the offices on the phones screaming about God knows what. It seems he’s still looking for the missing cargo. Even though we killed the three men, we found nothing on their bodies to indicate where the drugs went.
Knowing Lorenzo, he won’t stop until he finds it, which is okay by me. At the price it fetches on the black market, I appreciate him looking.
When he hangs up the phone, he looks up at me.
His brows are knitted together, and frown marks line his forehead.
“What’s going on?”
“No one knows where our fucking drugs are. Which I find really hard to fucking believe.”
“Breathe.”
“How can you be so fucking calm?”
“I’m not so fucking calm. I just know we have other things that are important, and while we already lost one shipment, we need this war to stop before we lose another.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“Through my wife.”
“What good is she?”
“She is working with her father.”
“This, we know.”
“But she’s also very much attracted to me, which means I have her right where we want her. As soon as I fuck her, I’m going to start feeding her intel. She won’t know what hit her until it’s too late.”
“Think it will work?”
“How can it not? She’s trying to get info from me. She’s already ready for it. When her father asks how she got it, if she tells him about our relationship, he will eat that shit up. Everyone knows when someone is in love, they get complacent.”
“You want her to think you love her . . .”
“It’s the only way it will work.”
“And then what?”
My lip tips up.
“Then I ruin her.”
20
Viviana
* * *
I dread going to dinner.
Dread seeing him.
Dread seeing him.
How can I possibly look into his eyes after what I saw?
This morning when he came storming into my bedroom, I thought I would die from embarrassment. I didn’t die, but I came close.
Now, I’m in my bathroom. Dressed in a pair of black leggings and an off-the-shoulder blouse. I’m not sure if I’m too casual or if I’m overdressed.
I have to assume I’m just right. Matteo always looks well put together. I just feel stupid going downstairs, having not left the room in two days, and wearing this top, especially since it’s snowing outside.
Yep, it’s officially winter, and now with the impending cold, I feel like I’m really stuck in this house.
I can’t imagine any impromptu trips to the city anytime soon.
I put a light dusting of makeup on. Nothing over the top. Then when I’m finished, I complete the look with a light pink lip gloss.
My hair. Blown out in beachy waves.
I’m not sure why I’m putting such effort into my looks. It’s not like anything will happen between us.
But you want it to.
I want to scold myself in the mirror reflection to stop this insanity. To tell myself not to care, but that would be a giant lie.
Pull yourself together.
Also, it’s time to leave the room and stop hiding.
For the next ten minutes, I berate myself with reasons to face the music and stop hiding, and then after one final check in the mirror, I gather all my strength and leave my room.
I’m not late, but it appears Matteo is early. He’s already sitting at the head of the table. His large presence occupies all the space in the room, and just as I suspected, he dressed in pants, a sport coat, and a button-down. He makes it appear casual by the way he leaves the two top buttons open. Seeing his skin peeking out from the crisp white shirt has me, yet again, ready to blush.