She hesitated, unsure if she should tell Savino about the threat that lurked in his city, taking the element of surprise from Mateo if Savino decided to take exception to his presence. Raina decided it was best to be honest. She had too much to lose. "Mateo Gutierrez."
Savino couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "Sotza’s second."
She could see the moment he realized how much trouble Raina was bringing to his door. "So, Mateo Gutierrez is spending time in my city, attempting to collect the Sotza princess. And you chose not to stay with him? A man more than capable of protecting you?"
Now that was a hard question to answer. She sensed that she was at a critical moment in her negotiations with the Italian Godfather. She straightened in her chair, picked up her glass of vodka and knocked it back. It took herculean effort not to gag, but she managed. She set the glass on the table and gave Savino a hard look.
“No, I don’t wish to go with him. I was doing fine on my own, building my forging business, before your son came along and fucked it up.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m asking for your help, to keep me safe from your son and hidden from Mateo until I figure out what to do. I’m asking as a Sotza; as a potential ally.”
The Italian boss eyed her with a new kind of appreciation. She may be bringing a barn full of shit to his doorstep, but she was also handing him an opportunity on a silver platter. She was valuable now as not only Sotza’s stepdaughter, but as the woman Mateo, one of the most fierce and feared men in the mob, was looking for.
"I will place you under my protection," he said decisively, his eyes gleaming. He waved the bouncer over. "Have Roberto take her to the house."
The bouncer "helped" Raina from the booth, his giant fist wrapped around her arm. Raina's heart sank right into her stomach. What exactly had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Four
When Mateo realized that Raina was gone, a rush of emotions swept through him, anger and worry topmost. He wasn't used to having emotions like these and he wasn't entirely sure how to deal with them. He was a cold-blooded bastard, a fact that no one who knew him would dispute. Yet from the moment he met Raina in person, from that first moment he touched her, smelled her, he was lost. There was no denying how he felt about her.
Despite knowing that she was it for him, he wasn't entirely sorry when she disappeared from his life two years ago. Though he'd been furious, enough to almost make an enemy of Raina's mother, he had recognized that she was too young to claim at the time. Only nineteen. Old enough in some cultures, legal for marriage, but Raina had been raised in America with the ideal of freedom foremost in her upbringing. The past two years proved exactly how much freedom meant to her. Coming back to her family would be clipping her wings. Yet he had to do it.
It was time for Raina to claim her crown and it was time for him to claim his queen and rise up to take his rightful place in the underworld. He had mentored under the Gentleman Butcher for two decades with the promise of a future in the organization. Sotza’s word was as good as gold.
It didn't hurt that a marriage between Mateo and Raina would solidify Mateo’s position. He might want the girl more than he wanted his next breath, but he was still willing to use her to gain position.
Mateo touched a smear of blood on the outside of the clinic window where she had clearly pushed herself through and then either dangled or fallen to the ground. Another bolt of anger rushed through him. She was too reckless, couldn't take care of herself. It was well past time for her to come home. Where she would no longer be allowed to put herself in such danger.
Without turning, Mateo said to his people, "Find her."
He didn't need to say more. Though his men were not familiar with the city, they knew enough about the underground workings of Italy to find their way around. To find the people that mattered. To find her.
Mateo walked away from the clinic, his shoulders tense as he thought of all the things he wanted to do to her when he got his hands on her. Of course, she was injured, so any punishment would have to wait. He needed to teach his woman her new place in life.
Chapter Five
This was a bad idea and she was probably going to die.
Raina was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle driven by one of Savino's henchmen and sitting next to another. Savino’s men retrieved the car at the parking lot near the Venice train station and were driving through Mestre, a borough of Venice. They were making sure that she wasn't going anywhere. She was starting to realize that by going to Savino she had leapt out of the frying pan and right into the fire. At least with Mateo she could be 99% positive that he wasn't going to kill her on sight.
She eyed the massive mansion as it came into view when the car rounded the long, winding, curved driveway. She heard the buzz of the gates as they closed. Savino's estate was surrounded by a wall and though everything was shrouded in shadows, she thought she could make out spikes on top of the fence. The mansion itself was big, dark and gloomy. From her vantage point, pulling up to the front of the mansion, she couldn't see a single light on inside.
Think logically, she thought to herself.
If they were going to kill her, they would take her out to the middle of nowhere and put a bullet in her head. Not bring her back to the fancy mansion where bloodstains on the Oriental rugs would probably not come out.
The car halted and her door was opened for her. A hand reached inside. Raina hesitated for a few seconds before taking it and allowing the person to help her out. She gripped her side as it twinged in pain. Her back was on fire. But there was nothing she could do about that at the moment, not until she a bed and got some rest.
She was escorted up to the mansion doors by no less than three very large men. Apparently, it took this kind of muscle to escort one small helpless injured twenty-one-year-old woman. For some reason, Savino really didn't want to lose her, which was a frightening thought.
Her intent in going to the Italian Godfather was to brazen her way out of Italy. She had planned to use her stepfather's name to get herself safe passage through checkpoints. Instead, she somehow managed to intrigue Savino enough to gain herself entry into his private sanctum. On the upside, her stepfather likely didn't know about this yet. Possibly she could still wiggle her way out of the situation.
The door swung open and she stepped inside the mansion. It was the fanciest house she'd ever seen. Sotza’s Venezuelan home was incredible too; a beautiful mix of rustic and modern coming together in an almost old English style. For the brief time that she lived there, she had enjoyed exploring the many rooms and the gorgeous gardens beyond the house.
Savino’s home was different. It was bigger than Sotza’s. Raina couldn't begin to guess how many rooms would be in this building. But it had a cold feel to it, an unused feel. The entryway was dark. No one greeted them and no lights were turned on. It was spooky.
"This way." Her escort waved her down the hallway on the right.
Raina nodded and trailed after him, squinting into the different nooks and crannies to try to get an idea of what the place looked like. It was really quite dark in the hallway and she might have actually lost her footing if it weren't for the vague shape of the man in front of her. He led her past several doors before opening one on the end and waving her inside. As she stepped through the door, she heaved a sigh of relief. Now this room she could work with.