Page 22 of Traitor
As he so daintily put it yesterday.
“Has your time in the basement finally changed your mind?” he asked.
I batted my eyelashes at him. “I think any time down there with those snakes would change anyone.”
He grinned. “It only took you three weeks to come to your senses. Sooner than most, if you ask me.”
I’ve been here for three weeks?“I’m sorry.”
He paused. “For…?”
I set my fork down. “For assuming that you wanted to kill me. It’s why I’ve been acting the way I have been. I figured if I was going to die anyway, might as well go down with a fight.”
He raised his wine glass to me. “Words to live by.”
I reached for my own. “But, I can see that isn’t what you want for me. I mean, if I step too much out of line, sure. However, you don’t just want to kill me.”
“No, I don’t. You’re entertaining, and very beautiful. I have a few plans for you first.”
First. How wonderful.“I hope that this can be the beginning of an apology that suits you best.”
He chuckled. “I like this side of you, Miss Pettigrew. I admit, I’ve always been a sucker for a woman that can submit. I like the fight, don’t get me wrong. But, finally seeing them succumb? It’s sweeter than any fruit on this planet.”
I tried not to vomit in my lap. “I also want to apologize for thinking Mateo was somehow better than you.”
He set his glass down. “Oh, really?”
I sipped my wine. “Yes. When you brought me here, I thought you were lower than him. Or, possibly no better than him. Then, Mateo sent one of his guards to kill me. You know, like I told you.”
He picked up his fork. “Don’t you worry about that. He’s paid handsomely for that mistake.”
I forced myself to smirk, even though his words petrified me. “Is it bad that I want to know what happened?”
There was a glint in his eye I couldn’t interpret, and I wondered if I had overstepped my boundaries. But, I held my ground, and finally he caved.
“See, I knew you had that side of you in there, I just wasn’t sure how to bring it out.”
I set my drink down. “I learned very early on in life that not everything is all roses and rainbows. I’ve endured my fair share of death threats, home intrusions, threats on what might happen to me if I actually show up in court. And while this is a little different, it’s not completely different. Just a bit more physical.”
His smile was absolutely wicked. “You really want to know what I did to Mateo?”
I leaned forward. “And please sir, don’t leave out any details.”
He launched into a diatribe while I took small bites of what I assumed was dinner. He talked and he talked, and he boasted of the raid on some warehouse somewhere. He laughed every time he talked about a story his men told him of someone on Mateo’s side that was slaughtered, and it made me sick to my stomach.
But, the more I listened, the more I learned.
And when he started talking about his plans for total domination over the island—as well as Italy—I knew I had to get to Mateo sooner rather than later.
Even if that meant playing along with Lorenzo and using myself as bait to get Mateo anywhere near me.
* * *
I locked Char back in the basement, but I ended up giving her a little light to work with as well. She had positively shocked me over dinner this evening, but in the best of ways. I chuckled as I closed the basement door, and I decided to test her a bit.
So, when the guard assigned to the door went to lock it, I shooed the key away.
“Sir?” he asked.
