She huffs out a laugh despite herself, and for a second I see a glimpse of the girl underneath all that anger and defiance. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"What, keeping you from potentially breaking your neck in a poorly planned escape attempt? Yeah, it's the highlight of my morning." I lean back against the house again, getting comfortable. "Though I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting something more creative for your first try."
"First try?" Sofia's eyebrows shoot up. "Who says this is my first try?"
"Well, unless you're planning to tunnel out or catapult yourself over the fence, you're pretty much out of obvious exit strategies. The front door's got cameras, the back door leads right past the kitchen where I'm set up, and you just blew your window option." I count off on my fingers. "So either you've got some master plan brewing, or you're going to have to get a lot more creative."
"Maybe I do have a master plan."
"Yeah? What's step two then? Because step one—climb out window—didn't exactly work out for you."
Sofia stares at me for a long moment, and I can see her weighing her options. Fight, flight, or negotiation. Given thatflight just failed spectacularly and she's smart enough to know she can't take me in a fight, I'm betting on negotiation.
"What if I asked nicely?" she tries, giving me a smile that's probably melted more than a few hearts in her eighteen years.
"What if you did?"
"Please, Dante. I just want to go for a walk. By myself. Like a normal person."
"Normal people don't usually climb out second-story windows for their morning constitutional, princess."
"Stop calling me that!"
"What, princess? Why, does it bother you... princess?"
She takes a step toward me, and for a second I think she might actually try to hit me. Instead, she stops just close enough that I can smell her shampoo—something floral that shouldn't be as distracting as it is.
"You know what? Fine. You want to babysit me? Then babysit away. But I'm not making this easy for you."
"Wouldn't want it any other way. Easy is boring."
"Good," she says, backing toward the house. "Because tomorrow I'm going to try harder."
"Looking forward to it. Maybe next time aim for something more challenging than a basic window escape. Where's your sense of adventure?"
Sofia pauses at the back door, one hand on the handle. "You really think you're going to be able to stop me every time?"
I flash her my best cocky grin. "Princess, I've been doing this job for fifteen years. You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to get away from me."
The look she gives me is pure challenge, and despite everything—despite the fact that she's my assignment, despite the fact that she's Vito's sister-in-law, despite the fact that this whole situation is complicated as hell—I find myself looking forward to whatever she's planning next.
This job just got a whole lot more interesting.
"We'll see about that," Sofia says, and disappears into the house.
Yeah, we definitely will.
CHAPTER 7
Sofia
A week.Seven days of failed escape attempts, and Dante has thwarted every single one of them with that infuriating smirk of his.
Day one: the window. He was waiting for me like he'd been expecting it.
Day two: tried to slip out while he was in the bathroom. Somehow he managed to intercept me at the front gate before I'd made it ten feet down the driveway.
Day three: fake illness to get him to take me to the hospital, then bolt from the parking lot. He caught me before I even reached the street.
