by E. M. Gayle
Ronin whistled. "I bet he didn't take that well. If he'd already negotiated with your future husband for an eighteen-year-old bride then I'm certain your virginity had been part of the bargain."
I nodded. "Yes, it's the whole reason I told him.”
"You lied, didn't you?"
As if he'd read my mind, Ronin asked one of the questions I still did not want to answer. That had been my secret alone, all these years, and one I'd planned to never divulge. If my father discovered I'd lied all those years ago, what would he do? I'd gotten away that night with just an exile as punishment. But if he ever learned that I lied my way out of his arrangement? That could blow up in my face and I'd have a lot bigger problems than the man standing in front of me.
"That's not important. It's ancient history. What's important is the current arrangement and what we're going to do about it."
"Your non-answer is a fucking answer. You lied. And we aren't going to do anything about this arrangement. It's a done deal."
He was spewing words as if they were venom. It was almost enough to make me back down and retreat. But there wasn't a lot of time to regroup and start over, so I was just going to have to go for it anyway.
"What if there was a better deal? One worth a hell of a lot more money and probably more enticing than whatever bullshit my father cooked up."
His eyebrows shot up and I could read the disbelief between the lines. That was to be expected. What I wanted to do wasn't going to be easy.
"What exactly are you saying? You want to buy out your father's contract with us?"
I nodded, clasping my fingers together to keep my nervous fidgeting down to a minimum. I was about to lay my cards on the table, and this was it. The only shot I would get to get out of this.
"I have something my father wants. Badly. He's got Romeo Rossi up his ass to find it. But he won't. Not unless I want him to."
"What is it?" Ronin finally looked truly interested in something I had to say. Although that didn't mean I could trust him quite yet. We needed our own little negotiation before I would reveal any details.
"Something that could get us both killed."
16
Ronin
Nova was playing games with whatever information she thought she had. But she had, so far, proven to be a lot smarter than I'd initially given her credit for, and for that alone, I was curious. That said, I still didn't want to play games. Well, scratch that, I did. But I would be the game master, not her.
Before I completed my mission here, I would drag her down and make her do things she never thought she'd be capable of. Nova might never become my wife, but she would make an excellent plaything.
"Look. This isn't a game we're playing," I lied. "If you've got something important to offer me, just make the offer. Put your cards on the table and let’s see what you got. If I think my family would benefit, then we'll go from there."
She took a deep breath and stared back at me. Probably contemplating whether she could trust me. She could not, but I wasn't going to tell her that. She couldn't trust her thieving father, either, so it was up to her to decide which one would do her the most harm.
I was betting on her father for that one.
The man had vibrated with hate as he spoke of his daughter. It had been the most unnatural and fascinating thing I'd seen in a very long time.
Finally, she spoke. "My father and Romeo Rossi are hunting for diamonds that were smuggled into this country via his son's plane."
I frowned down at her. "Diamonds? Really? That's your big game? Nobody gives a shit about diamonds. Those are a dime a dozen." Disappointment roared through me. For a minute, I'd thought she was going to hand me something interesting that I could use against Cullotta.
"Not these. They are anything but ordinary. Although I find the fact you consider diamonds mundane shocking. Since when does millions of dollars not appeal to anyone?"
"Money is great. Don't get me wrong. I love it as much as the next guy. But I already have more than I can spend in this lifetime. While I do still enjoy amassing new fortunes, I'm looking for the challenge that comes along with it more than anything else. Like you, for example. I wasn't totally convinced marrying you wouldn’t present anything interesting until I found you in a dark hallway having sex with a man you shouldn't even be talking to. You're a risk taker, and I like that. But it also means you'll need a strong hand to stay in line.” Breaking her while taking down one of the most determined mob hunters the FBI currently had working for them? Now that sounded like a good time.
The shell-shocked look that crossed Nova's face as I spoke made my blood sing. I could have come at her blindly, but there was something about her that made me believe telling her what I was going to do before I did it would be more fun. Not to mention more challenging. I'd stay one step ahead of whatever she came up with to counteract me. But diamonds? I wasn't feeling it.
"If you don't think the diamonds are worth anything, then I guess we are done negotiating." She stood from her seat and turned in the direction of her bedroom. "If you'll excuse me, I need a hot bath and some food. Today has been excruciating, work wise and tomorrow promises to be the same."
"Hold it right there. You have not been dismissed." I growled.
She turned back to me on a bark of laughter. "Excuse me? Dismissed? I don't know what you think you have the right to say to me, but it's not that. I am not your wife or your girlfriend or some submissive you order around at your whim."
He snickered. Getting her back up was definitely a shit ton of fun. "You are all of those things. Or you can be. That's up to me. Like I mentioned before, you've already been bought and paid for. What comes next for you is solely up to me. Your Daddy is not going to come riding in here on a black horse with a flaming pitchfork to save you, nor is your saint of a boy toy. That fucker has an agenda, I guarantee it. What do you think that means for you?"
She froze in place at that just as I'd suspected. She may not know who he was, but she sensed something, or she simply didn't care. That was a huge tactical error on her part and one I intended to rectify for her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She whirled around, her face gone pale, but her eyes as wild as ever. There were a lot of emotions just under Nova's surface and those needed to be explored and exploited.
I decided to retake my seat before answering her. I unbuttoned my coat, sat back and made myself comfortable in the plush chair. Whoever had decorated this suite had excellent taste in furniture. I'd have to ask for a name. My home in New York was due for an overhaul.
"So, you aren't going to deny that you don’t know the man you’re fucking?"
"You’re an asshole," she spat. “Get out."
Her voice trembled ever so slightly at the end of her demand. She could lie all she wanted, but I was going to see through it every time. Dealing with liars was my specialty. I had half a mind to take off my belt and show her exactly how I felt about anyone who lied to me.
"I take you for exactly what you are. A liar."
She sputtered once and then twice before clamping her mouth shut and dropping again into her own seat. I could see the defeat washing over her like a mask one slipped on at a costume party.
"I'm not a liar," she started. “No, wait. Before you argue, let me finish."
I waited.
"I wholeheartedly believe in honesty and loyalty as much as anyone in the family does. Possibly more so. But I also will not shy away from telling a lie to protect myself or someone I care about."
"Semantics."
"Maybe," she said. "But maybe not. You aren't honestly going to sit there and tell me you haven't told a whopper or ten. Hell, I'd bet a chunk of money you've lied to me more than once since we met."
She wasn't wrong.
"I believe one-hundred-percent honesty is something reserved for only people who have gained our trust. Do you have any idea how many people that is in my life? Don't bother guessing, I'll just tell you. Zero. There isn't a single person I
know I feel like I could share my entire truth with. And I don't see that changing any time soon."
"We'll get nowhere if you can't trust enough to share even the basic truths," I responded.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit. It goes both ways, you know. I don't believe you want to marry me any more than I want to marry you. And there isn't a damn thing you can do to convince me otherwise. And if you keep asking me questions where the answer could hurt me, then yes, I'm going to fucking lie. Now can we talk about what really matters instead of who I'm fucking? That shouldn't make a bit of difference in this scenario because we both know you aren't going to marry me. That would totally cramp your lifestyle."
"Getting married would change very little for me. You, of course, would have to be more discreet than you have been in the past. And you will relocate to New York, since I have no desire to live in Las Vegas."
"And I don't want to go back to New York. I tried living there and I didn't like it. It didn't suit me."
"I'm sure we can figure out something that has you here in Las Vegas frequently enough. But our home base will be in New York."
"Stop talking like we're getting married," she cried with clear exasperation in her tone. "We. Are. Not. Getting. Married."
That was it for me. She was starting to act like a brat and there was only one thing to do with a brat. I unfastened my belt and pulled it free from around my waist with a definitive whoosh.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes gone wide.
"Exactly what it looks like. Sometimes words are not what's needed. I'm more of an action guy anyway. You'll learn that about me quick enough. And I don't hesitate to dole out discipline where it's needed."
"You are not my father."
"You're fucking right about that. He's a goddamned pussy. Whatever bullshit you pulled with him should not have ended in exile. That's some lame passive-aggressive bullshit. However, on the other hand, if he had turned you over his knee and taken a belt to your ass every time you needed it we might not be standing here arguing over it right now."
"Screw you, Ronin." She ran for the bedroom.
I'd already scoped out her entire suite before her arrival and made sure I was familiar with everything about Nova, which meant that I knew the layout of her space now as well as she did.
I chased after her, grabbing her by the hair before she could clear the bedroom threshold.
However, when she jerked to the side, we both lost our balance and crashed to the floor. I twisted so I didn't land on top of her and crush her. I also didn't let go of her hair so she howled in pain as I pulled her with me.
"Let me go," she cried, still thrashing her legs while her hands grabbed at the tight fistful of hair I still held.
"No." With an ease born of fighting since I was ten years old, I flipped her onto her stomach and pinned her to the floor by placing my knees around her hips. The skirt she'd worn to work was now working its way above said hips, and the G-string panties she wore did nothing to cover her ass. She had a nice round one, that, I had to admit, would look perfect with red stripes from my belt criss crossed all over it. As tempting as that sounded, I was growing concerned with her struggle to catch her breath. I checked my position, and I was not pressing down on her in a way that made it hard to breathe. Which meant she was in the throes of a panic attack.
"You need to calm down, Nova." I ordered, easing my grip on her hair but without letting go.
"I—I can't—get off me—" her words came out on a wheeze. It was then I remembered the inhaler I'd found in her medicine cabinet.
Fuck.
I released my hold and stood, at the same time scooping her off the floor. She had stopped struggling, but the harsh sound of her fighting to get air into her lungs alarmed me.
"You need your inhaler." It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "Fuck." I cautiously deposited her on her bed and went to the cabinet where she kept it. I returned to her side, and she grabbed it from me and shoved it into her mouth. The whoosh of air from the device delivered the medication, but she kept her head faced away from me, avoiding my gaze.
"What can I do?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. Just go."
Well, that wasn't going to happen. We weren't done. Instead, I sat down on her bed, my back against the headboard, my legs out in front of me. I didn't know why, but I wasn't going to leave her like this.
Some minutes later, her breathing returned to normal and she turned to look at me. "Do I want to know how you knew about my inhaler?"
I shrugged. "Probably not."
"Are you going to take me seriously about re-negotiating a better deal?"
I gave her a look that communicated about the same.
"You really aren't interested in the fact that the Rossi's and the Cullotta's are smuggling blood diamonds into the US?"
I pushed up from her headboard and sat up straight. "Wait. Blood diamonds? Are you sure about that? Hell, do you even know what that means?"
She looked at me blankly, but I wasn't buying it. If she was serious about renegotiating, she would not come to the table without doing her research. That would be foolish and insulting, and Nova struck me as neither of those things.
"Do you really believe your father is working with terrorists? Because that's a dangerous line to cross. Although it would explain why the FBI is so interested in your family."
“The FBI?”
He rolled his eyes. One minute he was convinced she wasn’t naïve and the next he had to wonder.
"Where are these diamonds now? You have them here?"
"Of course not," she said, her voice a little more forceful than before. "That would be stupid and risky."
I narrowed my eyes at her, suspicion warring with disbelief. She looked like she was lying to me again. Had I not personally gone through every inch of this suite already, I would not believe a word she'd uttered. Although there was always the unlikely possibility that I'd missed something.
"Then where?" I demanded. "And stop fucking lying to me before I get angry and decide you are not longer worth the effort and slit your throat." Watching her skin go pale at my threat made a certain darkness twist alive inside me. I could end this game we were playing at any time. No one in the organization would care if the pretty little daughter of Anthony Cullotta didn't survive. As long as the rest of my mission was completed, it was all that mattered.
"Do I look that stupid to you? I'm not telling you where they are until I'm certain you won't kill me for them first. You just threatened my life, for Christ's sake." She scrambled off the bed and shoved her inhaler into a bedside drawer.
I smiled at her back as she retreated. If she thought that was a serious threat, she had no idea what she'd gotten into. "How do I know they are for real then?"
She pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket and swiped the screen in a quick pattern to unlock it. I eyed her carefully. Smart girl, not to use her thumbprint or an easily hacked code to access it. That would make it much more difficult for someone like me to break in. Not impossible, though. While those thoughts were running through my head, she made a series of taps on the screen before she turned it to me and flashed a picture in front of my face.
There, in full color, was a huge pile of diamonds in varying sizes. There were even a few uncut dark ones. Those black diamonds especially caught my eye. I would enjoy those in my personal collection.
"What is this supposed to prove?" I asked, deliberately goading her. "Anyone can grab a picture of diamonds off of the internet."
"You can see that's my hand in the picture, asshole. I took that myself, and as well as my business has done, I cannot afford even one of those diamonds."
I shrugged, remaining non-committal. My excitement was growing, but I would never let on. Between whatever secret she and her father were hiding and now these diamonds, I could see this mission leveling up with every passing moment.
"I still need to see them with my own eyes."
I grabbed at my heart as if she'd hurt me. "I am your fiancé, and you don't trust me?"
She smirked and turned her phone back around. "I think we already had that conversation. Moving on." She shoved that phone back in her pocket and I fought the urge to use force to get what I wanted. I had no doubt that as strong as she was, she would crumble under brutal show of force. But what fun would that be? There were other players in the game to torture first.
"So, what do you want, Nova? You've got diamonds that belong to two powerful famiglias who will kill you over them, no questions asked. How do you imagine this playing out?"
"First, you and I have to come to an agreement. We're not getting married. Second, if you will help me get out of this, I will gladly give the diamonds to you. I need to be out of the mafia life for good. I can't deal with my father coming back again with another man for me to marry because it's for the good of the family. It's bullshit. Even criminals need to step into the twenty-first century and get over this."
"Is that it?" I couldn't quite tell if she was done.
"Sort of." She hesitated, looking unsure if she wanted to continue.
"Tell me." I insisted.
"I want to get my sister out, too. She's being held hostage until her eighteenth birthday in a few months. I don't think I need to elaborate what will happen then."
I stood from the bed and crossed the room to Nova. She didn't flinch or cower despite how I towered over her. If she was afraid of me, she certainly didn't show it.
I gently gripped her chin and tilted her head back until our gazes met. "You’re asking me to give up a lot."
"Not really. I'm a nobody to you, Ronin. Besides, wouldn't you rather pick your own wife?"
