3

Gianna

"No kidding." A shiver of unease creeps down my spine, but I brush it aside. So what if he's part of the Mafia? It's Italy; they're probably everywhere. Except... "Wait a minute. If you're the Mafia, as you say, why are you on this side of the door?"

He crosses his arms. "Clearly, my enemies have caught up with me. Which leads me to ask, who are you?"

I tilt my head. Should I reveal my name? Not telling him has given me some control over the situation. Once he knows my name, I'll be even more vulnerable. But trapped in here with him, isn't my situation precarious enough? Maybe withholding my name will give me some advantage.

He studies my expression and seems to guess my thoughts, raising his hands. "Look, I admit, we started off on the wrong foot—"

"Is that what you call climbing all over me and kissing me?"

"I didn't see you resisting too hard, Angel."

Anger flushes through me, heating my cheeks. "You caught me off guard, that's all," I mutter. "And don't call me Angel."

"You liked that kiss, admit it. And you still haven't told me your name."

"I did no such thing, and by the way, I'm not telling you my name." I lift my chin and move to the bed, pressing my back against the wall as far from him as possible.

"Listen, I don't need to force myself on you, okay? There are plenty of women lining up to be with me."

"Hmph, you certainly think highly of yourself."

"It's all true." He shrugs. "The problem is, I couldn't resist, with an audience watching."

"Excuse me?" I blink, trying to follow his train of thought. "I don't understand."

He sighs and takes a step back, relieving the tight space slightly with his bulk dominating most of the room.

He runs his fingers through his hair and winces. "Cazzo!" he swears, using what I assume is the Italian version of the 'F' word. Somehow, it sounds more natural than the English equivalent. Cazzo.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." I scowl at him.

He purses his lips, then seems to come to a decision. "Remember the camera?"

I glance up at the small device hidden in the ceiling, and the hair on my forearms rises. "That’s not creepy at all," I murmur.

"Well, I have this fetish."

I whip my head in his direction.

"Excuse me?"

"Now, don’t jump to conclusions." His chest rises and falls. "It’s just, I like being on display."

I blink. "You mean, like being watched?"

"Exhibitionism. It’s my kink."

A pulse thuds to life low in my belly. No, no, no. I will not be turned on by this talk of kink and fetishes and such. "So, you’re trying to say that—"

"Being on camera makes me horny."

I gape. Seriously, my mouth falls open, and I know I’m staring at him like he just told me he’s from another planet—which he might be, because I’ve never in my life heard something so… kinky.

"So, if someone is watching you… it makes me want to put on a performance."

He rolls his neck. "Although, that’s not the only reason I kissed you. As I mentioned earlier, you were surprised, and I didn’t want you to scream and get their attention."

"I… I honestly don’t know what to say."

"How about we call a truce? If we need to stay in here together, we can’t exactly keep fighting."

"I don’t see why not." I bring my knees up to my chest. "And if you think coming clean about your perversions is supposed to be reassuring—"

"It’s not. I was merely being open, so you’d begin to understand me."

"I don’t want to understand you."

"Afraid, given the proximity of our situation, we may not have much choice but to get to know each other very well."

I lower my chin and try to read the subtext of what he’s saying. A-hole that he is, he takes in the expression on my face—which I’m sure must be a mix of horror and fear—and he bursts out laughing, "Relax, Angel, I’m not coming on to you again; not unless you ask me to."

"Which I do not." I raise my hands. "Let’s be very clear. I don’t want anything to do with you. You stay on that side—" I stab my finger toward the opposite corner of the cell "—and I’ll stay here."

"Now, that’s not fair, is it? You get the bed and I get the floor."

"Well, I was here first." And this is an insane conversation. We’re both trapped in here, and rather than discussing how to get out of here, we’re squabbling like a couple of children. But this man… He’s too big, too broad, too handsome, too confident of himself. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way. He’s just too over-the-top. Too much. There’s too much of him for this small space. And he smells too good. Goddamn it. For that alone, I should hate him. No one has the right to look so good. I mean, just being in his presence gives me an eyegasm.

"I have a better idea; why don’t we share the bed?"

"What? No!" I straighten my spine. "I already gave you the cover earlier, didn’t I? So why don’t you take that and retreat to your corner of the room."

He glances around, then walks over and snatches up the cover. When he straightens, he sways a little. "Cazzo!" He squeezes his eyes shut. "Those stronzi sure did get to me."

"How did you get to be here anyway? Do you know who knocked you out?"

He stabs his finger over his shoulder in the direction of the camera.

"Sure." I tighten my lips. He strides over, lays the cover on the bed, then heads towards the bathroom. He steps inside, and I hear him shuffling around. Soon, he pokes his head out of the doorway. "Come here."

"Huh?" I scowl in his direction. "You're kidding, right?"

"There are no cameras here," he says in a hushed tone. "It's safer to talk in here."

"I've got nothing to say to you."

"Are you sure?" He scans the room once more, then lowers his voice to a whisper. "Don't you want to find a way out of here?"

"Not if it means being with you." Well, obviously I want out of here, but I'm not about to admit that to him.

He leans against the doorframe, fixing his gaze on me. "Come here, Angel." The deep timbre of his voice sends a tingle down my spine.

I hold his stare for a moment, then another, before swinging my legs off the bed. I stand up straight and move toward him, noticing the flicker of triumph in his eyes. "I'm only coming in there because there's no camera."

He shuts the door behind me, and instantly, it feels like we're sealed in a bubble. The space is so cramped, it's like an airplane bathroom. There's barely room for the toilet and the sink. With his size, there's no avoiding touching him in there. I press myself against the wall and try to hold my breath.

A chuckle rumbles in his chest. "Now this is cozy, isn't it?"

"Keep it to yourself," I snap. "What did you want to tell me?"

He turns on the sink tap, filling the room with running water. "Just to make sure they can't hear us," he explains, then leans closer until our chests nearly touch. "I have an idea on how we can escape."

"Do I really want to hear this?" I do, but I won't admit it to this guy.

"Do you have a choice?" he counters.

I clench my jaw and glare at him.

His grin widens. "Clearly, they put us in the same cell because they wanted us to meet."

"Or maybe they were short on space?" I suggest.

"Possible, but I think they wanted to see how we'd interact."

"Like an experiment?" I shrug. "This keeps getting weirder."

"Maybe they thought we wouldn't get along," he muses. "Or maybe they knew my history and wanted to see what would happen if they locked us up together. But there's another possibility..."

"What's that?"

"They put you in here with the woman and her kids we came to rescue."

"We? Who's 'we'?"

"My brothers and I."

"More of the Lombardi Mafia?"

"Lombardi Seven," he corrects.

"So, you came to rescue these people?"

"They're the family of a man who attacked one of my brothers and his wife," he explains.

"Now I'm really confused. Why would you save the family of someone who attacked your family?" I frown.

"Because he was coerced into it, and he agreed to help us track down Frederick—our captor," he clarifies.

"Okay, so you and your brothers offered to help him and his family in return for—"

"Him giving us information on Frederick’s whereabouts."

"So, you came to look for this man's family and ended up being taken yourself?"

"We underestimated Frederick. Two of my brothers and I went into the house where Frederick was holding this guy’s family. We managed to get them out, but Frederick's men came after us. My brothers left with the family. I stayed behind to hold them back. I thought we had succeeded, too. Then, I was ambushed. The next thing I know, I'm being thrown into this cell with you."

"But why did he take me?" I bite the inside of my cheek. "I have nothing to do with the Mafia. I‘m an actress and a jazz dancer, and I’m only in Palermo to perform an interpretation ofBeauty and The Beast. I was on my way back from dance rehearsal when someone kidnapped me. I woke up in this room, two days ago… At least, I think it was two days."

"And you haven’t seen anyone?"

"No one but you."

"Hmm." He rubs his jaw. "It makes no sense."

"You’re telling me." I shuffle my feet. "Can we go back into the room now?"

He tilts his head, then nods. "Go on, I’m going to wash up quickly, and then I’ll be there." I head out of the bathroom, but instead of clambering onto the bed, I begin to pace the room. This entire situation is so bizarre. Why am I here? Why did they bring him here? Why have they locked us together? What do they want to do with us? And damn it, why am I so attracted to my fellow prisoner?

That’s when the door opens and a man walks in.