Chapter Seven

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Luciano clicked a button on the adjacent wall, and the door opened. Rosa realized the room was specially designed with security for Luciano. Then she realized the hotel must also be owned by him. Oh God—where could she possibly go, since more than half the city was owned by Luciano Mancini himself?

But her nervous thoughts were shattered when the door opened and two dangerous-looking men entered, dragging a bloodied man with them. They threw him onto the floor before Luciano mercilessly.

Feeling embarrassed, Rosa tried to pull away from Luciano, but he didn’t let her. Instead, he dragged her with him as he dropped back onto the sofa, landing in a lazy sprawl and pulling her straight onto his lap. She stared at him with wide, shocked eyes, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Boss, we found him,” one of the dangerous-looking men said.

Luciano’s eyes darkened with rage, and he looked at the man on the floor through the slit of his narrowed eyes.

“Boss… boss…” the man begged in a weak, shaking voice. “I am sorry. I was wrong. I did it for money, but I won’t do it again and will be loyal to you forever,” he cried.

The Italian don picked up a knife from the table and drove it into the man’s thigh.

“You should have thought of that before betraying me,” Luciano said coldly, his voice laced with lethal fury. “I hate liars.”

He yanked the blade out and plunged it into the man’s flesh again. And again.

The man’s screams tore through the room, raw and desperate. He writhed on the floor, choking on his own cries, blood pooling beneath him as if his life was already slipping away.

Rosa’s heart pounded violently against her ribs.

I hate liars.

The words rang in her head like a death sentence.

Fear wrapped around her throat. What if he ever found out she had lied to him too?

The man’s screams felt like a glimpse of her own future—of what awaited her if Luciano ever discovered her secrets. She didn’t know how long the torture went on. Time blurred, stretching into a nightmare she couldn’t escape.

Then suddenly—

Luciano pulled a gun from the holster at his waist.

Two shots cracked through the room.

The man collapsed, lifeless, blood splattering across the floor.

Rosa froze.

This was the most horrifying thing she had ever witnessed.

She turned her face away, burying it against Luciano’s shoulder and squeezing her eyes shut as her entire body trembled uncontrollably in his arms.

The two of Luciano’s men retreated toward the door and left. When Rosa heard the sound of the door closing, she opened her eyes—but was once again terrified to see the dead body lying on the floor, blood still pooling around it. A small squeal escaped her mouth.

Luciano’s arms tightened around her, and she finally came back to her senses, realizing she was in his embrace.

She looked up and found his cold, impassive eyes on her while his hand lifted the gun and pressed it against her cheek. She closed her eyes in fear, trembling even harder. She felt the cold metal drag across her cheeks, tracing her jawline, then rub against her lips before being slowly moved to her throat. She swallowed hard, praying in her heart that the monster of a man her ex-husband had become wouldn’t kill her. She had Renzo to look after—she couldn’t die just like that.

Then the gun was pressed to her chest, just above the swell of her breasts.

“Open your eyes, Rosie,” his deep, dangerous tone made her flinch, but she shook her head, too terrified to obey him.

He pressed the gun harder and said through gritted teeth, “Open your fucking eyes, Rosie, and I won’t repeat myself.”

Her eyes snapped open at the threat—and he slammed his demanding lips onto hers instantly.

He kissed her like he was pouring both his anger and hunger into that kiss, while his hands, still holding the gun, entered her top and grabbed her breasts, the cold metal pressing against her warm, soft skin. But Rosa was still disgusted and terrified of this dangerous mafia king, and she pushed him away.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at her with a dangerous warning.

“I… I’m not comfortable with a dead body lying here in its blood,” she stammered nervously, still very terrified.

“I will take you right here, right now,” he dictated, leaving no room for argument. And the next moment, he tore her panties and dragged the cold nozzle of the gun along her wet folds, pressing against her clit, then moving it deeper against her opening. She bit her lips to suppress a moan, but a shudder of horror ran through her, and she shoved his hand away in extreme fear, making him frown in frustration.