Impossible Odds

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“I saw you as a challenge. Kidnapping anyone is easy, but luring someone of their own free will was far more entertaining. Is that want you want to hear? That you were entertainment?” He stepped forward, slowly snaking his hand behind my neck and caressing my jawline with his thumb. I wanted to yank myself away and lean into his touch at the same time. The push and pull made me feel maniacal, teetering on the edge of insanity. I gave into a crazed smile. “It’s exactly what I wanted to hear, but not for the reason you think.” “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” “Because I can hear the lie in your words. You may fool your boss, and you may even fool yourself, but you can’t lie to me.” Primo’s jaw flexed, and his hand flinched momentarily tighter around my throat. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. You’re still going to be used to get at your family, and you will end up hurt if you give us trouble.” Finally allowing my anger to show, I glared at him and lifted my chin. “Then do it,” I hissed. “If that’s how this is going to go, hurt me.” I slammed my hands against his chest. “Show me what a monster you can be. Prove to me that you felt nothing when you were inside me, because until you do, I won’t believe it.” He growled with rage, whirling us around to press my front against the wall with his body firmly behind me. “What you’re asking for is a death sentence for both of us, and no matter how good your cunt tastes, I’m not willing to die for you. Stop this f*****g bullshit now. You hear me?” His heaving breaths mingled with my own, his mouth just inches from mine. The more adamant the refusal, the greater the admission. He was battling against his desire for me. If he felt nothing, he would have shrugged and walked away, unaffected. Feeling the wrath of his frustration was all the reassurance I needed. My anger receded, and a calm, determined certainty took its place. “I hear you, loud and clear,” I said on a shaky breath. Primo was just as affected by the connection between us as I was. If I could convince him not to shut me out, I might get far more than a ticket home. I was no longer interested in pursuing a simple escape. After feeling the fervent intensity of his emotions, I realized there was more on the line than my freedom. I wanted the man I’d come for, and I wouldn’t settle for anything less. Mistaking my response for submission, Primo pulled away, straightening his collar and exiting my room without another word. OceanofPDF.com Chapter 16 Primo I avoided Giada the rest of the day. Something about her riled me up more than anyone else I knew. Her words should have rolled off my back like the ocean breeze, but instead, they soaked straight into my bloodstream, making my heart rate skyrocket and my emotion spiral out of control. I had to stay away from her to have any hope of remaining sane. The irony of the situation didn’t escape me—the fact that I brought her to my home just to keep her at arm’s length. It would have been far easier on me to have kidnapped her cousin as I’d been instructed, but I seemed to be harboring masochistic tendencies. I’d convinced myself I could enjoy her while she was here and combine business and pleasure. That had been a naïve error on so many levels. Now, I had to deal with the consequences. “I hope there were no issues with our guest,” I prompted Santino when I checked in that evening. “Not at all, actually. She’s eating well and seems to have taken to Alma.” Of course, she had. She’d probably poison my housekeeper with the same alluring venom she’d used on me, and the next thing I’d know, Alma would be petitioning for Giada’s freedom. “I trust Alma has been warned about staying in line?” I grumbled. “She has. I don’t believe there’s anything she could do to create problems. There are no phones in the house aside from yours and mine. She knows better than to cross you.” I grunted. “You don’t know how compelling our little prisoner can be.” “So far, she’s been rather compliant. She did ask to go for a walk on the beach this afternoon, but she stuck to the shoreline, swam for a bit, and hardly said a word.” I’d told Santino that Giada was allowed on the beach if he escorted her, but I was suddenly reconsidering that decision. The bitter taste of jealousy left a sneer on my face when I thought of Santino seeing Giada in a bathing suit, watching her perfectly rounded ass as she strolled along the sandy shore. I didn’t want anyone else laying eyes on her body, even someone I trusted as deeply as Santino. He’d been a friend since my days on the streets and owed me just as I owed Naz. Hopefully, unlike my relationship with Naz, my friendship with Santino wasn’t founded on a series of lies. As far as I knew, we were solid. I’d given no reason for Santino to be disloyal. It’s possible Naz would say the same about you. True, but he was responsible for my parents’ deaths. If he couldn’t understand why that would be hard for me to accept, then he had issues of his own. I’d never done anything to hurt Santino and wouldn’t let my f****d-up mental state bleed into other areas of my life. I shook off the selfdoubt and shoved aside my jealousy. “As long as she behaves, I see no reason she can’t be on the beach, but you have to keep a close eye on her. She’s brazen enough to try something stupid, and she’s of no use to us dead.” Santino stared at me for a moment as if he were studying me. “I overheard your conversation with Nazario.” I glared at him, holding perfectly still. “I suggest you think very carefully about what you’re going to say next.” “Are you telling me I can’t speak openly to you? Because I would have thought we were past that at this point.” He hadn’t been upset before, but my warning had clearly triggered his temper. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Of course, you can speak.” “I can tell something’s different with you since you got back. If I can see that, Nazario will too. He’ll think she’s getting to you.” “Why are you telling me this?” I asked warily. “Because I’ve seen the way you look at her. I’ve known you too long and seen you with too many other women to believe she means nothing. As far as I’m concerned, good for you—there’s no reason you shouldn’t have a woman in your life—but I doubt Nazario would feel the same.” My gut reaction was to lash out in denial about my feelings for Giada, but Santino was only trying to help me. What he said was true on both counts, which was the reason I’d been trying to distance myself from her.