Page 4 of The Red Queen

“Be careful with that one. She is fragile but deadly. I don’t want her either lost or harmed.”

“Of course, Signore.”

Good enough.

Giovanni turned and walked to the main house.

He’d come to America under the guise of visiting his young friend, Raina Duncan, but his actual intent had been to inspect the American operations and the new boss in town, Mateo Gutierrez. Giovanni conducted business in the United States, and Miami was his gateway. If Miami wasn’t being properly taken care of, then he would’ve taken out the new boss and replaced with him someone Giovanni trusted, despite the friendship he’d developed with his host’s young fiancé.

Giovanni had nothing to worry about. Mateo had ruthlessly brought the city under his control and trade was once again flourishing overseas.

Giovanni had been staying in a guest suite at the request of Raina, though he was positive Mateo’d had a few choice words about her decision. Giovanni and Raina had formed an attachment when she’d needed his help in Italy. Having her spend a few days in his home reminded him of how much he enjoyed the life that youth could bring. Sometimes he thought he aged himself beyond his fifty-three years by closeting himself in his mausoleum of a house and mourning a woman who passed more than a decade earlier.

No longer. Now he had a new toy to play with.

The house security guard nodded and allowed Giovanni to pass.

He let himself into the sitting room he’d been shown to on his first day in the mansion. It was lit, but no one was inside. As a servant ran past, he spoke.

“Please let Ms. Duncan know that I’m waiting for her in the sitting room.”

“Yes, sir,” came the swift response.

From what he had observed over his time spent in Miami, the staff in the Gutierrez mansion were top-notch. He had no doubt Raina would be with him shortly.

He sat on the leather sofa, ignoring the puff of drywall dust that went up into the air. Desi had done a number on the mansion in her attack on Mateo. She’d set up a few well-crafted pipe bombs in and around the house, causing chaos to rain down on all of them and driving them into her trap in the bunker.

He touched the gunshot wound on the side of his head. Superficial, but it would leave a scar.

A fire burned in him as he thought of the mark Desi’s rampage had left behind. If any other had done the same to him, he’d dissect them one piece at a time until he was certain they’d learned the error of fucking with him.

There was something about Desi that stopped him. Maybe her rage, so close to the surface, mirrored his own, which was deeply buried. Or perhaps it was simply her beauty. She had a devastating, if vicious, charm. He looked forward to mining the truth from her.

“Giovanni.” Raina rushed into the room and when he stood, she flung her arms around him, hugging him.

Raina amused him. He was one of the most prolific and vicious killers in the Italian mafia, yet she treated him like a kindly father figure. He felt fondly toward the girl and allowed her familiarity. It was a bonus that her desire for their friendship irked the hell out of her notorious fiancé.

“I’m so sorry you got caught up in our drama.” She pulled back to look into his face.

The lenses of her glasses reflected the light of the chandelier.

“This was nothing more to me than an evening’s amusement for me,” he assured her.

She laughed. “Then I’d hate to see what you find truly entertaining.”

He chuckled as well, but his thoughts were far grimmer. He was quite positive she would, in fact, despise the things he found amusing. Such as his new captive and all the ways he planned to break her.

Raina didn’t mention Desi, which probably meant that Mateo hadn’t told her he’d gifted their enemy to Giovanni. He wondered if Mateo would eventually tell her. She wouldn’t be pleased. Though she hated Desi, Giovanni suspected she would hate even more that Desi had been given to him to do whatever he wanted with her.

“As interesting as I’ve found my time here, I must take my leave of you,” he told her. “I fly back to Venice tonight.”

“Please stay,” she rushed to counter him. “I don’t want you to feel chased away by what’s happened here. Of course, we want you to finish your vacation here with us.”

He liked that she’d said ‘we’, though he was positive Mateo wanted him off the continent. So far as he knew, there were three bosses in Miami: Sotza, Raina’s stepfather and the Venezuelan cartel boss; Giovanni, the boss of Venice and surrounding areas; and Mateo, the new boss of Miami. Four, if he counted Raina’s mother. Elvira had once run Miami before her husband came in to remove her from her post.

Too many bosses in one town made for a tense situation. He was better off heading home and leaving the other families to sort themselves out.

“I’m sorry, but I am firm in my decision.”

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