Page 20 of The Red Queen

He nodded. “Only when I need it. I prefer the comfort of my home office.”

When they finished the tour, Giovanni led her through another door and back into the chaos of a club in full swing.

She was almost giddy with excitement. It would be easy to escape from Giovanni’s club. There were a ton of distractions she could use, doors she could leave from, and people she could use for protection.

Apparently, Giovanni had the same thought, because before she knew what was happening, he was leading her through another door and into a private dining room. It was small, only a little bigger than a booth. The atmosphere was strangely claustrophobic. Especially when several men filed in after them and lined up against the four walls facing the table.

Bodyguards.

Desi raised an eyebrow as Giovanni pulled a chair out for her. Sitting, she said, “This is cozy. Do you always travel with so much heat?”

He gave her a brief smile and smoothed his tie as he sat opposite her. “No.”

“This is for me?” Her eyes glittered in pleasure.

“All for you,” he admitted, lifting a bottle of water and pouring some into the glass in front of her. “You are my jewel for the evening,bella. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

The light in her eyes dimmed, and she glared at him. For her protection. He was lying, of course. The men were there to make sure she didn’t escape. She wanted to make him eat his words, to show him exactly why he’d brought in… she turned in her chair to count… seven armed bodyguards.

Despite Giovanni’s men, the meal was intimate. A waitress attended them as unobtrusively as possible. Desi wasn’t given a menu, nor was she asked what she wanted. Instead, she was served a glass of red wine and fresh baked bread as an appetizer.

She took a sip of the wine. “I’d prefer a glass of tequila.”

He gave her a half smile and leaned back in his chair, sipping his wine. “When in Italy, you will do as the Italians do.”

She scowled but sat back in her chair and sipped her wine, studying him. Her enemy. The man she would kill if given the opportunity.

He was so elegant, so polished. He looked aristocratic, like he’d never done a day’s work in his life. She would be wrong though, if she made that assumption. His polish masked the monster that lurked beneath. She knew it was there because his monster called to hers, asking it to come out and play.

She could tell he’d gotten his hands dirty on his way up the ladder to the top. Ice and steel tempered his elegance. She would have to step carefully around this man.

“Is this a test?” she asked him bluntly. When he raised an eyebrow, she continued. “You lock me in the house for a week, without so much as allowing me to step out the front door to breathe the air.” She was surprised to note a slight frown at her comment, as though he regretted not giving her that small amount of freedom. “Yet you’re willing to bring me here. A place with many people and many avenues for escape. It can only be a test.”

He tapped the side of his wineglass with a long, well-manicured finger. “Perhaps I wanted to show you my assets before we marry.”

She ignored his reference to marriage. Despite what he’d told Antonio, she didn’t believe he actually intended to marry her. “You don’t strike me as a vain man.”

He tilted his head and studied her before answering. “And if this is a test? What would the purpose be?”

She shrugged and took a healthy gulp of her wine, made a face, and snatched the wrist of the waitress as she neared the table to refill the wine. Two of the bodyguards stepped forward, their hands on their weapons. Desi ignored them, focusing on the waitress, whose panicked face was far out of proportion to the situation unless she’d been warned about Desi. A shimmer of satisfaction had Desi’s lips turning up.

“Tequila,por favor.” Desi released the woman’s arm.

The waitress glanced at Giovanni, who nodded.

She left to fetch Desi’s drink.

Desi focused on Giovanni. “I don’t know the purpose of this test. You’re the one setting me up. Perhaps you wish to see exactly what I’m capable of.” She glanced at the surrounding men. “Or perhaps you wish to see what they’re capable of.”

One of them scowled at her, and she stared back, promise in her glittering eyes. If he wanted to fight, she would bring it. Show him what twenty-five years of elite training looked like. She marked him as her first victim.

The waitress brought in Desi’s tequila and set it on the table, stepping quickly back out of reach. Desi drank it in one shot, savouring the burn as the high-end liquor slid down her throat and into her belly where it created a pool of warmth.

“Another,” she demanded.

“No.” Giovanni slashed his hand toward the waitress. “No more.”

Desi narrowed her eyes at him. “I can handle my alcohol.”

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