Page 64 of The Red Queen

Talking to Raina was surreal. Desi had never before had a prolonged conversation with one of her victims. Mostly because she didn’t usually leave her targets breathing. Donada and Alina left them to talk alone, and though Desi knew Mateo would lose his shit if he knew she was with Raina, she took the younger woman further into the vineyard.

They had nothing in common, but as they walked and talked, Desi realized Raina was someone she could like. She was fun, friendly, bubbly and had a good sense of humour.

Eventually, Desi worked up the nerve to apologize, and Raina surprised her by accepting. When Desi questioned why Raina would forgive her for such heinous actions that could have easily ended her life and the life of the man she loved, Raina shrugged. “Life is too short to hold grudges and I believe our husbands intend to become cross-Atlantic allies.” She tilted her head to the side and then added, “Except for Antonio. I hate that little fucker and wish someone would stomp the shit out of him.”

Desi grinned, her first proper smile in hours. “Actually….” She described her run-ins with Antonio and the two women bonded over their mutual hatred of Giovanni’s son.

As they approached the house, Desi held back. “I think I’ll go in separately if you don’t mind. Your husband told me to stay away from you and I’m not quite ready to test his temper.” She held up her right hand, wriggling the stump.

Raina pursed her lips and shook her head. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”

Desi shrugged it off. “A missing finger is worth the price of my life.”

The two women parted, and Desi strode back into the party, searching for Giovanni and another glass of wine. Desi was not a sociable person. She’d spent her life working. Even her downtime was spent honing her skills in weapons, combat and negotiation. Though she’d learned along the way how to conduct polite discourse, she preferred to be alone. Or, lately, alone with Giovanni.

A server approached her with a tray, and she thanked him as she took a glass of sparkling wine. She wrinkled her nose at the taste but powered through. She had developed a taste for Donada’s wine, but still didn’t like the fizzy version.

She scanned the room, frowning when she didn’t see Giovanni. She was exhausted and ready to leave the party but thought she should check in with her new husband first, let him know she was going to bed.

She slipped from the dining room into the hallway and walked toward Giovanni’s office. The door was open a crack and she lifted her hand to knock. A voice stopped her. It was Giovanni, and he sounded angry. She didn’t want to interrupt. She would give one of the staff a message to give to him.

She was about to leave when the sound of her name stopped her. It wasn’t someone talking to her, but about her. It was Giovanni’s consigliere, Tomas, a man she had met a couple of times. She stepped closer to the door, listening intently.

“Desiree is young and healthy. I have no doubt she will bear strong children for you.”

Desi held her breath, pressing her ear to the space between the door and frame. She didn’t care that she was eavesdropping; she needed to know what Giovanni thought of this idea.

Giovanni grunted. “Si, that is the plan. It will take time, though. At the moment, she is still rough around the edges. Her violent tendencies will have to be tempered before I can trust her to carry my child.”

Desi pressed a hand over her mouth to smother the gasp that flew out. What did he mean by ‘rough around the edges’? He told her he enjoyed her fire. Had he lied? Rather than tell Tomas off for discussing her like she was some kind of brood mare, Giovanni was insulting her to one of his people. She pressed her hand protectively over the wound on her side and turned her head to peek through the crack.

Giovanni was standing with his back to the door, holding a glass of what she thought was whiskey. His rings glinted in the light as he shifted to look at Tomas.

Tomas was opposite Giovanni, sitting on the couch where Giovanni had held Desi when the doctor was patching her up. He held a liquor glass as well. His hard gaze was on Giovanni’s face.

“There isn’t time to pull off a ‘My Fair Lady’ with your wife,” Tomas said sharply, the ice clinking in his glass as he took a long sip before continuing. “It is well past time for Antonio to go.”

“Agreed.” Though his drawled voice was calm, Desi could hear the stress in his tone. He may agree that Antonio should die, but it wasn’t an easy decision to come to.

“My advice is to get Desiree pregnant as soon as possible. Replace Antonio with a new son. Have as many children as possible with her. Fill the stable and the embarrassment of a failed son will fade in time.”

A knife of pain stabbed through her, and Desi had to step away from the door to catch her breath. She shook her head at her own stupidity. Why hadn’t she asked Giovanni why he brought her to Italy? On the first day they met, in Mateo’s bunker, he’d told her he was taking her as his slave.

At the time, Desi had assumed she would either escape or die. She had given little thought to why he wanted her. A female slave. Now she knew. He wanted a woman who would bear his children, replace the son who constantly disappointed him.

Shame and anger threatened to overwhelm her, and she had to use a hand on the wall to steady herself before she sank to the floor. The past several weeks flashed through her mind, a collage of the moments she’d shared with Giovanni, now a sinister slide show of dark intent.

The hand she’d pressed over her wound moved to her stomach.

A baby.

She’d never thought of having one. Life under Nico’s regime was far too brutal for a child. As soon as she was old enough to have a period, she’d taken her birth control religiously. Nico hadn’t wanted a child either, and had used condoms.

But she hadn’t used any form of birth control since coming to Italy. She’d been too wrapped up in her situation to think of it. Pregnancy hadn’t crossed her mind before now.

Before Desi could flee, she heard laughter coming from Giovanni’s office. She automatically turned toward the sound but regretted it when she heard Tomas say, “At least fucking her won’t be difficult. You picked yourself a beauty,mio amico. A few more weeks of training and you’ll have her eating out of your hand.”

Desi turned away, sick to her stomach. Training?

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