Page 60 of Deal with the Devil
“I’ll deal with you there,” he said. “And if you try anything else, dolcezza—you’ll come to regret it.”
He didn’t wait for my response or to see if I’d even follow. He knew I had no other choice as he stormed off.
My fist hovers in the air as I inhale a deep breath and then finally pull the trigger.
I knock on the door, knuckles tapping against the heavy dark wood.
“Enter.”
The door creaks ominously as I turn the brass handle and push it open.
“You… um… you wanted me to come by?” I remain in the doorway as if I won’t be setting foot inside his room.
His private quarters look like what I’d imagined—dark wood and darker accent colors like navy and matte black.
It’s once again a reminder of how different he is to Rafael.
Rafael tended to favor sleek all-white furnishings with splashes of black.
He doesn’t look up from the papers scattered across his mahogany desk. In the dim lamplight, his dark hair falls across his forehead, the rest of his face obscured by the devil’s mask he wears at almost all times.
But by the sharp angle, I can still tell his jaw is clenched in controlled fury.
“Close the door.”
The quiet command sends ice through my veins. I’m slow doing what he says, hesitating for a couple seconds.
The door snicks shut, the sound jarring in the silent room.
“You tried to use the phone.”
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong?—”
“Says who?”
“I’m a grown woman. I’m allowed to use a phone whenever I want?—”
“Says who?” he repeats sharply, scribbling away at his document.
“Says me!”
Now his head snaps up, those dark eyes boring into me with an intensity that makes my breath catch. Il Diavolo rises from his chair with predatory grace.
Suddenly the spacious room feels suffocating.
“You do?” he asks, his head tilting. “And since when do you make the rules?”
“Since when do I have to follow them?”
He scrubs a hand at his jaw, stroking his chin through the mask. “Look around you, dolcezza. You’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“Maybe…” I gather more breath in my lungs, standing straighter. “Maybe that’s where I was trying to get back to.”
“And who were you on the phone with?”
“No one.”
“Don't.” He moves around the desk, each step slow. “Lie to me, Portia.”
