Page 12 of The Lies We Tell

“We’re not in the habit of bringing back souvenirs,” the other man snapped.

“And I’m not in the habit of asking for your permission. Get in the fucking car, Dom.”

Dom swept her with a look of disgust before turning back to Matteo and drilling two fingers into Matteo’s chest. At least those kinds of looks she could handle.

“Of all the times to think with your fucking dick. I hope you know what you’re doing, brother.”

“Load up,” Matteo said in response. “Tessa?” he called over his shoulder, voice softening. “You remember which car?”

Licking her dry lips, she skirted around both men and scrambled into the backseat of the second SUV. The men in the front seat cast her curious glances—until Matteo climbed in behind her and they retrained their eyes on the road in front of them.

When the car rolled forward, slowly navigating the narrow alleyway, she twisted in her seat to stare back at her father’s compound, watching it until they turned onto the busy street and it disappeared.

She’d either done everything exactly right or made the biggest mistake of her life. But there was no going back now. The only way through was forward.

Chapter Five

When the SUVs pulled into the driveway of the Bianchi villa, Matteo stepped out of the second while Dom climbed out of the first, glaring daggers at him. Matteo let Dom handle the quick debrief, shouldering Tessa’s bag and motioning for her to follow him.

The house was quiet, even though it was almost eleven. Matteo prayed he could get Tessa safely into a guest room before he had to figure out an explanation for the rash and stupid thing he’d done by taking her. What he really needed was a quiet minute to wonder just what in the fuck he’d been thinking.

Long story short, he hadn’t been. Not when faced with her long, thick hair and heart-shaped mouth and boundless curves. He hadn’t been thinking anything other than mine when she looked at him with those big brown eyes full of fear and curiosity and asked him to rescue her.

Which is why he needed to catch a fucking break and get her hidden away so he could come up with a plausible explanation for why he’d kidnapped his enemy’s daughter and brought her into his home. He was so close, almost there.

Turning left at the top of the stairs, he followed the long hallway to the end. As he was about to round the corner, Luca’s bedroom door opened to his right.

“Oh,” Sienna said, curious eyes darting from Tessa’s nervous face to Matteo’s. “Did…something…happen?” Sienna wondered.

“Baby girl, who are you tal—” Luca stopped short at the sight of Tessa and Matteo standing in the hallway. “What the hell is she doing here?” he demanded.

Matteo looked down at Tessa, who, to her credit, squared her shoulders in the face of Luca’s scowl instead of cowering. It made lust punch through him. That’s exactly the kind of fire that got him into this mess, and he needed her to cut that shit out so he could think.

“We’ll debrief in the study in ten.”

Turning on his heel, Matteo strode away from Luca and Sienna’s whispered conversation and rounded the corner leading to his room. There were only two rooms in this area of the house. The primary suite on one side of the hallway, and a large guest bedroom on the other.

Matteo suspected the second, slightly smaller room was for wives who wanted to avoid sharing their husband’s bed every night. Not entirely uncommon, but a room his own mother had never really used as far as he knew.

Twisting the knob, Matteo pushed the door in and motioned for Tessa to go ahead of him. Eyes wide, she did a slow turn, studying the space. It was bigger than the bedroom he’d found her in, more than twice the size.

He set her bag down on the floor by the bed and shoved his hand into his pocket, taking a deep breath.

“There’s a private bathroom through there.” He gestured to a door in the far corner. “And if you need anything, use the intercom to call Giulia. She’ll bring you whatever you ask for,” he said, indicating the black box on the nightstand. “You should be comfortable here for…the foreseeable future.”

She continued staring at him without speaking, and he had to force himself to step back toward the door instead of closer. If he moved any closer, he’d be able to smell the fresh tropical scent of her shampoo. The same scent that had been driving him crazy on the three-hour drive from Syracuse to Palermo.

“Thank you,” she said softly when he reached for the knob.

He gave a curt nod. “I’ll be back later.”

Stepping into the hallway, he heard the echo of the door closing as he turned the corner. Angry voices drifted from the direction of the study as he jogged down the stairs. They were going to hate this.

Dom must have called Carina and Alexei on the drive home because the entire family was gathered, hands waving madly as they discussed their new unwelcome houseguest. Sienna saw him first, brushing a hand down Luca’s back to get his attention, and then slowly the room quieted, all eyes turning to Matteo.

In the silence, Matteo crossed to the desk, leaning against it and crossing his arms over his chest. He wanted to wrap this up quickly. He didn’t have the answers they wanted, like why Tessa Antonetti was unpacking in one of the guest rooms and what had possessed him to bring her here in the first place.

Plus, he needed a shower. He was still speckled with Drago’s blood.

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