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Riah POV

Allowing my eyes to roll back as I massaged shampoo out of my scalp, every muscle in my body calmed under the hot water trickling down my naked skin. 

Glancing down at my feet, I gasped as I realized blood was staining the shower floor. I cursed under my breath as I realized it was coming from my hands. Scrubbing harshly, I tried my hardest to get the assassins blood off of myself from hours earlier. 

But no matter how hard I tried, the blood left red stains behind. Clenching my jaw in irritation, I turned the water off and climbed out of the shower. 

After wrapping a robe around my damp body and brushing through my knotted hair, I made my way back into the hotel room to find Demitri shirtless with his back facing me. 

Licking my lips, I tip toed to him in attempt to surprise him, but he just chuckled and turned to face me. 

"You know I can hear you even when you're trying to be sneaky, right?" His voice was humorous as he searched my demeanor. 

Shrugging, I wrapped my arms around his muscular body and placed my chin on his chest to look into his ocean eyes. "I like to think one day I can be sneaky enough to scare you."

He shook his head while wrapping his arms around my small frame. The feeling of his touch still sent shocks through my body, even with clothes between us. 

His eyes flickered from mine to my lips then back, causing me to pull away and chuckle. Sitting on the bed, I stared at the beige carpet under my feet. 

"Has Marcel figured out who the assassin is yet?" My question seemed to cause Demitri to hold his breath for a moment, as if he had bad news.

He shook his head, "No, but we aren't giving up until we know who he is and why he's here in Sicily." Running his hand through his disheveled hair, he sat down on the chair across me and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "I just can't believe he didn't crack last night, for god sake I basically tortured him."

I instantly cringed at his words as I remembered what we did to that man last night. After we realized he was still alive, we tried to figure out who he was and why he was here but he didn't even whisper one single word. Although inflicting pain upon people is a necessary action in order to succeed in this underground world and the paranormal one, I still don't like it. 

"He'll talk sooner or later. Have you been able to confirm whether or not the American spy and the assassin are connected?" I questioned my mate as I pushed myself off the plush bed and made my way to the dresser. 

"They aren't, although the assassin is American, he's been in France for quiet some time. We found footage of him in Amiens for weeks before the attack."

Shocked, I immediately stopped going through the many clothes I had shuffled around the drawer and turned to face Demitri. 

"He was in Amiens? Wait, if he was near, why wouldn't he attack there instead of wait until we got to Sicily?"

Demitri shrugged and huffed in irritation. "I don't know, Riah. Maybe because we aren't as protected as usual? I really wish I knew but it's just as confusing to me as it is for you." The aggravation towards me was evident in his tone, causing me to become angry.

It's not my damn fault this is happening and he has no reason to get mad at me, even if I ask questions I know he has no answers to. 

"It was more of a rhetorical question." I retorted as I plucked a sundress off the ground and made my way into the bathroom. 

After stepping into the red material and throwing my hair into a messy bun, I left the bathroom and slipped on my sandals before leaving the room in a huff. I don't have the energy to sit and listen to Demitri's bitching. I have issues of my own, including Alyssa's safety and happiness.

After making my way through the halls and down the elevator to the pool, I could feel my headache ease at the sound of Alyssa's giggles echoing through the walls of the pool room. 

"Ri, are you going to swim with us?" Her excitement was overwhelming while she bounced around in a pink floaty.

I shook my head and crouched down to get closer to her level. "No, I'm sorry baby. I have some business meetings to attend to all day. But I promise you the moment I'm done, we'll all go out to eat. Sound good?" Placing my hand on her wet cheek, I slipped a strand of hair behind her ear and gave her a wide smile. 

She nodded and returned the smile, but I could see the sadness flash in her bright eyes even after she tried to hide it.

I hate the fact that I can't spend more time with her. I wish I could let go and discover all that Sicily has to offer with her but I can't. The clan needs me and I can't abandon my Don responsibilities, especially now after I literally just gained The Godfathers respect. 

"Are you ready?" I could sense Demitri in the pool room far before he spoke, but chose to ignore him.

Nodding, I stood up and softened my dress beneath my palms. "Nora, you got this? We have a pretty full day today with Alfonso."

Shooting me a toothy grin, she widened her arms for Alyssa to jump into. Before Nora could block it, a wave of water followed close behind and splashed her with so much force it almost knocked her off her feet. I chuckled at the way Nora's face crinkled at the coldness of it. 

"Thanks hun, call if you need anything. We'll be back later to pick you guys up for dinner." 

After saying love you and leaving the pool area, I continued to ignore Demitri's presence and made my way into the blacked out SUV waiting for us at the front of the building. 

"Alfonso wants us to go straight to his warehouse where he has the spy." Demitri's voice broke the silence as we made our way out of the hotel parking lot.

I nodded and kept my eyes on the buildings slowly passing us by. 

Sighing, he shifted in his seat, causing me to glance his way to see him gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles began to turn white. 

I rolled my eyes, "What?" 

He kept quiet for a moment, and I thought he wasn't going to say anything until he took a deep breath and peered at me. "Why are you being short with me?"

"What do you mean?" I questioned him.

"Don't act clueless, Riah. You've been irritated with me since you left the hotel room."

I just shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest, "I'm just a bit stressed." 

Picking at the hem of my dress in silence, I prayed he wouldn't push further.

"Are you sure? Because your irritation seems a bit more direct, ya know, towards me."

I silently cursed myself for not praying hard enough, and as I was about to speak, I realized we were at Alfonso's warehouse. Thank the Goddess. 

"We can talk about this later." I mumbled, climbing out of the vehicle and making my way around the front. 

Demitri POV

I could sense her hesitation the moment I reached for her hand, but I didn't let that stop me from grabbing ahold of it and gripping it as if I could lose her at any moment. She's been so distant lately, she's pulling away from me and it really hurts to see her like this.

I don't know if I did something wrong to make her upset, but the only thing I can think of is earlier when I snapped on her for asking so many unknown questions. I knew the moment I spoke those words back in the hotel room that I'd regret speaking to her so harshly, but everything has been too stressful lately. 

Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I dialed Alfonso's number and hit call. After a few rings, he picked up. 

"Ciao, come around back and I'll meet you at the door." He said.

Hanging up, I pulled Riah around the back of the building to where a rusted old door was, with a large man guarding it. 

The gun in his hand was meant to intimidate me, if only I was human. Although The Italian Mafia is an ally, they still have a knack for being a bit ostentatious.

After the sound of the door unlocking and slowly creaking open, Alfonso peeked his head around and grinned. 

"Come in." He muttered lowly as he opened the door wide enough for us to walk in.

To say the inside of the warehouse was creepy would be an understatement. With the windows covered in tape, random furniture scattered all over, and lack of proper maintenance it was easy for water to do its damage.  

Following Alfonso to a room in the back, I pulled Riah to my side and gripped onto her tighter than earlier. This building doesn't bug me, but I can tell that she's becoming uneasy. 

Are you okay, my love?

But instead of answering me through our telepathy, she just shrugged. 

Maybe later we can talk about what's bugging her, and hopefully I can make her feel better in any way that she desires. 

I could barely help the smile from tugging at my lips as my mind wandered to my mates amazing silky smooth skin and perfectly toned body. 

What are you thinking about? Riah's voice came to me. 

Smirking, I peered into her emerald eyes. It's a secret.