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CLAUDIA

Claudia floated in the darkness without any thoughts until she felt a sharp tingle. The tingling began at the ends of her toes and moved up her legs and through her middle before reaching her arms, where it developed into a dull sensation.

Piece by piece, her memory of reality returned to her. Her entire body, including her cheek, rested against something cold and moist.

Plywood? It made sense, as the surface was firm and smooth.

Her new surroundings caused a dull ache to spread across her body as she opened her eyes. Light from the ceiling drew lengthy shadows on the bland walls. The room she was in could have been an office. She wasn't sure.

But she was still breathing.

She did not doubt that she would soon wish she were dead rather than in the hands of the Mafia.

Claudia felt a wave of panic wash over her, like choking pollution rising from the depths of her stomach. When she took another gasping breath, her chest wheezed. A cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Fights, torture, and dying of a panic attack were among the many bizarre scenarios that ran through her mind. There was no end to the possibilities, and each one set her heart racing, but she couldn't afford to give in to the rush. There was nothing more terrifying than waiting until it was too late, so she needed to get up and flee. They'd taken her against her will.

She took a few deep breaths, then pushed with arms that shook so terribly that she feared irreversible nerve damage as she slid her hands along the floor.

"You're up. We need to have a chat."

The sound of the sophisticated voice caused her heart to pound heavily. She'd never heard it before, but it sounded just like Edoardo when he spoke.

Lorenzo Guarini.

She remembered the sound of his voice when he had called Dominic at the office. His rich, Italian accent was a sound she'd always remember.

A deep chuckle came out as if he could hear her racing thoughts. Claudia sat up, gasping at the pain that was suddenly shooting through her temples. "Why do I...?"

"Why do you have a headache?"

His voice sounded closer.

"After smacking the back of your head, Roberto gave you some sedatives. You didn't go to sleep right away, but eventually you did."
 
She looked up, and after a brief period of dizziness, her vision became normal.

A short distance away, Lorenzo Guarini stood with his legs spread wide and his arms at his sides. He wore a well-cut obsidian suit, and her attention was first drawn to the ticking silver watch on his wrist before she allowed her gaze to travel upward.

The Mafia Don was gorgeous, considering who he was. His thick brown hair, graying at the temples, and dark brown eyes made him look like he'd stepped out of Men's Digest.

Right now, he was smiling like he probably had many times before. Dominic had told her many stories about him, but this was their first meeting. His smile came out as forced as he was talking to her.

She struggled to let her thoughts out. "Where am I?"

Lorenzo went down, and when his knee touched the filthy floor, he curled one lip in revulsion. "You think we should tell you? Okay, I'll answer that. We're currently hidden, and nobody will ever find you. No one will come for you."

Claudia thought of Dominic, and his name burned through her. "Dominic will find me."

He leaned back and chuckled. "When this is over, do you think he'll still want to be with you? A Mafia leader cares solely about himself, Tesoro."

He addressed her as his "darling" in Italian. Or perhaps he was trying to say "sweetheart." She honestly didn't give a damn anymore.

"Dominic's not like other mafia men."

When pressed further, Lorenzo confessed, "A hitman is a hitman. Nicco only uses people for his benefit. He would have had to go through my strongest men, which is highly unlikely since he would have to get them to talk, and they wouldn't do that. There's no way he can track you down."

"He's coming." Her legs slid away from his body. "And he'll make you pay."

"You trust him that much?" Lorenzo scoffed, drawing his face close to hers. "Dominic is a parasite, nothing more. He's not even worth the soiled mattress we placed you on when you got here."

Claudia almost suffocated from the rapid rise of her anger. She sighed. "You think you know? I don't think you know him at all."

His hand came out of nowhere, and she had little time to avoid getting hit.

As his hand cracked on her cheek, pain shot up the side of her face and reverberated through the room. Her mouth filled with a metallic taste, and she gagged, her eyes watering.

His dreadful grasp on her chin pulled her head back toward his piercing stare. "Do not criticize me. You know less about Dominic than I do. He should go to the gutter since he has no future." Lorenzo stood. Wiping the sweat with his palm, he scowled at her. "That's an everyday problem for you. Your intelligence and ambition are poor. You and all the other women follow the crowd and pick the weakest link. Even worse than street hookers."

She pressed her palm against her sore jaw. The knowledge that she would soon die added to the other distressing feelings to hit her like a ton of bricks. Claudia's filters were absent from this event. "Once Dominic finds me, I'm certain you'll lose everything, especially your life."

The Mafia leader smirked. "Miss Marcello, you are underestimating my power. Men like myself truly surpass the rest of civilization, despite what you may think."

He pulled something from his pocket. It looked like a photograph of Dominic, his family, and Amelia standing together.

Her stomach sank.

"Eliminating Dominic's fiancée so he could be with Irene was my best decision ever."

The loss of Amelia because of this man devastated Claudia. "You asshole! You murdered her?"

"Does that surprise you?" He raised an eyebrow at the photo and then at her. "Perhaps I should have poisoned you like Amelia."

"You did something to my food."

"Now you're getting it." Lorenzo Guarini proceeded with a smile after she sighed. "If things continue as they are, your life is pointless."

Claudia stared at him in hatred. "You can't just go around poisoning or killing whoever you want."

"You're wrong, Claudia. My power and influence are unfathomable. Killing Amelia was the ideal option since she wasn't a Mafia member and didn't expect anything."

She grumbled, drawing her brows tighter. "Every life counts."

"Not at all. Another strange thing in your mentality. You believe that every life has equal value." His chuckle echoed off the walls behind her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up when she realized they weren't alone for the first time. "It's not right to compare lives. There are important and non-important ones."

"You're a disgrace to humanity."

"And your objections bore me." A second grin looked almost the same when he stared at the photo. "Dominic has been grieving for a long time since losing Amelia Leoni. I resisted the temptation to press the arrangement Damian and I made for him and Irene, despite numerous opportunities. When you interfered in our family affairs, I knew I'd made a big mistake."

Claudia turned to check out the small rustle behind her and froze.

Within an instant, two hands supported her, and she was back on her tingling feet.

She attempted to escape, but the hold grew firmer. The pain made her whimper as fingers sank into her flesh and clamped her mouth.

"I had no idea you'd turn out to be such a thorn in our side." Lorenzo reached her with the picture between two lovely, tanned fingers. "Dominic has always been predictable and dense, but he intrigues me. So do you. Miss Marcello, what did you expect after your silly contract ended?"

She then felt a flood of peaceful acceptance rush over her. She could not leave. They were faster, stronger, and deadlier, so she had little hope of surviving.

The time has come for her.

But that wasn't an excuse for her to simplify things for him.

The man laughed softly. "Now you have nothing to say? Interesting."

He stopped in front of her. She pulled away, but a man next to them held her in place as the Mafia leader trailed the edge of the picture down her cheek.

"You're a very pretty woman, Claudia. Our women are infinitely more attractive," he continued, moving the picture to the other side of Claudia's face. "I'm sure there are many of my men who would love to spend their night entertaining themselves with you."

"That's not going to happen."

He snorted. "You say that now, but I have a feeling I can change your mind. Especially with Kayla Russell's life on the line."

Her stomach roiled at the mention of her friend and made it worse when the man behind her leaned in and slipped his hands down her arms. "I'd gladly take him up on the offer," he whispered, and then chuckled when she shuddered. "After all, this bitch is so defensive of Dominic. Perhaps she needs a better man?"

Lorenzo Guarini arched a brow. "Disgusting."

"And what do you say about people who sleep with all of you?" Claudia challenged.

"Satisfied," he replied with a half-smile. "They're satisfied."

She probably would have laughed if she hadn't been so freaked out, but she didn't know what to do.

It took everything to stand still and not collapse.

"Were you guys planning to fly to Italy and live happily ever after?" Lorenzo's eyes widened. "You were, weren't you? How sweet. Did you think that nobody would know about the villa? Hell, he bought it for Amelia back then. Did you really think we wouldn't track you two down to silence you?"

Her heart was racing so fast that she couldn't answer if she wanted to.

Lorenzo tsked. "Imagine you two flew undetected. You sure you can start fresh with him elsewhere? Someone would notice you. You could survive in Guatemala if this happened again, but not for long. Between tens of thousands of us, several of my guys await orders to strike." He tilted his head and smiled brightly. "You can't do anything. Our power is that big." He shrugged. "You no longer choose how to spend your life. Just live and die with us. You can only imagine Dominic's grief over your passing. Am I right, Dia?"

This was the last straw. Every part of her body sensed it. How quickly was he planning to kill her? 

Her body clenched.

Lorenzo propped up the photo. Quickly, he reached into his front pocket, pulled out a small lighter, and burned it. In a matter of seconds, the image wilted under the heat across her face and melted away, leaving nothing but ashes.

All traces of the picture disappeared. It had probably been at Damian Beretta's house beforehand. Observing its seeming disappearance, as if it had been an illusion all along. And what did burning a picture of Dominic and his family have to do with what was going on now?

Absolutely nothing to her.

She realized Lorenzo Guarini was right. They could have found her and Dominic if they had fled overseas. No one would have left them alone, and they had no future. Even yet, they were cautious because the Mafia was always around the corner.

She didn't regret what had gotten her here, even if she felt dumb for thinking she could fight her way out of their grasp. Claudia would have rather died attempting to find her keepsakes than do nothing.

As she looked around the room, she saw that more Mafia men were hiding in the shadows, and one of them pushed her back into his chest.

Dozens of them.

She struggled to breathe, and her lungs wouldn't cooperate. The calm acceptance she felt before changed. Claudia peered into Lorenzo's eyes and thought, "Oh, God," her death would be torturous. Like a cold downpour, terror poured on her.

The icy smile of the Mafia leader chilled her to the bone.

After a painful movement, she lost consciousness. She turned to flee him. When he let go, she ripped free.

Lorenzo remarked, "I have a question for you."

Claudia inhaled deeply and hesitated before responding. "What is it?"

"What position do you enjoy getting fucked?"

It warmed her face.

How could she respond?

A man slid out of his hiding place and appeared in front of her, seemingly out of thin air, before she could react. "Hi."

She turned and yelled.

A second man stood behind her, his gaze darting across the glimmering lights.

Her feet flew as an arm curled around her waist.

Someone laughed, and she fell quickly and forcefully, sliding several feet on her side across the floor. Her body was on fire from the hit, numbing her.

Claudia moved aside as air rushed through her. She then cracked her head on the ground.

Sparks of light broke out from behind her pupils. A man was above her, his legs on either side of her hips, his hand around her throat, and his fingers lightly pressing into her flesh.

Behind him, Lorenzo stood. "This can go the easy way or the hard way. I much rather take the easy route."

Claudia glared and clenched her teeth at him.

"Two days have passed since I last heard from Irene, and I haven't had any contact with my children since she left for Dominic's mansion. For their safety, her brothers joined her." He looked at her and let out a groan. "It's unlike them to not check in with me. That means only you and Dominic know where they are."

Claudia fought against the other man's grip on her wrists while swallowing.

The leader drew a deep breath and paused. "If you don't give me what I need, we'll have to kill you right now."

She cleared her throat and tried to get out of the crushing grip. "Go... go fuck yourself."

The crease that had formed between Lorenzo's brows instantly faded. "That was not a polite thing to say. And because of that, I will see to it that you—"

In the middle of his sentence, he paused and turned his head to look at the TV on the wall. "Are you fucking serious?"

The guy above her had stopped moving, his head cocked to the side. His nostrils flared as he strained to see what was on the screen. She saw flashes of blinding white light and heard a sharp intake of air.

Despite feeling nothing and not looking at the monitor, Claudia knew. In her gut, she had an absolute certainty about who was there.

She raised her head to meet Lorenzo's intense stare. Her cheeks were hurting, but she forced a smile. "Checkmate."

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