Novel Square
10
I frowned. “Even more than your uncle?”
Niccolo smiled wryly. “Do you see my uncle anywhere nearby?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
“Ah. Do you have any sisters?”
“No, alas. Mama had six boys. She always wanted a little girl, but she died when I was 18. Dario’s the oldest, then Adriano, followed by Roberto and me, then Massimo. Valentino’s the baby and a spoiled rotten little brat. But with a face like his, he gets anything he wants from the ladies.”
I was surprised at how open Niccolo was being
But from what I had seen, he always did everything for a reason.
And it was like he could read my mind.
“You might be saying to yourself right about now, ‘My, but he’s giving me a great deal of information!'” Niccolo said. “And yes, there’s a reason. A couple of them, actually.
“You have questions, I’m sure. Hopefully I’ve answered the most pressing ones. Because there will be many others I won’t answer. There are things this family does that are secret… and it would be best you not know too much about them. So don’t ask.”
My stomach tightened. Even though his tone was much lighter than the night before, the sinister implications were the same:
Step out of line at your own peril.
We reached the foyer of the mansion.
“In addition, there are parts of the house you’re not allowed,” Niccolo said. “Your bedroom is on the third floor. Anything up there is fine. So is the ground floor, unless the door is locked. In that case, don’t pry. But the second floor of the eastern wing ”
He pointed to the right side of the building.
” is completely off-limits. Don’t go beyond the staircase. Ever. Understood?”
His voice wasn’t threatening this time, but it was firm.
I was immediately curious what was up there and why it was forbidden but I just nodded. “Understood.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Feel free to roam the property, but don’t go beyond its boundaries, either. If you need anything, just ask.”
“How long will…”
I wanted to say, How long will you be keeping me here, but I thought that sounded a bit hostile.
And Niccolo had gone out of his way to be…
Well…
Less threatening.
“…um, how long will I be staying?”
“Still to be determined.”
“I’ll need to wash my clothes at some point.”
Niccolo waved his hand dismissively. “Just give them to Filomena she’ll take care of it. We should probably get you some new things to wear, as well.”
“Why bother?” a deep voice said behind me. “She wouldn’t wear them anyway.”
My heart skipped a beat.
From fear
…and maybe something else, as well.
I whirled around to see Dario. He had entered the foyer as silent as a cat, and was staring at me with an irritated look.
“I don’t take gifts from men who intrude on my privacy,” I snarled.
Dario frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“The dress!”
He gave me a look of disgust, like I know THAT. “I’m talking about the ‘intrude on your privacy’ nonsense.”
Now I was furious. Just because he could kidnap me and use me as a hostage didn’t mean he could gaslight me. “You entered my room while I was sleeping ”
“I had a servant leave it,” he snapped. “A servant girl, as a matter of fact.”
Oh.
I blushed bright red.
Now that he said it, a servant made far more sense.
It wasn’t like a mafia don would silently tip-toe into my room to leave a dress.
I felt stupid…
But my embarrassment quickly gave way to anger.
Yes, I had jumped to conclusions but only because I had felt so unsafe from the night before.
And they weren’t exactly the most outlandish conclusions, given everything he’d already done and said.
Apparently Dario didn’t see it that way, because he shook his head in contempt. “What do you take me for?”
“A kidnapper? A criminal? A man who said he would make me his whore?” I nearly shouted.
Niccolo’s eyebrows shot up. He looked intensely uncomfortable, like he would have rather been anywhere else at that moment.
Dario walked towards me, every step a threat.
I backed away slightly, overwhelmed and frightened by his size and his murderous stare.
You idiot! I cursed myself silently. You KNOW what he is why would you say something so STUPID?! Why would you provoke him?!
He got right up next to my body and towered over me.
I began to breathe faster as I stared up into his angry eyes.
“If you’re not careful,” he said in a whispering snarl, “I might decide to go ahead and start my plans early.”
Because he was so close, I could smell his scent again that subtle, expensive cologne he wore.
I could feel the heat radiating off his body.
I stood there, mouth open, almost hypnotized.
Then he turned and walked away without a word, leaving me standing there stunned…
…and more than a little bit turned on.
Niccolo waited until Dario disappeared from the foyer, then he said to me, “Well, YOU certainly know how to poke the wild beast, don’t you?”
“It’s not my fault,” I pouted.
“Not your fault?! Not your FAULT?!” Niccolo said with an incredulous laugh, then began to mimic me in a high-pitched voice. “‘A kidnapper? A criminal? A man who said he was going to make me his ”
“Alright, so I shouldn’t have provoked him,” I interrupted. “I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“You’re lucky you got to make it once. Believe me when I tell you this, bella: I don’t know anyone else who could have spoken to Dario like that and lived to tell the tale.”
I didn’t know how I felt about that.
On the one hand, Niccolo seemed to be suggesting that Dario had a certain weakness for me…
…and then he had to throw in some more insinuations about murder.
I didn’t want to think about any of it, so I just ignored it.
As soon as Niccolo said the last bit about ‘living to tell the tale,’ he began to walk away from me.
“Where are we going now?” I asked as I followed in his footsteps.
“We? There is no ‘we’ I’M going to go prepare for some meetings. You can do whatever you like except for come with me or go into the second floor of the east wing. Dinner will be served at 8 in the dining room.”
“What am I supposed to do until then?”
“Anything you like or nothing at all! Just don’t go into the areas we talked about… and don’t try to leave the grounds,” he said with a smirk.
With that, Niccolo disappeared around a corner and left me all alone.