Chapter 10

CESARE

She stares down at me, her eyes widening, her features freezing with shock. My fingers tighten around her wrist with a grip that would make any other woman wince, but she doesn't even flinch.

"Answer my question," I say through clenched teeth.

Her response is a lightning-fast punch to the side of my head that turns my vision black. Pain explodes through my skull like dynamite, sending up an attack of nausea.

My grip on her wrist loosens, and she yanks her arm free. By the time I open my eyes, the playroom is out of focus and a blurred figure is sprinting toward the door.

"Bitch!"

I scramble off the bed and give chase, but my steps are uneven while she's already in the next room. My heart thuds, but my adrenal glands are too fatigued to pump out the necessary fuel to power my movements.

Pushing through the sluggishness, I force my heavy limbs into pursuit. I reach the French doors, but she's already halfway past the pool. Naked, she races straight ahead, with a curtain of dark hair flying at her back.

I stumble after her, my head pounding with each heavy step. At this rate, she'll escape. Someone else will catch her and tell my big brothers that I can't even manage a woman. Benito will tell Roman I screw up all the time, and they'll strip me of all responsibilities.

Up ahead, I spot two gardeners approaching the shrubs that border the patio.

"Get her," I roar.

Their gazes snap in our direction, and the men exchange glances before dropping their tools and rushing toward her. The woman darts into the bushes, but the gardeners cut her off at the other side.

"Come here, sweetheart," one of them says, his voice lecherous.

I grind my teeth and hold back a possessive rage. If one of them so much as touches her...

She bursts back through the plants and charges at me, her eyes blazing.

My nostrils flare. Bitch thinks because she drugged me, she can just barrel past.

"Come here," I snarl, my arms opening wide.

The woman doesn't slow, and I ready myself to snatch her as she tries to dodge. We're heartbeats away from touching, and it takes every effort not to focus on her bouncing tits.

At the last second, she veers left. My hand snaps out and clamps around her arm, and I yank her off balance toward the pool. She crashes into my chest, and we tumble into the water with a loud splash.

Holding my breath, I cling to her naked body, and she thrashes and struggles to break free, but I hold tight. As we sink to the bottom, her body goes rigid, seeming paralyzed with fear. My feet reach the floor, and I push off, propelling us to the surface.

We break through the water, and she gasps for air, sounding like she's in the throes of a full-blown panic attack.

"Let go of me, asshole," she screams.

"I ought to drown you for that stunt you tried to pull with the poison."

"It wasn't?—"

"Don't lie to me," I snarl.

"Need any help, sir?" One of the gardeners asks.

"If she tries to run, shoot her kneecaps." I walk the woman to the shallow end and force her up the ladder.

Both men extract their guns and point them at her trembling tits.

"Don't get distracted by her body," I growl, wanting to tell them she's an assassin, but I stop myself from elaborating.

Word would only spread around the estate, then my brothers and Gil would take over the interrogation. I want to handle this myself without getting the usual lectures.

She climbs up the ladder, her toned muscles glistening in the sunlight. Any other time, I would drink in every inch of her physical perfection, but I'm still stinging from the attempted murder.

I climb out after her and snatch one of the gardener's guns and wave it toward the French doors.

"Get inside," I snap.

She hesitates for a tense moment, her gaze darting from me to the other men as though calculating her next move. Her features are tense but not frightened, proving to me that she must be a professional.

"Try to run, and I'll shoot you in the spine."

Her eyes harden, and she sets her jaw. Without another word, she walks toward the French doors. I follow behind her, training my gun on her back, ready to fire if she decides to fight.

This little assassin is about to learn the hard way that she's fucked with the wrong Montesano brother.