Chapter Seventeen

Grazia looks terrified, and Luca's face is getting redder by the minute.

Plus, Enzo looks like he's ready to commit murder, although I'm not sure who his first victim will be.

Probably me, and then maybe Grazia.

Will Luca be on the list for causing some of this shit? I wonder what his limits might be.

I curse internally, knowing that this is a stupid mistake and something I should have been more careful about.

It's one thing to give in to temptation, but a whole other problem when the evidence of that temptation and exactly how much I gave in is everywhere.

"You're unbelievable Grazia! This whole time, we have been sick with worry about you, sacrificing everything we've worked for to bring you home. And you have been here, with your lover, enjoying a good fuck without a single thought about your family. No wonder you were naked in that video he sent us."

Luca's voice is loud and obnoxious, not something I'm going to accept from him.

This man really needs to work on his temper, because if he pushes me anymore, I'm not going to be responsible for what I do to him.

"Hey!" I yell, cutting Luca off in the middle of his tantrum.

He looks at me, his eyes wide and his mouth stuck open, looking like he's not sure whether he should yell back or shut the fuck up.

"You will not raise your voice in my house. If Grazia and I had sex it was because I wanted it, and she was my property."

The only thing to do now is to convince them that we had sex only because I was bored and she had a pussy for me to play with. Anything more, and this deal will not go through, Luca's face is making that very clear.

I can see her crying on the stairs, but I refuse to meet her eyes.

It's not going to help for me to show any kind of attention to her, and I wonder why on earth she let this happen.

This could be what she wanted, I'm still not sure if I'm being played or not.

"Your property? So, while you were sucking on her neck, she wasn't moaning into your ear and enjoying it? I'm not stupid, Marco, and I can see that you have both fucked me over."

Luca is livid, but Grazia looks devastated. She's still holding her neck with one hand and the stair railing with the other.

There is no color in her cheeks. I look at my head of security, making sure he has a handle on this situation, because I'm not in the mood for things to get out of control. He catches my eye and gives me a small nod.

We both know what this means. If this escalates any further, Luca and Enzo need to get out of the house—dead or alive.

Grazia is the wildcard here. If she is a part of this shit show, then she deserves the same fate.

But if this wasn't her plan, then I want to keep her safe during the violence that could erupt at any moment now.

I look around the room at this perfectly planned transfer dissolving into chaos, and my own anger makes my head throb.

We were so close to the finish line, so near my goal.

But now, I have the Baldinis focusing on shit that doesn't matter, their sister crying, and unsigned paperwork for a deal wasting away on my desk.

Grazia should have checked her neck. Why would she tie her hair up anyway? I haven't seen her tie her hair up like this before.

This is all a fucking mess for nothing. I am annoyed with her, but even angrier now at Luca and his disrespect for his sister.

I don't have siblings, so their relationship doesn't make sense to me, but there is very little excuse for yelling and swearing at this woman who has done nothing to him personally.

She was stuck here with me. There is no reason why she couldn't enjoy some of that time.

"Luca, this is not your business. I still refuse to let your sister go home without this deal. Nothing has changed."

I try to remain calm while talking to him, knowing that escalating the situation is not going to help.

"Everything changed, Marco. Fucking everything!"

He's lowered his voice to an acceptable level but is spitting at me through his teeth.

I just want to get them into the office, have them sign the fucking deal, and send all of these problematic Baldinis home.

Then, finally, I can sort out my own life.

"Let's just get this done, okay?" I turn my focus to Enzo, who is quiet, although he still looks furious.

"No, fuck this shit. I don't want anything more to do with this fucking disaster." Luca makes a move to go towards Grazia and my guards step in front of her.

I see her instinctively take a step backward, clearly overwhelmed by this situation.

"Luca, stop being a fucking cabrón," I say to him, my own voice starting to rise slightly.

"You're here to sign a piece of paper and take your sister home. There is no room in the schedule for your temper tantrum. If this mark makes you so angry, then you can keep a better eye on her when you are back home."

Luca turns suddenly and faces me, his hand on his hip.

"A better eye on her? What are you trying to say? That I should have been watching my sister's every move while I was getting married? At a wedding that was invite-only, where we let our guard down because we were supposed to be able to trust everyone who was there?"

I sigh. "I am just saying that if you think you are in charge of your sister, then you should act like it. If you're not in charge of her, you shouldn't be worried about who she is fucking."

Luca moves his hand quickly to his gun and pulls it out, pointing it at me.

He's fast, but I'm faster.

I meet his gaze with my own gun drawn, pointed at his head, and I take a step toward him.

Enzo tries to step in between us, but his guard pulls him back, placing a hand on Luca's arm and looking back at me.

My own security steps forward and I hear Grazia cry out, begging us both to stop.

I stare at Luca, not willing to be the first to back down, but he has the exact same look on his face.

Enzo is facing Luca and says something to him too softly for me to hear. Luca's eyes flit to his brother and then back to me.

Finally, he slowly lowers his gun, his security guard standing in between us as protection for him.

There's silence for a few minutes, and no one moves. The only sound I can hear is Grazia sniffling, but even she's frozen on the spot.

It seems like the rest of the staff in the house has heard the commotion and is also waiting to see how this plays out.

"This is done," Luca says, breaking the silence in the house. "The deal is over. You can have her."

He looks over at Grazia and her face twists in pain when she hears him. "You're not getting any more of our money or our business."

Surprised at his immediate choice to leave his sister in this house, without any promise that she will be safe, I nod slowly.

"That's your decision to make. Get the fuck out of my house, then."

Unless he thought that I would give in and send Grazia with them. If that was his plan, he's very confused about who he is dealing with.

Leaving my gun pointed at them, I watch as Grazia seems frozen in one spot.

I wonder if she'll try to run out after them, but I'm ready to catch her if she does.

There is no way that the Baldinis are leaving here with their trade routes and their sister, without giving me anything in return.

Luca and Enzo leave with their security staff, and Grazia runs up the stairs, almost tripping over the top one.

I stand still, my gun still in my hand, wondering if I have just been set up in some grand sibling masterplan.

Luca might have been accusing me of the very thing that he was busy doing the entire time.

This is all just a little too convenient, what with Luca finding a reason to blow off the whole deal after Grazia managed to seduce me.

But how would they have found the ability to communicate to make this plan? I doubt that Grazia has spoken to her brothers since we left the wedding. There just isn't a logical way.

My mind juggles the rational and irrational thoughts.

I have had my eye on Grazia the entire time, so there's almost zero chance that she has had any communication with the outside world.

And it's not like they could have planned this ahead of time, because that would require them to know what my plan was—and I tell no one of my plans.

No, this is much too elaborate for it to have been a setup.

I know all of this, but still, I wonder how I can be sure that I haven't been played. My thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of Grazia's sobs.

I hate the sound, even though it was me causing her to sob a little while ago. But now, seeing her so upset, makes me want to hurt the people who have done this to her.

I can tell she only made it as far as my room, and her crying is heartbreaking, even in the midst of my wondering if she has betrayed me.

Knowing that she is crying in my bed causes an urge to go and make her feel better. That's not what I should be worried about now, but it's what my instincts are telling me to do.

I put my gun away, deciding that I will deal with the question of double-crossing tomorrow.

For now, I need to calm this house again and comfort Grazia if I'm going to gain her trust enough to figure out if she purposely fucked me over.

I'm going to need her to feel safe with me again. Her brother has just ruined all my work after we spent so much time learning not to be suspicious of each other.

First, though, I need to be sure that her brothers are gone and not waiting outside to cause even more chaos.

I hear their cars driving away, but I still need to make sure that this isn't a trick, allowing Luca to hide away in my yard and come to save Grazia while I'm sleeping.

Putting my gun away, I tell two of the guards to go and secure the back of the property, and one to check the garage and shed.

I also don't know how many people might have been waiting for Luca outside my property, so I need to be prepared for anything that might happen.

"Make sure they leave the property, and then lock things down. I don't want anyone on or off this property for the next twenty-four hours. If you do find anyone hanging around, make sure they aren't able to leave again," I say to my security team as I walk slowly up the stairs toward the sound of Grazia's crying.

I'm not sure what to say to her, or how to handle the next steps, but the look on her face has done something to me.

When I enter the room, her loud sobs hit me hard, making me want to comfort her, but I don't know how to do that.

So, I sit down next her on the bed and reach my arm out to touch her.