Chapter Five

"Grazia?" I call out to her, opening the door, but only wide enough for my own body to slip through.

I have no idea if she's brave enough to try and escape as I'm coming in, but I'm not in the mood to deal with her if she is.

After her little performance last night, and seeking out every possible escape route, I realize I'm going to need to quiet her down. Or lock her up tighter.

This house is secluded, but there's still public areas on the beach where people could hear her.

And while my men are securing the outside of the property, I don't need her getting hurt if she tries to escape.

Then I'd have to find a doctor to come and help her, which isn't ideal.

The house is silent, with the only light coming from the kitchen.

I know she's around, but I wonder if she is trying to hide away from me.

I'm not worried about a surprise attack, because she's so small that I would just need to pick her up off the ground and she wouldn't be able to do much to me.

I walk through the hallway and call her name again.

No reply.

I'm also going to need to teach her who she's dealing with, because I do not take kindly to being ignored in my own house.

I'm not here to fight with her, but I know I need to get information out of her.

With her brothers remaining quiet, I need to know what their weak points are, in case I need to use them.

But I have a feeling that she's not going to give me any information she doesn't have to offer.

"Marco." She bumps into me as she comes out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Shit.

I didn't come here for that pussy, but if she's going to flaunt it in my face, I may not be able to control myself.

"Go get dressed," I tell her, walking into the kitchen and away from her so that the temptation isn't so close at hand.

"Um, I was about to." Her tone is snarky, making me want to slap that look of disgust off her face.

But it's also making me want to rip the towel off her body.

"Well, hurry up. We need to talk."

I grab a bottle of wine from the top of the kitchen cupboard and pour myself a glass.

I don't pour for her, just in case the alcohol makes her cheekier than she is already.

"Oh, and you can't talk to me in a towel?"

Her tone switches up to flirty much too quickly. I can see the sly smile on her face in the reflection in the kitchen window.

I fight the smile trying to show up on my own face.

"Grazia. Go and get some fucking clothes on." My tone is sharp, and I can tell that she picks up on that.

Her expression drops, like a child who has just been scolded. She turns around and heads to the bedroom.

A few minutes later, she joins me in the kitchen wearing jeans and a tank top but clearly no bra, her hard nipples are practically saluting me and I change my mind about the alcohol.

I hand her the glass of wine. She takes it but looks suspicious.

"It's not laced with anything," I assure her. "I need you awake and talking now, not drugged and passed out. Let's go chat in the living room."

I walk back down the hall and hear her following me.

Taking a seat in one of my favorite chairs, I motion for her to sit down as well.

She does, still holding her wine and looking unsure about drinking it.

She's pissing me off.

"Drink it." It doesn't bother me if she drinks it or not, but the fact that she's testing me so much is making me angry.

"I will." She looks into the glass again, inspecting the wine.

"Now."

Again, it takes me turning on my asshole voice for her to just do as she is told.

This woman is going to drive me mad.

I almost think she's lucky it's me who took her, because if she had been targeted by someone with less integrity, she would already have a few missing teeth and perhaps even a few broken bones.

"What have you been doing all day?" I try to start the conversation off slowly.

"Oh, you weren't watching me with your spy cameras?" She raises one eyebrow at me.

"I was doing nothing, because there is nothing for me to do here. I am stuck inside, watching the beach through the window, with no TV or books and only a pile of old magazines to keep me busy."

I sigh. This part of the conversation is not going well, so I decide to switch gears and try a more direct approach instead.

"Tell me about your family—your brothers. I want to know what I am dealing with."

"You're dealing with a powerful Italian family who does not take lightly to the kidnapping of its members."

"I don't care what your family takes lightly to, my dear. I have sent your brothers my demands, I want to know what to expect now."

"You want me to help you so that you can get what you want and my brothers can't stop you?"

I shrug. She's smart.

"No."

She shakes her head so vigorously that her dark hair falls out of the loose bun she put it in and as I watch it fall down to frame her face I'm taken aback for a second.

Then I shake myself out of it.

"Yes. Grazia, you are acting very brave and I don't blame you for it. In fact, it's impressive. But you have no idea who I truly am, or what I am capable of. If you value your life, you will cooperate with me."

"Or what? You're going to take away the fruit baskets?"

She's challenging me, and usually, I'd find it hot.

I prefer a girl who stands her ground. But not now, not when so much hangs in the balance.

"No. I'll leave you the fruit baskets to eat while you listen to the screams of your brothers. Because they will come looking for you, Grazia, and if I have nothing to work with, they may not cooperate, which means I will need to dispose of them—that way, I can be sure of getting all of the trade routes, and not just the few I've asked for."

I can see by the look on her face that she's contemplating what I'm saying.

"So, when they arrive, I'll simply have to eliminate them. My favorite way is a corkscrew, slowly digging into the brain until I finally hit the middle, which is usually when they pass out or die."

"Fine." Grazia closes her eyes. I wonder if she's been imagining her brother's skulls being drilled into. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know."

"Good." I smile. "Tell me what you know about this deal, how their cashflow works, and anything you think will help keep them alive during our exchange."

Grazia details everything as well as she can.

I have a feeling she's holding back a bit, but I'm satisfied with what she has to say.

I now know that the Baldini brothers do not go anywhere without a security detail, and that they have trackers on them so that if they do go missing, their associates can find them.

I will have to meet them somewhere other than here at my private beach house.

"Thank you," I say to Grazia. She still looks scared, and I know that she has no choice in anything that's happening, so I find myself feeling bad for her.

"For helping me, I'm willing to give you a reward. Is there anything you don't have here that I can get for you?"

I see her eyes flicker toward the door, and I laugh slightly. If she thinks that means I'm going to let her go, she is very wrong.

"I'd like to go for a walk," she finally replies.

"A walk?"

"Yes. I love the beach, and this stretch of it looks gorgeous. Plus, I'm feeling a little stir crazy at the moment."

"Is this now an attempt to escape, Grazia? Am I that stupid in your eyes?"

"No. I won't try to escape. You'd have your men after me and a screwdriver in my skull before I could even get off the beach, Marco. I'm also not stupid."

"Corkscrew."

"What?"

"We use a corkscrew, not a screwdriver."

"Okay."

"Grazia, despite your family and this situation, I respect you and know that we have much in common. I will take you for a walk. It's one of the best things to do while here. But if you try anything, you are absolutely correct. I will have you tracked down and killed."

"Th-Thank you. I think."

She goes to get her shoes on, and I prepare myself mentally for our walk. I'm not sure that it's wise to let her out of the house.

If we meet up with other people, she might try and ask them for help. But something in our exchange now makes me feel like she's being honest about not trying to escape.

She meets me at the front door with a smile, something I've not seen her do since the wedding, which makes me doubly sure that this is worth the risk.

I shouldn't be warming up to her like this, but she makes me want to make her happy.

I lead her out of the house, and she takes my hand.

"This way you can hold onto me so that I don't try anything stupid."

I look down at her hand and up to her face. Holding her hand seems like an odd way to go about this, but I leave it for now.

We make our way onto the sand and down to the water.

The sea is calm, and the night air is fresh. I don't know why I was worried about other people.

No one is ever on this beach after sunset. I see the moon shining above the water and notice Grazia looking spellbound at the scene before her.

"I don't blame you for wanting to live out here," she says to me, softly.

"I don't live here. This house is just for when I want to escape from things."

"It's a great place to escape to." It's ironic that she's saying that, since she was wanting to escape from it just a few hours ago.

"It is," I say softly, deciding not to discuss it any deeper.

We walk along the water line, chatting about the beach and the stars and our parents.

This is exactly how things between us felt when she came to Mexico the first time.

We had an instant connection due to losing our parents and becoming young orphans, but there was so much between us on a deeper level too.

The only difference between us, is that Grazia is a mafia princess, well taken care of and hidden from the ugliness and violence that makes her lifestyle possible.

I, on the other hand, embody all of the ugliness and violence of that life. Honestly, I'm not good enough for her, and for some reason that thought bothers me.

After what feels like a full hour of walking, Grazia yawns, and I take that as a sign to head back.

I tug at her hand slightly and make us turn back. She follows me easily, and we make our way back to the house.

Once inside, she turns to me.

"Thanks. That was nice. Just what my brain needed. But can I ask for one more thing?"

She smiles up at me and I know she's trying to look as innocent as possible.

I frown. The deal was not that she get a whole laundry list of wishes granted to her, but I say nothing, allowing her to finish her thought.

"Could I get something to draw with? Just some paper and a few pencils?"

"Draw?"

"Yeah." She smiles again.

"I need to keep busy or I'm going to go insane." Grazia mimics an insane person and I can't help but laugh.

"Okay. But that's the end of your wish list."

She needs to know there isn't an unlimited amount of things that she can ask me for.

Her smile fades, and she gives me a thumbs-up. "Understood."

I leave her to get to bed and go back to my own home.

Still no reply from the Baldinis about my demands.

Tomorrow I might need to escalate things, because Grazia is getting a little too comfortable with being in my hands.