Chapter Nine

Leaving Grazia in the beach house, I take the long way home to clear my head. My mind is a bit chaotic on the drive.

There is a real connection between us, but I have to keep her from distracting me.

One wrong move here, and I've fucked the whole plan up.

And the look of satisfaction on Carlos' face is not something I am willing to see.

The night with Grazia was exactly what I needed. Now that I have had her, I can go back and focus on the important things.

I haven't heard from the Baldinis yet, so I am going to need to send them another message and make sure that they know I am not going to wait around forever.

The sun"s just starting to show itself when I pull up to my house. The car"s engine goes silent, and there"s a mix of tension and something else in the air.

Spending the night with Grazia has left its mark, and I"m feeling it as I step out into the quiet morning.

The smell of coffee hits me in the kitchen, and the morning sun is coming through the windows.

The house staff moves about quietly, knowing not to bug me this early in the morning.

Lost in my thoughts, I play back the moments with Grazia in my head.

Duty and something else are all mixed up in this situation, and just for a bit, I let myself imagine a different kind of life.

I head up to my office, and reality hits again. The computer screen lights up with cartel business, and the night with Grazia is like a shadow in the background.

The tough reality of my world takes over once more.

I send a check-up message from my burner phone once I get back to my office. Then I go up to my room.

It's been a long and busy night, despite the sun just starting to rise, I need to get some sleep so that I can work properly when I wake up.

Once I'm showered and in bed, images of Grazia appear in my head, almost as vivid as when I was thrusting into her in real life.

It's been three days, and all I have heard from Luca is that they're working on sending me the money.

I told them I want that first, and that it will secure the safety of their sister.

But here I sit, with no money and no replies, and a headache building from having to deal with these stupid Italians.

I've already had Carlos try to stop me, but now that he's back in Mexico he thinks he's going to be able to control me again.

I met with him to deal with our usual business, but have told him that this job with the Baldinis is my thing now.

He did exactly as I suspected, cutting me off and replacing me with some young and stupid boy.

That's Carlos' own problem. He wanted to be greedy, so now he will lose his most loyal man.

I dial Luca's number from my burner phone. It rings a total of ten times before Luca Baldini answers it.

I've been calling him at different times of the day for these last three days, and every time he answers, he pushes back on the deadline I've given him.

Part of me wants to torture him already by asking him if he knows what a sex freak his sister is.

But I won't antagonize the man until I have my route deal signed and sealed.

I'm sitting at my desk, a bottle of aged tequila to keep me company, and I'm running out of patience.

If these Baldini brothers don't hurry up and make decisions, I'm going to have to start making the choices for them.

I've had a long week of stupid business meetings or putting out fires, and I'm at the end of my rope.

"Marco," Luca"s voice reaches me, strained and far from what you"d expect to hear from a newlywed.

I"m sure the wedding didn"t unfold smoothly, but maybe Emelia now grasps the reality of the world she's stepped into.

"Luca, I"ve given you and your brother more than enough time. I need to know your answer. Are we making this deal, or not?"

I gulp down the last of my tequila.

The room feels heavy with unspoken tension.

The click of the glass meeting the polished surface echoes against the weight of the decision hanging in the air.

Luca's hesitation speaks louder than any words he might utter.

His response carries the weight of consequence. "Marco, we're in, but you have to understand—"

"No, no, no. Save the explanations, Luca. I don't want to hear your excuses, I want to see results," I cut him off, my tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Or do I need to deal with your sister?"

"Don't you dare fucking touch Grazia," Enzo says into the phone, so I assume it took so long for him to answer the phone because he was finding Enzo so they could listen to me together on speaker.

If they're trying some stupid tracking trick, it's useless. That's exactly why I'm calling them from my own house, not the beach house. And I'm on a burner phone. I'm no fool.

"Well, I won't promise not to touch her." I laugh softly. "But I will agree not to hurt her—if you make up your mind within the next few hours. I am not a patient man. You should know this by now. And I think I am being quite reasonable in my requests."

I take another swig of alcohol to calm myself.

I want them to know I am serious, but controlling my anger is important when it comes to keeping the deal moving forward. It's just not something that I am very good at.

"Nothing about what you're doing is reasonable. But we will have a solution to this soon. Give us one more day, Marco, and you'll end up a happy man. I am getting the money sent to you today, though, so that will be sorted in a few hours. It's not a little bit of money, and since you want it divided up and wired into separate accounts, it's taken some time to sort out the logistics. Once we have the routes arranged, we will come to you and hand them over in exchange for Grazia's safe return to us."

Luca speaks slowly, like he's trying to control his anger.

I have heard stories about how Luca's anger has gotten him in trouble before. He's nothing but a child with a temper.

"I don't like this waiting, Luca. Your sister wants to go home, and I'm getting bored."

I hear Enzo swearing in the background again.

I can tell that he is the more protective brother, worried about his sister, so I'm hoping that he will push Luca and I can be done with this whole escapade.

I am not enjoying having to deal with the Baldini men, and the longer they wait to make a move, the more annoyed I am getting with them.

I am also starting to feel increasingly bad for Grazia. What kind of brothers leave their sister in the hands of a dangerous man for so long?

No wonder she's been so mean and jealous toward Emelia.

She hadn't said too much to me about how she feels about the wedding, but the little bit she's confided in me is enough.

Both Enzo and Luca aren't fit to care for a stuffed animal, let alone a sister.

It makes me want to hide Grazia away for good, just to let her have a better life without her brothers in it.

I've hidden away women from powerful men before. I could keep her out of their hands for good, for her own sake.

I wonder if I should be sending them a message to speed up the process, but none of my men are in the US right now.

"If I don't have my money today, and a timeline for your visit by tomorrow, you're not going to like my next steps, I promise you, Luca. And make sure Enzo knows as well. I have given you both more than enough time. This is costing me more than it is worth, and I have no more patience left for you or your family."

"One more day, Marco. Just one more. We want to be done with this shit show as much as you do," Luca says, putting the phone down faster than I can reply.

This asshole thinks he is in charge, but he underestimates me, thinking I won't hurt Grazia—and then the rest of their family.

Just because I have mostly worked for Carlos before does not mean that I don't have my own way of doing things.

I throw the phone across the room, swearing at these imbeciles.

They think that the ball is in their court, and that they can take all of the time they need, but they're wrong.

My fingers drum impatiently on the desk as I watch the surveillance screens now, the room bathed in the eerie glow of multiple screens displaying different angles of my beach house.

Anger simmers inside my chest, fuelled by the constant delays and complications caused by the Baldini brothers.

"Idiots," I mutter under my breath, my frustration palpable in the room.

Luca and his brother have managed to turn a simple deal into a convoluted mess. I clench my jaw, the tension in the room matching the rising anger within me.

Grazia, the reluctant pawn in this dangerous game, appears on one of the monitors.

She moves with a certain grace, even when she isn't trying to. My anger softens for a moment as I watch her.

I take a deep breath, attempting to rein in my emotions.

I thought that last night would be all I needed for my dick to stop craving Grazia's body, but my frustration is at the boiling point, the only thing I can think of is to use her yet again to release all these negative emotions.

I take a look at the monitor once more and see her in the kitchen now, drawing with the sketchbook I had delivered to her.

She's dressed in sweatpants and has her hair up, wearing her glasses. She's still sexy as hell.

I've seen the way she dresses when she wants me to notice her. She doesn't expect me to visit her tonight.

I press the speaker button.

"Grazia, go and put on something more…fun. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

A playful grin lights up Grazia"s face, and she decides to amp things up a bit. With a burst of confidence, she shoots a cheeky wink at one of the hidden cameras.

Then, leaning casually against the wall, she pulls her sweatpants down just enough that her pussy is almost peeking out at me.

Her eyes follow the lens like she"s in on some secret joke, and with a mischievous smile, she sends a flirty kiss its way.

I assume that means she isn't going to fight me tonight, which would be a good thing for her, because I am not in a gentle mood.

I down two more glasses of tequila and grab my car keys.

This time, I'm going to the house with condoms. A mafia cartel baby would make this chaos an even bigger mess right now.

The night air feels heavy with anticipation as I speed towards the beach house.

The streetlights flicker past, casting shadows on the dashboard. I grip the steering wheel, my knuckles white with tension.

Everything is bubbling up inside of me, ready to burst, and I know I need to release the tension before I explode.

The house is dark as I pull up to it.

After having her here for so long, sending her the drawing supplies, and making sure the house is stocked with food, I have spent more than enough money on this toy of mine, and if I say I want to play, we're going to play.

Entering the house, I notice that the lights are off. Candles cast the only light in the rooms. There is also music playing.

Grazia is ready to play, and I can't help but smile.

Her pendejo brothers might have pissed me off, but if she's going to willingly give herself to me, I might not have to take any of that anger out on her.