Page 91 of When She Unravels
“You continue to demonstrate to me that you are a romantic.”
He slips his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and arches a brow. “I prefer to keep you alive. What’s not romantic about that?”
I huff a laugh. “So what’s your new plan?”
“My new plan is to approach your father with carrots, rather than sticks. Tell me, does your father do a lot of hits for other people?”
The fact that he thinks I’m someone who’d be in the know on that makes me roll my eyes. “How on earth would I know? That’s a topic reserved for my father’s office, not the family dinner table.”
“You were married to his top enforcer. Did you talk to your husband about his work?”
Crap. Ididhis work for him. I look down at my hands. “A bit.”
“Who were his targets?”
Lazaro didn’t bring everyone to the basement. I didn’t know what his criteria was. I never asked. My guess was it was based on his mood and whether he thought they deserved it. But out of the people I saw…
“Mostly clan associates who stole or went against the clan. A few contacts outside of the clan that caused problems or defaulted on their obligations. Probably members of other New York clans when there was some kind of a dispute.”
“But never random hits,” Damiano says.
“I wouldn’t say never. I mean, I have no clue. But based on what…Lazaro told me, no. He was an enforcer, not a hitman for hire.”
“Then there had to be a good reason your father agreed to Sal’s request. What do you think that might be, Vale?”
“I don’t know,” I say.
Damiano shakes his head. “Think.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“Did you hear or see anything that seemed out of the ordinary? Anything at all that seemed…off?”
A memory clicks into place. The bridal shower. That day feels like forever ago, even if it’s only been a little more than a month.
I get out of the bed and pull on my clothes while Damiano watches me intently. “I didn’t see anything, but my sister…” Gemma said Papà had upped their security detail. What else did she say?
“What about your sister?” he asks once I’m dressed.
Instead of answering him, I walk over to the window. Yes, there were certain strange comments made that day. Comments that didn’t mean much to me, but maybe they’d mean something to Damiano, like how what Lazaro said to me about Martina meant something to him.
I have something to bargain with. He’s decided not to tell my father he has me, but where does that leave me?
I turn around and flatten my expression. “If I tell you what I know, will you give me my freedom back?”
His eyes flash with an irritated kind of amusement. “Ah, we’re back to this game again.”
“Will I be able to walk out of here?”
“I’d be willing to let you roam the house.”
“That’s not what I meant. Will you let me leave?”
“Not yet,” he says bluntly.
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t have a plan. The chances of you getting caught by Sal’s men when you try to leave this island are exceptionally high.”
