She licked her lips and thought for second. What should she order? Because of her kidney, she rarely drank. She really didn't even like alcohol. She thought about ordering a glass of red wine, which was slightly more tolerable than the hard stuff, but she suspected that Giovanni would respect her more if she had a real drink with him.
She nodded her head. "Vodka, straight up, with ice please."
There, now she sounded like a gangster. The Italian looked amused, as though he knew that she didn’t drink. He beckoned a nearby waitress over, a tall thin woman with sky-high heels and a skintight black dress. He gave her Raina’s order and then waved her away, turning his full focus on Raina.
"Now, you tell me what mio figlio has been up to." All of the amusement drained from his expression, leaving behind an utterly terrifying man.
Raina felt more than compelled to tell him the truth, she felt real bone deep fear. For the first time since entering the nightclub it occurred to her that she may not survive this conversation. Perhaps brazen wasn't the way to go with a man like this. He was the Italian Godfather for a reason.
"Your son hired me to create documents for him," she said honestly. There was no point beating around the bush. “A fake passport and driver’s license.”
"I have a forger in my employ; I would know if my son were looking for documents. You must have mistaken him for someone else," Savino said dismissively.
“Your son is Antonio Savino, though the false name he chose was Antony Ricci.” Savino’s eyes narrowed when she mentioned his son’s alias, as though he’d heard it before. Raina proceeded to give Savino every detail of her encounter with his son, up to and including the shooting.
Antonio had insisted on knowing who would be doing the forgery, he insisted on telling her why he needed the forgery and he'd used his reputation to try to intimidate her. Of course, given who her parents were, intimidation was the last thing she felt. Annoyance, disgust and amusement had been her top emotions. She didn’t like being bullied into work. Antonio’s arrogance had left a bad taste in her mouth, but his threat to make her life in Italy difficult, and the tidy stack of bills he placed in front of her, had convinced her to do the job despite her bad first impression.
When Raina stopped speaking, Savino looked convinced that it actually had been his son that’d asked for her services. He demanded to know everything Antonio had said to her.
"He thinks your policy on the Malta underground is weak. He believes you’re wrong not to pursue more territory and he’s decided that he’ll go in and do it himself."
Savino’s fist came down so hard that the table jumped, knocking over his drink. Raina sort of wished her drink had arrived first, but it arrived shortly after. The waitress set it down in front of her and, sensing the tension in the air, scurried away as fast as she could on five-inch heels.
"Why the fuck would my son defy me in such a way? He knows my plan for Malta. I will have him skinned alive.” When Savino turned to scan the club, Antonio was conspicuously absent.
A shiver went through Raina and she wondered if Savino was serious. Would he kill his own son over such an infraction? And more important, would he kill the messenger?
"If it helps, I believe he was doing it, in part, to please you. As though he wanted to lay a lucrative win at your feet," she hurried to tell him. "I think he thought if he took on such a feat and was successful, you might be willing to give him more responsibility. More power."
She wasn't lying to the older man to pacify him. His son had spoken to her a lot. She didn't know if he'd been driven by arrogance, or the need to unload something off his chest to a person that didn't know his family. Whatever it was though, he'd given her the ammunition she needed to speak to his father. And she didn't have a single qualm about throwing Antonio under the bus like this. When he had her shot, he declared war with the youngest Sotza.
"And why are you telling me all this?" Annoyance coloured his voice. He clearly didn't like having anything out of his control and Raina was placing a cluster fuck at his feet.
"I think your son realized that he said too much to me, gave me something I could use against him. If he knew my background, he probably would've realized I would never do that. I have too much to lose too. He sent three men after me, tried to have me killed."
"And yet you're not dead," the Italian remarked coldly.
He didn't sound as sorry as she rather thought he should, considering his asshole of a son tried to murder her. "I was shot in the back earlier today," she snapped. "A friend of mine came to my rescue and shot your son’s men."
Savino frowned. "And your friend is?"
She hesitated, unsure if she should tell Savino about the threat that lurked in his city, taking the element of surprise from Mateo if Savino decided to take exception to his presence. Raina decided it was best to be honest. She had too much to lose. "Mateo Gutierrez."
Savino couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "Sotza’s second."
She could see the moment he realized how much trouble Raina was bringing to his door. "So, Mateo Gutierrez is spending time in my city, attempting to collect the Sotza princess. And you chose not to stay with him? A man more than capable of protecting you?"
Now that was a hard question to answer. She sensed that she was at a critical moment in her negotiations with the Italian Godfather. She straightened in her chair, picked up her glass of vodka and knocked it back. It took herculean effort not to gag, but she managed. She set the glass on the table and gave Savino a hard look.
“No, I don’t wish to go with him. I was doing fine on my own, building my forging business, before your son came along and fucked it up.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m asking for your help, to keep me safe from your son and hidden from Mateo until I figure out what to do. I’m asking as a Sotza; as a potential ally.”
The Italian boss eyed her with a new kind of appreciation. She may be bringing a barn full of shit to his doorstep, but she was also handing him an opportunity on a silver platter. She was valuable now as not only Sotza’s stepdaughter, but as the woman Mateo, one of the most fierce and feared men in the mob, was looking for.
"I will place you under my protection," he said decisively, his eyes gleaming. He waved the bouncer over. "Have Roberto take her to the house."
The bouncer "helped" Raina from the booth, his giant fist wrapped around her arm. Raina's heart sank right into her stomach. What exactly had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Four
When Mateo realized that Raina was gone, a rush of emotions swept through him, anger and worry topmost. He wasn't used to having emotions like these and he wasn't entirely sure how to deal with them. He was a cold-blooded bastard, a fact that no one who knew him would dispute. Yet from the moment he met Raina in person, from that first moment he touched her, smelled her, he was lost. There was no denying how he felt about her.
Despite knowing that she was it for him, he wasn't entirely sorry when she disappeared from his life two years ago. Though he'd been furious, enough to almost make an enemy of Raina's mother, he had recognized that she was too young to claim at the time. Only nineteen. Old enough in some cultures, legal for marriage, but Raina had been raised in America with the ideal of freedom foremost in her upbringing. The past two years proved exactly how much freedom meant to her. Coming back to her family would be clipping her wings. Yet he had to do it.
It was time for Raina to claim her crown and it was time for him to claim his queen and rise up to take his rightful place in the underworld. He had mentored under the Gentleman Butcher for two decades with the promise of a future in the organization. Sotza’s word was as good as gold.
It didn't hurt that a marriage between Mateo and Raina would solidify Mateo’s position. He might want the girl more than he wanted his next breath, but he was still willing to use her to gain position.
Mateo touched a smear of blood on the outside of the clinic window where she had clearly pushed herself through and then either dangled or fall
en to the ground. Another bolt of anger rushed through him. She was too reckless, couldn't take care of herself. It was well past time for her to come home. Where she would no longer be allowed to put herself in such danger.
Without turning, Mateo said to his people, "Find her."
He didn't need to say more. Though his men were not familiar with the city, they knew enough about the underground workings of Italy to find their way around. To find the people that mattered. To find her.
Mateo walked away from the clinic, his shoulders tense as he thought of all the things he wanted to do to her when he got his hands on her. Of course, she was injured, so any punishment would have to wait. He needed to teach his woman her new place in life.
Chapter Five
This was a bad idea and she was probably going to die.
Raina was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle driven by one of Savino's henchmen and sitting next to another. Savino’s men retrieved the car at the parking lot near the Venice train station and were driving through Mestre, a borough of Venice. They were making sure that she wasn't going anywhere. She was starting to realize that by going to Savino she had leapt out of the frying pan and right into the fire. At least with Mateo she could be 99% positive that he wasn't going to kill her on sight.
She eyed the massive mansion as it came into view when the car rounded the long, winding, curved driveway. She heard the buzz of the gates as they closed. Savino's estate was surrounded by a wall and though everything was shrouded in shadows, she thought she could make out spikes on top of the fence. The mansion itself was big, dark and gloomy. From her vantage point, pulling up to the front of the mansion, she couldn't see a single light on inside.
Think logically, she thought to herself.
If they were going to kill her, they would take her out to the middle of nowhere and put a bullet in her head. Not bring her back to the fancy mansion where bloodstains on the Oriental rugs would probably not come out.
The car halted and her door was opened for her. A hand reached inside. Raina hesitated for a few seconds before taking it and allowing the person to help her out. She gripped her side as it twinged in pain. Her back was on fire. But there was nothing she could do about that at the moment, not until she a bed and got some rest.
She was escorted up to the mansion doors by no less than three very large men. Apparently, it took this kind of muscle to escort one small helpless injured twenty-one-year-old woman. For some reason, Savino really didn't want to lose her, which was a frightening thought.
Her intent in going to the Italian Godfather was to brazen her way out of Italy. She had planned to use her stepfather's name to get herself safe passage through checkpoints. Instead, she somehow managed to intrigue Savino enough to gain herself entry into his private sanctum. On the upside, her stepfather likely didn't know about this yet. Possibly she could still wiggle her way out of the situation.
The door swung open and she stepped inside the mansion. It was the fanciest house she'd ever seen. Sotza’s Venezuelan home was incredible too; a beautiful mix of rustic and modern coming together in an almost old English style. For the brief time that she lived there, she had enjoyed exploring the many rooms and the gorgeous gardens beyond the house.
Savino’s home was different. It was bigger than Sotza’s. Raina couldn't begin to guess how many rooms would be in this building. But it had a cold feel to it, an unused feel. The entryway was dark. No one greeted them and no lights were turned on. It was spooky.
"This way." Her escort waved her down the hallway on the right.
Raina nodded and trailed after him, squinting into the different nooks and crannies to try to get an idea of what the place looked like. It was really quite dark in the hallway and she might have actually lost her footing if it weren't for the vague shape of the man in front of her. He led her past several doors before opening one on the end and waving her inside. As she stepped through the door, she heaved a sigh of relief. Now this room she could work with.
It was big and cozy, lined with bookshelves, dominated by a huge masculine desk and leather chair. French balcony doors led outside, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness beyond. If she had to guess, there was probably a well-manicured lawn and garden out there. A roaring fire in the fireplace beckoned to her and she turned towards it holding her hands out. The door closed softly behind her and she looked over her shoulder in time to hear a click.
Raina checked the door, rattling the handle. Locked. She thought about getting angry; she thought about beating on the door and screaming for help. Like the damsel in distress from the movies.
Perhaps it was the gunshot wound, but she didn’t have it in her to throw a fuss. All she could muster at the moment was mild curiosity. Why had she been brought to Savino's home? And why was she locked inside what was probably his office?
Though she was fairly certain that the answers to those questions couldn't be anything good, she also didn't believe she was in any immediate danger. Savino's response to her at the club would have been much different if he'd intended her harm. If he'd hated her on sight, or worse, been indifferent, she’d probably be floating face-down in a canal.
Drawn to the warmth of the fire, she sat in one of two giant leather chairs. She kicked off her shoes, pulled her knees up and tucked her feet underneath her. Her back gave a painful twinge, but she was so relaxed and comfy that she didn't want to move. It seemed strange to feel this at ease in the home of someone she should probably consider an enemy. But she didn't. There was something about the dark cold mansion with the one warm and friendly room. The house projected a kind of loneliness. She couldn't hate lonely.
Raina considered herself an extroverted introvert. She loved being at home alone, reading her books, and working on her graphic art. But she also loved going out. She loved dancing, dating and talking to people. Her work in forgery gave her the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. She got a small peek into the illicit lives of others as she worked on their fake documents. She loved those glimpses and held each interaction close to her heart. She would never betray a customer. Unless that customer was Antonio Savino and he'd had her shot.
Raina's eyes grew heavy as she sat in the chair waiting. What exactly she was waiting for, she didn't know, but she may as well have a snooze while she waited. She pulled a pillow out from behind her back and curled it into her stomach, wiggling in the chair until she found a comfortable position. She fell asleep like that and didn’t wake until the door rattled.
By the time Raina came fully awake Savino was already in the office and striding toward her. She shoved a handful of blonde hair out of her face and blinked sleepily up at him smothering a yawn with her hand.
"Signore Savino," she said softly. "Thank you for bringing me to your home. It's quite lovely."
“Call me Giovanni, please.” He sat in the chair opposite her, crossing one leg over the other and watching her with interest. "My apologies for not warning you about this mausoleum. It’s hardly the proper place to bring a young woman such as yourself, but there was no other safe haven that I could think of. My son has as much access to the city as I do, it wouldn't take him long to find you. In fact, he will find you here."
Raina shivered at that thought. Her fight or flight instinct was telling her to get up and start running, to burst through those French doors, race across the lawn and scale what she suspected was a razor-sharp fence. Of course, she couldn't do that.
“Am I going to be alright here?” she asked unsteadily.
Giovanni ignored her question, instead calling loudly toward the hallway, "Doctor, please come in." A thin and wiry man wearing a sweater over a pair of dark brown pants drew Raina's attention. "Dr. Danilo will examine your injury."
Raina thought about denying them, but Giovanni hadn't exactly given her an option. And it probably wouldn't hurt to get her wound looked at by a real doctor.
Raina attempted to stand, but the doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "No need to get up. I underst
and the wound is on your back. Lean forward in the chair and point at where it is."
Raina did as he asked, clutching the arm of the chair and leaning against it. She turned her face into the side and rubbed the softness of the chair against her cheek. She pointed at the spot on her back where the bullet hole was.
"It's already been sutured," she told him as he used medical scissors to slice through the gauze wrapped around her middle. She winced as he peeled the wad of gauze from her skin. It hurt like a bitch.
The doctor was quick to reassure her. "The wound is bad enough but seems to have missed everything important. You’re a lucky woman. Whoever sewed you up did an excellent job. The stitches are even, and you’ll only have a slight pucker of the scar."
"There goes bikini season," she said dryly. Raina didn't really give a shit about bikinis or any other kind of beachwear.
At the age of twelve, Raina had kidney transplant, a surgery that cut her wide open at the back. The ensuing scar was big and ugly. She didn't really care about it anymore, but at that young and tender age she'd been horrified by it. She had made sure it was covered at all times. Teenage years were awkward enough without adding to it a major illness and surgery. Raina tried to bury those memories as best she could.
The doctor finished treating and dressing her wound. He smoothed her shirt down her back with clinical economic movements. She respected his cool professional presence; it was like a balm to her after all that had happened that day.
The doctor gave her instructions on how to care for her wound, when the bandages could come off and when the sutures could come out. She listened to him intently, though she had to fight to keep her eyes open. She caught a glimpse of Giovanni watching her thoughtfully. She could almost see the gears in his brain working.
When the doctor excused himself and left the office, closing the door softly behind him, Raina decided it was time to speak plainly. "Why am I here, Giovanni? Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, but when I came to you for help, this wasn't exactly what I had mind."
Born a Queen (The Queens Book 3) Page 3