Catarina


    Calm.All these what–if questions are twisting me up tighter and tighter.I force myself to take deep breaths, filling my lungs thoroughly. I can’t let myself think that way. I need to get out of this–whateveritis–alive, so I can’t give in to the panic. It might even be possible to do that until a shadow blocks out the lighting in under the


    door.


    Staring at that shadow, I press my back to the cold wall. No matter how hard I listen, I can’t make out more than mumbling on the other side. Who is on the other side of that door, and what do they n to do to me? My heart seizes at the click of the lock.Please, don’t let them hurt me or my baby.I sit up quickly, causing my head to swim. Ignoring the dizziness, I draw my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them, trembling while I wait for the door to open. I wonder if they’re drawing it out to scare me.


    If they are, it’s working.


    1


    The door creaks as it opens, and at first, the light streaming in from outside the room blinds me after spending so long in the dark. I have to squint and turn my face away while a man enters. “Getting some rest? I’m sure you need it in your condition.”


    I recognize the voice from earlier, but still don’t know who it belongs to. The memory of what he’s capable of and how easy it was for him to do it leaves me fighting against the need to run and scream. I have to be careful.


    “Where is Tatiana?” I whisper, blinking hard as <i>I </i>turn my face toward him again. My vision starts to adjust, and now I can make out his dark hair with its touch of gray, as well as his angr face.


    “How sweet,” he murmurs. “More concerned for your friend than you are for yourself. What a shame her mother wasn’t more concerned for her–but then she was blinded by greed and hatred, sadly.”


    His eyes.I remember those icy eyes staring at me from across a table while his son reacted in horror thanks to the fork sticking out of the back of his hand–the venom and rage in those eyes.


    “Jack Moroni,” I growl his name. And now it all makes sense, at least partly. He and Gianni weren’t on good terms when that dinner ended. I haven’t thought about him since then, really, thanks to all the shit that went down


    afterwards.


    “Caterina Cole. I’m honored you remember me.‘


    〃


    “How could I forget?” When he snickers, I demand, “Where is Tatiana? Seriously. What did you do to her?”


    “Seriously?” He looks over his shoulder to the thug standing behind him. There’s a gun jutting out from the man’s waistband. I’m not stupid. I know it’s a silent threat. “Well. Gianni certainly hasn’t taught y threaten people properly.”


    ow to


    “What did you do to her?” It takes everything to fight back the tears threatening to choke me. I will not let this man see me cry. He’s nothing. A coward who can’t fight a man face–to–face, so he has to kidnap a defenseless girl.


    He strokes his sharp jaw, lips pursed. “You know, it all happened so fast. I can’t quite remember.” There’s no way to keep my chin from quivering. “You’re a sick fucking bastard!!” I seethe.


    “I’ve never been called that before..” Again, he looks over his shoulder, this time sharing a snideugh with one <b>of </b>his men.


    Tatiana.This is my fault. If she hadn’t been with me, she’d be fine right now. I wouldn’t have to imagine her dead body lying beside Amalia’s in some random building.


    <b>“</b><b>If </b><b>you </b>killed her, I swear to God…” Emotion chokes me before I <b>can </b>finish the thought. What would I do anyway? Kill him? Kick him in his shin? How could I possibly do any of those things with an armed <b>man </b>standing a short five <b>feet </b>behind him?


    “You’ll, what?” he taunts. “What would you do if I killed your little friend the way I killed her mother?”


    What would I do? The answer is nothing. I can’t do a single thing, and this asshole knows it. I grit my teeth and clench my fists, fighting back the anger. If he did kill her, at least Tatiana heard in the end how Amalia didn’t want her to be part of this.


    She must have heard the fear and anger in her mom’s voice when she first discovered us. At least she has that little piece of knowledge. That her mom, even as selfish as she was, still tried her best to protect her in the end.


    There’s still a chance she’s alive.I remind myself. Jack hasn’t confirmed he killed her, and I’ll hold onto that until I know for sure. Nausea grips me hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Somehow I manage to blink them back.


    “In fact…” Jack’s amused expression hardens. “Your little friend ended up the way she did, thanks to that nasty mouth of hers. You might want to take a lesson from her and watch what you say, or you’ll get the same treatment she did.”


    A chill runs through me at the memory of that sound. Even the gunshot that killed Amalia doesn’t make me shiver like that. “Why are you doing this?” I whisper. “Is it because of what I did to your son?”


    “Come on, you’re a smart girl. Do you truly think I’d go through all this trouble because you jabbed Donovan with a fork?” His smirk sets my teeth on edge.


    “Why, then?” I mimic his smirk, looking him up and down while I do. “Let me guess. Amalia twisted you her finger the way she twisted my ex–boyfriend? She must’ve offered you something great.‘


    “}


    around


    “She didn’t twist shit,” he snaps. It doesn’t take much to shake him up–I make a mental note to remember that. I don’t want to be the next person with a bullet in her head.


    “No? Then tell me this wasn’t her idea. She’s one of few people who know I’m pregnant, and she told you. The two of you concocted this little kidnapping scheme together.”


    “She didn’t concoct a thing,” he informs me in a deceptively smooth voice. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a calm, rational man. I might even make the mistake of finding him charming. He’s skilled at putting on an act, that’s for sure.


    He folds his hands in front of himself, smiling faintly while standing over me. “Poor Amalia was the typical greedy woman who thinks they’re smarter than they are. She made the mistake of believing she was in the driver’s seat when all she did was give me the ammunition I was looking for. Fucking with the man’s business wasn’t enough to make him pay for insulting me. He needs real motivation to make things right.”


    I can’t believe I’m asking this question, “What will it take to make things right?”


    He lifts a shoulder encased in a dark suit. Nobody looking at him for the first time would have a clue as to what he’s capable of. “I’m not quite sure yet. Amalia wanted to dangle the baby over his head to squeeze every cent she could out of him, but I’m not particrly interested in cash”


    When I raise my eyebrows, he chuckles. “You’ve got me there. Money is good<i>. </i>But making a man regret his choices is much better. And I intend to make Gianni regret insulting me to all of our business associates.”


    “How are you going to do that?”


    He sighs as he tips his head to the side. “You’ll find out when the timees. For now, you have nothing to worry about.”


    “Why is that?”