Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Why is this guy laughing at me?
Is everyone here so loaded that they don't care for—-oh.
All I can do is gape as Cesare starts loading the box with two handguns, three pocket knives of varying lengths, and...do I even want to know why he needs a pair of handcuffs when he isn't a cop?
Cesare catches me gaping, and his dark eyes gleam. "Worried, tesoro?"
I scowl up at him. "If you ever use those cuffs on me—-"
"You're welcome to use them on me, too."
"Seriously?" Wait, what am I saying? "I mean, no. Not interested, sorry."
A smirk plays over his lips. "Are you sure about that?"
A loud buzzing sound saves me from lying - I mean, replying, and the last pair of doors slowly swing open.
Whoa.
I feel like Cesare and I have just entered Hell, with all-red lights glowing down on black-painted walls and stone floors of the exact same shade.
"What is this place?" I ask nervously.
"La Torre dei Mostri."
I bite back a sigh. Why did I even think this place would have an English name? I should have realized by now anything famiglia will likely come with an Italian name, and—-what in the world?
As soon as Cesare and I step inside an elevator, the first thing I notice is how the entire panel of buttons below the LED display is completely blank.
Just seeing Cesare press a couple of them makes me feel like my life has suddenly turned into an action movie—-but whether I'm playing the role of the female lead or victim, I've yet to figure out.
My heart sinks when the elevator doors finally slide open, and there's still no Jollibee we can grab some ready-to-serve breakfast from. Instead, we have a guy who looks like a rockstar in a white coat, and he wastes no time in introducing himself as Dr. Rivera.
The older man takes us straight to a laboratory, and my stomach growls just as Cesare assists me to a seat.
Oops.
I look at Cesare and the doctor in sheepish apology. "I'm sorry—-"
"I'm the one who's sorry, tesoro," Cesare cuts me off with a grimace. "But I promise you'll be able to eat anything and everything you want soon enough. Dr. Rivera will only need you to complete several tests, and it shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes."
I'm about to ask exactly what kind of tests we're talking about, but then I see Dr. Rivera with his swab kit, and I realize this is probably to establish my identity with a DNA match.
Dr. Rivera is able to get my swab samples in less than two minutes, but just when I'm about to stand up, Cesare's hands curve over my shoulders, and he gently presses me back down to my seat.
Huh?
"Just one last thing to do, tesoro."
Honestly, I'm starting to feel disappointed about how insensitive he's being. Couldn't we have breakfast before coming here? It's not like—-OH SHIT.
A nurse with a blood extraction kit enters the laboratory, and I start feeling a little faint as she takes the seat across mine.
"Un momento, signorina," she says with a smile. "I just need to take a sample of your blood."
Something flashes in the air, and I feel even fainter as I watch her insert a really, really long needle into a syringe.
I remember Cesare and La Strega discussing the need to have a doctor see me over last night's dinner, and I also remember telling them how I was fine with that as long as it didn't involve someone poking me with a needle.
I remember Cesare not saying a word, and idiot that I am, I had thought his silence signified his agreement.
But obviously that's not the case, and since Cesare is not La Strega's grandson for nothing—-
Shit, shit, shit!
No freaking wonder he's delayed us having breakfast. Blood tests typically require individuals to fast a certain number of hours, and when the nurse reaches for my arm to tie a tourniquet around it—-
Oh no, you don't!
The hemophobic wimp in me freaks out, and all hell breaks loose.
Chapter Nine
Cesare
MASSIMO: È vero? It took three men to keep her still?
Cesare: Sì.
Massimo: And that she managed to give one of them a shiner?
Cesare: Also true.
Massimo: I do not know whether to think you are lucky or unlucky.
Cesare: All you or any other man needs to remember is that she is mine.
Massimo: You almost sound jealous, fratello.
Cesare's lip curled at his brother's message. He was not geloso, for fuck's sake. Never had been in his life, and he would not start acting so now, even where his own fidanzata was concerned.
"I'm back..."
Penelope marched out of her gynecologist's clinic with a still-stony look on her face. Even though she had already enjoyed the most sumptuous breakfast in the tower's rooftop restaurant, it was obvious that she had still not forgiven him for tricking her into getting her bloodwork done.