"Arturo," Luigi said softly. "She's trying. Don't cry, bella. He wants only to help you remember how to behave so you won't get into trouble. Arturo, make her feel better while she sucks my cock. Open my trousers, Carlotta, and do a good job. I want to fuck your face, shove my cock right down your throat, and you're going to swallow all that meat I'm offering you. And you'll be grateful while you do it. I want enthusiasm. If I don't get that, I can't be responsible for what Arturo will do. He has a bad temper, that one."
Arturo was already rubbing his hand over the vicious mark of his belt, his fingers wandering lower. He pushed her legs farther apart with his foot and plunged his fingers deep into her. His thumb slid into the crease of her cheeks. She gasped and squirmed, trying to dislodge his hand, but he kept working her.
She had a difficult time taking down the zipper to Luigi's trousers while Arturo used his fingers to spread her wider and wider. Luigi grabbed her head, suddenly tired of waiting, and pushed her down over his waiting cock. She swallowed him whole. He found it more than entertaining watching Arturo first fist her and then take her brutally, slamming into her, driving her mouth over Luigi with every stroke. Of course he didn't stop there. He took her in every way possible while she screamed deliciously around Luigi's cock. Tears poured down her face while Arturo opened her so Luigi could easily sell her body again and again to the highest bidder, allowing them to use her any way possible. When they were done with her, he could sell her to Evan Shackler-Stavros for use on one of his snuff freighters.
He rubbed her cheek, smiling benevolently. "I will take such good care of you, bella, you'll be a treasure in my stable. Arturo will take you to a safe house. He'll look after you. I'll visit later tonight, after you get settled. You'll have papers to sign. You can't ever come back to this house. Cosmos's enemies will look for you here." He leaned down and brushed a kiss on top of her head. "Have no worries, I'll take very good care of you. You'll have a nice apartment and you'll only be required to entertain the best of men. You'll enjoy yourself. Arturo will see that you know exactly what to do."
He stroked her head again and then presented his hand to her. "Show your gratitude, Carlotta, and remember, I expect absolute loyalty and obedience. No questions. You understand?" Suddenly he gripped her hair hard and yanked her head back to stare down into her liquid-filled eyes.
She swallowed hard, her face blotching, her mascara running. He thought she looked even more beautiful that way. "Si, Don Abbracciabene." Eagerly, when he released her hair, she bent to kiss his hand. "Anything you say."
"I will leave you in Arturo's more than capable hands. Arturo will see to it that you are fully trained and know what to expect anytime I come to visit you or send someone I want you to please."
Carlotta nodded her head, started to make a move to rise, but halted when the belt lashed across her bottom again. She cried out and received another blow. Luigi winked at her and, taking the papers, sauntered out, whistling. Behind him, he heard blows raining down on the woman's bare bottom and thighs. Arturo enjoyed inflicting pain. He took great care that the women he trained learned to enjoy that pain so they were worth something to Luigi. Luigi had found the man invaluable. Women in the Abbracciabene stable were the most sought after of any other ring. He made certain they were clean, beautiful, well-trained and would do anything at all when told.
He would slip back into his retreat, the house Angeline knew nothing about, and hide in his private wing for another day or two before emerging sick and weak to listen to the details of Cosmos's death. He didn't want to go back home and face his disgusting wife. He would visit Carlotta again in the middle of the night. Arturo would have her hanging by her wrists from the ceiling, her body deliciously striped. She would need his loving care, a gentle hand to guide her into her new life. After Arturo's violence, his women always welcomed him and were more than happy to comply with his every wish.
He needed to look over the papers, have his lawyer prepare the ones needed for Carlotta to sign over the estate to him and give him power over her bank account. All that money he'd paid Cosmos, coming right back to him. He laughed softly as he drove, anticipating his next encounter with the grieving widow.
Casimir watched the car come up the long drive, park just outside of Luigi's private wing and Luigi emerge from the driver's side. He was alone, Arturo no longer with him. It was very unusual to see Luigi without Arturo and Casimir didn't like not knowing where the bodyguard was. Luigi went inside and clearly, there was nothing wrong with the man. He drove alone and he walked without help.
Almost at once, Tomasso's pager went off, a summons from Luigi into his private wing. That too was unexpected. Luigi had barely glanced at him since his arrival, a month before Lissa had shown up. Tomasso had been working nearly six weeks for Luigi, and most contact had been through Arturo. All orders had come from Luigi's main bodyguard.
He went around the house to enter through the back so that he could go to Luigi's private wing through the main part of the house. Lissa was back and she raised an eyebrow as he knocked on Luigi's door.
"Entrare." The voice sounded weak.
Lissa was there in heartbeat. "Tio Luigi, is everything all right? Should I call a doctor?"
Tomasso dropped his hand to the door and found it unlocked. He opened it just a crack, enough to allow Lissa to see in, yet make it look like he was protecting Luigi.
"Go, go away, Lissa," Luigi said. He coughed. Waved his hand at his niece, adamant that she obey him. "We will talk tomorrow or the next day. I need Tomasso right now."
Lissa nodded reluctantly and turned away, allowing Tomasso to slip into Luigi's private apartment. The wing was huge and very well appointed. Luigi didn't lack for luxury - or his ability to defend himself. The walls were thick, ensuring absolute privacy.
"Come in, Tomasso. It's time we got to know each other." Luigi waved him toward a chair and Casimir toed one around and straddled it, facing his "boss." "Arturo says good things about you. I've looked over your resume. Very impressive. You come highly recommended, although both my friends say the same thing about you. You prefer to shoot first and ask questions later."
Tomasso shrugged. "I prefer to keep my employer alive." He glanced around the room, noting the fireplace was going in spite of the fact that the night wasn't cold. Wisps of blackened, curled paper lay smoldering among the logs. Clearly Luigi was destroying whatever evidence Cosmos had against him.
"I see that you've done that, but you had to leave until things cooled down," Luigi pointed out. "That's not good for you, never giving you a real family. Arturo has been with me since I was a boy. Some of the men have worked for me or my family for over thirty years. It is far better to have a family than to be alone in this world."
Casimir kept his gaze on Luigi, wondering where this was going. He nodded, only because something was expected of him. That seemed enough for Luigi, who took it that any of the men he employed would agree with him.
"I received word tonight that a good friend of mine died in a tragic accident. I don't always believe in accidents. I have learned not to be the most trusting of men with good reason. My own brother and his wife were murdered by a family I believed to be my friends and allies." Luigi watched him closely for signs of reaction.
Casimir nodded again. "I heard of this tragedy."
"The point is, when my niece visits me, Arturo generally watches over her, but I've got him watching out for my friend's widow. I would trust no one else with her. That means, while I assess the danger to this family, I will need someone protecting my niece. She's very precious to me. She won't like it and she'll protest, but she isn't to leave this house without protection. While in it, I want you close to her."
"Of course. No harm will come to her."
"Until I give the order, I don't care how much she protests. Sleep outside her door if you have to. If she knows I've set you on her, she'll try to sneak away," Luigi warned.
He shrugged. "I've never lost a client yet. But, she despis
es me. I don't know if Arturo has told you, but she definitely has an aversion to me."
"I'm well aware of that. I'm hoping by giving you this job and giving you whatever authority you need to make her behave, you'll keep her distracted. I'm worried she'll end up in the line of fire. She has an important meeting coming up soon at a hotel, a very public hotel. I don't want her going anywhere else but to that meeting until I say the word. You don't leave her side while she's in that hotel no matter what she says."
"In that case, I am more than happy to take on this job for you."
"She is a treasure to me, but she is a handful," Luigi said. "I don't want anything to happen to her."
"I understand the trust you're placing in me, Don Luigi, and it is not misplaced. You have only to ask those I've worked with."
Luigi beamed at him. "Good. Good. Arturo said to place Lissa in your care. He thinks very highly of you. You do this for me and we can talk about a permanent home. I think you're just the right kind of soldier I need in the coming weeks."
Tomasso managed a smile as he slowly stood up. "Thank you, Don Luigi, I won't let you down."
He liked the assignment just fine, although he was more certain than ever that Luigi and Arturo were up to something. Luigi didn't want his niece poking around or leaving the property because she was too intelligent to miss much. She was no longer a young, traumatized child, or teenager being indoctrinated. She was a grown woman with a moral code of her own. She would never accept her uncle's plan of absolute power. He couldn't afford to make a single mistake around her. She was too sharp-eyed.
Tomasso sauntered out of the room, looking for all the world like an arrogant, important, Italian bodyguard. He knew he was good-looking. He made his way into the small study where Lissa liked to curl up on the couch with a book. He draped himself against the wall, a pose that always annoyed her.
She kept her nose in the book for a few minutes and then with a little huff of annoyance glanced up. "What? What are you doing?"
"Looking at you."
"Well don't. Go away." She wiggled her fingers at him. "Don't you have another pool game to play? You're wasting my uncle's money just standing around. He doesn't seem to mind, but I do. Go stand somewhere else."
He faced the camera they both knew was in the room and smirked directly at her. "I have new orders, Lissa. I stick to you like glue. You don't go anywhere without me and if you try, I can use whatever means available to me to stop you." His smirk widened into a taunting grin.
She hissed at him through her teeth and tossed her book down on the couch. "We'll see about that."
"Your uncle has retired for the night. Do I have to remind you that he's ill?"
"You know very well he isn't my real uncle. I'm a grown woman and I can do whatever I want or don't want. I don't want a bodyguard."
She was good, Casimir had to admit. Throwing that bit about not being his niece to protect that cover as well. The men weren't supposed to know Giacinta Abbracciabene was alive. He gave her the most insolent look he could, one that he played straight to the camera. "Throwing a tantrum because you don't want a bodyguard is a little childish, isn't it?"
She stood up and paced across the room to him. "I don't need a bodyguard."
"Apparently, whatever is going on in your uncle's life, he believes that you do. So suck it up and give him his peace of mind instead of acting like a spoiled brat."
Her chin went up, eyes flashing dangerously. "How dare you talk to me like that."
"Are you going to go tell on me? Get me fired? Beaten up? Killed? Is that what you like to do when one of your uncle's men annoys the princess?"
She glared at him. "I don't need to go running to my uncle every time one of his men is rude to me."
His eyebrow shot up. "His men are rude to you?"
She stuck her nose in the air, tossing her red hair in disdain. "I'm going to my room." She swept past him.
He halted her haughty exit by simply straightening and falling into step behind her. She swung around, her fingers curling in two tight fists. "Now what are you doing?"
"Don Luigi wants you protected at all times, that means inside this house as well as outside. He told me not to leave you. I'll be sleeping on the floor just inside your door."
Her eyes widened with shock. "You will not."
"Actually, I will. You have an important meeting at a hotel soon. He asked me to accompany you there, but otherwise, you are not to leave the property and I'm not to leave your side."
Lissa stuck her chin in the air and continued stalking toward the stairs. "You aren't sleeping on the floor in my room."
"You offering your bed?"
She stopped so fast he ran into her and was forced to grab her arms to keep her from falling. She sent him a withering look over her shoulder. "Absolutely not."
He allowed his finger to slide over her bare arm and leaned down to put his mouth against her ear. "You might like it." He whispered the taunt, his lips brushing her earlobe. For one moment his teeth tugged and then he stepped away from her.
Lissa didn't say a word. She went up the stairs, ignoring the fact that he followed closely. She yanked open her bedroom door, but before she could close it, he caught the frame and held it so he could slip through. Like Luigi, she had her own apartment. It wasn't so large or ornate, but it was beautiful, with all the amenities.
Casimir whistled softly. "Nice. I thought my room with my personal bath and Jacuzzi was nice, but this definitely is a step or ten above." He closed the door. "You certain no cameras or recording devices are in here?"
She nodded and stepped into him, hands going to his chest, pushing him back against the door. "You are such a smart-ass. I can't believe you. Tomasso is going to get something broken over his head if he keeps it up."
"Luigi wants me to antagonize you. He thinks that will keep you distracted."
She tilted her face up to his, looking puzzled. "Why would he need me distracted? He went to visit his wife. You tailed him. By now, he has the news that Cosmos is dead. What is he planning?"
"He was burning papers, and I saw more on his desk, all in Cosmos Agosto's name. Deeds. Bank statements, that sort of thing. He must be doing a takeover of Agosto's estate."
"Where is Arturo?" she asked. "Arturo is always with him."
Casimir shook his head. "Not this time. Luigi drove in by himself, and I'm certain he's going back out again tonight. He wasn't planning to retire to his bedroom."
"We'll have to follow him."
Casimir bunched silken strands of red hair in his fist and tugged gently. "Not we, golubushka. Me. I'll follow him. You keep the home fires burning just in case he has someone else with eyes on you. Make sure you make an appearance every now and then by opening the door and telling me to get out."
His hand slid under the curtain of her hair to wrap around the nape of her neck. "I just want to see where he's going, Giacinta. I'm not making any move on him yet. I need to know where Arturo is and what they're up to. You won't be missing out on anything."
"He had dogs."
Casimir went still. His gut knotted. She suddenly looked vulnerable, her wide, blue eyes looking up at him. No tears. Just that quiet statement out of the blue. He didn't have to ask who she referred to. He knew. Cosmos Agosto could rot in hell. He couldn't imagine what kind of trauma a little girl suffered after watching a trusted man send his dogs after her. Worse, watching as the dogs killed her parents.
He pulled her into his arms, tight against his body, holding her close, trying to comfort her when there was little comfort to give. "He's dead, malyshka, and we're one step closer to getting home."
"I called Lexi," she admitted. "After. I had to hear her voice. Gavriil told me to come home."
Her voice was muffled against his chest, but he heard every word. He stroked caresses through her hair and stared over her head at the wall. "Maybe that would be the best, Giacinta. I could finish up here and then join you." He wanted her safe. Out of the mess, away from Lu
igi and clear of the Sorbacovs. At the same time, he didn't want to give her up. The selfish part of him that had been alone all his life didn't want to be more than arm's distance from her.
"Go keep a watch on Luigi," she murmured, not relinquishing her hold on him. She leaned into him, tilted her head so she was looking up. "But first, kiss me. I'm not going anywhere. I think we have a chance of staying alive if we go after the Sorbacovs together. Certainly I have a better chance of getting close to them than you do. I'm not about to leave you now that I've found you."
Casimir closed his eyes for a moment, savoring her words. I'm not about to leave you now that I've found you. In spite of every reason not to trust, Lissa trusted him. She trusted in them. She'd given herself to him, committing to him and that meant something to her - and everything to him.
"Kiss me, Casimir. I need to feel alive again. I'm cold inside."
He didn't wait. He took her mouth and poured love down her throat. The fire inside him burst through him and into her. The temperature in the room rose by several degrees but neither noticed. Her mouth was soft and perfect. So perfect. He could kiss her forever. Somehow she always took him to another realm, a place where brutal schools didn't exist and he wasn't a man without a soul.