Page 108
The question was steady. Only her hands betrayed her. Her fingers had curled into the fabric near her waist.
The man studied her.
“You know what we want.”
Something passed across her face. Small. Quick. Fear, but not the broad fear of a woman facing an enemy. She was hiding something.
Her hand rose toward her chest before she caught herself. The rosary lay beneath her blouse.
The representative saw the movement. So did I.
His smile returned. “There,” he purred softly. “You see?”
I stepped closer to the gate.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
He gave me a slight incline of his head.
“My employers are prepared to be reasonable. Miss Serra returns their property, and she receives safe passage. No further pursuit. No retaliation.”
“And if she refuses?” Atlas asked.
The man’s eyes did not leave Adriana.
“Then the Coccico family will assume she has chosen to continue her father’s betrayal and she becomes fair game.”
Fair game.
Archie moved to Tone’s side, placing himself between her and the gate.
Marcello’s voice remained calm.
“You entered our land to threaten a woman under our protection.”
“I came to offer an exchange. A straight swap.”
Adriana’s breath caught. I heard it.
The representative spread his hands.
“No blood needs to be spilled. Give us the girl, and our business with you ends here and now.”
Raze stepped forward.
“You misunderstand the position you’re in.”
The man looked at him.
Raze’s face remained impassive.
“You’re standing outside our gates asking us to trust the word of a family that beat a woman, murdered her father, and sent armed men into a church.”
“I can’t speak to every action taken by my employers.”
“Then you can’t speak for your employers,” Atlas remarked. “Which makes you useless.”
A flicker of irritation crossed the representative’s face. It vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
