She got me.
My life was over.
"Camilla, let's go." A voice with a gravelly edge yanked me to reality, which was Giovanna's hands, her mouth, her body.
All of her would become mine. I was already hers.
I faced a heather-gray shirt that stuck to broad shoulders. My gaze skipped over her throat and landed on her face.
Rain misted her sharp jawline and gave her skin a pearlescent sheen. That combined with her cold-bitten cheeks, made it look as though she'd just finished a jog.
Heat came off her in waves.
I stepped away from the sauna, but she dragged me closer.
A sneer curled the perfect lips that had once kissed my sister.
"If you try to escape, I have zip ties and a trunk."
Horror colder than the brisk wind shot through me.
"Nod to show you understand. I've had a long night."
"I get it."
Her palms wrapped my shoulders. My bag's straps slid off, the heavy weight lifting as she unburdened me. Then she grabbed my waist, urging me toward the parked BMW.
The driver exited and opened the passenger's side door.
"Go."
The young man shot into the darkness at Giovanna's command, which meant I would be alone with Giovanna as she meted out whatever justice she found appropriate.
The hand touching me had already maimed so many people.
What was one woman to this killer?
I dug in my heels.
Giovanna doubled the pressure on my head.
I lunged, nailing a hard abdomen. The bag dropped as we struggled. She balled my wrists and yanked.
A scream tore my throat. She pinned me to her body as she snapped plastic around me.
"Don't struggle." She traced the binding, her touch feather light, soothing, and at odds with what she'd just done. "You'll make it worse."
"Take it off!"
She covered my mouth, muffling my yells.
I fought viciously as she packed me into the car, but without my hands, I couldn't do anything but contort my body.
My back hit the cushions.
Giovanna pushed me deeper inside as though wrangling young women was the most normal thing in the world.
"See you soon."
"Wait! Five minutes! Give me that, and I'll be quiet. I swear."
She hesitated.
Seconds ticked by, her mute appraisal growing into something that made me wish I'd stayed silent.
Dripping, Giovanna slid onto the backseat. She tossed my bag onto the floor.
The leather groaned with her weight. She slammed the door and raked her hair. She watched me with a slight curl of her lips.
Play it cool.
Pleading wouldn't get me anywhere. Callous women like Giovanna equated begging with foreplay.
"I-I came here to break it off."
"Liar. You disappeared for hours. We've been looking everywhere." Giovanna's gaze narrowed to malevolent slits. "Your girlfriend's was the last place I expected. Lesson learned."
"You're angry." I wet my lips as blood rushed into my head. "I understand, but don't take it out on Vittorio. She doesn't deserve to die."
Giovanna said nothing, her silence filling the car with an ugly foreboding interrupted only by the gentle plinking of rain. She shook her sleeve back and checked her watch.
"I ran from the house after you took off. I had to escape, but I didn't know what to do. So I went underground and rode the metro. I was there for ages."
I waited for Giovanna to acknowledge me, but she stared at her wrist as though counting down the seconds.
"Read my ticket. The timestamp is right there. It's in my jeans."
I rolled my hips, inviting her to check. Slowly, she delved into my pocket.
Her fingers teased my thigh as she fished out the stub.
Glaring, she held it under her nose.
"See? I must've left twenty minutes ago. I've been riding the subway the whole time because I knew you'd visit all the stations, and my best option was to stay there. I came here because I was desperate. Out of options. Nowhere to go. You made me run, and I thought she'd help me."
"And did she?"
My throat tightened. "No."
She flicked the card to the floor, indicating that it didn't matter—heartless bitch.
Killing Vittorio was clearly of no consequence to her.
"She didn't touch me," I added desperately. "Do you think I'd be in the mood after last night?"
Giovanna looked unconvinced.
"It was twenty minutes!"
"That girl only needs five. The concern over your lover is precious. I'm sure she appreciates your devotion when she's describing your tits to her friends."
"I'm not concerned, I'm just—she doesn't deserve this!"
When she slid across the seats, my pulse jackknifed.
Giovanna bent over me, so close I could've counted her lashes. She had such beautiful eyes—swirls of caramel and honey mingled with espresso. A rich depth swam in them.
"Are you in love with her?"
"No. Of course not."
Giovanna said nothing. She stared.
I tried to meet the intensity head-on, but my hands were bound. I couldn't defend myself. Dealing with Giovanna leached my strength, leaving me powerless and overwhelmed.
She seemed to decide as she straightened.
Reaching over me, she opened the window and shouted into the rain.
"John, let's go!"
I blew a sigh, not knowing which was the bigger relief—escaping her touch or the fact that I'd convinced her.
My triumph smoldered to ashes when the car started. The sudden jolt pitched me forward, but Giovanna stabilized me with a hand on my thigh.
Then she pulled me down. I collapsed, head in her lap.
Her arm draped over me, anchoring me to her.
My mouth grazed her thigh as I turned, humiliated by my position. Which was probably her intention.
Sick bastard.
"Jesus, this weather. Have we ever had a more miserable November?"
I glanced up, a retort caught in my chest, but she was talking to the driver, who bantered with Giovanna the whole way. Both of them ignored the third human being in the backseat.
Maybe it was another mind game to teach me how little I mattered.
All it did was piss me off.
Giovanna chuckled at something John said and met my seething gaze.
A smile still played on her lips as though to ask, why are you upset?
A searing heat flushed my neck and face before I returned the smirk.
You can't degrade me more than yourself, asshole. No matter what, I wouldn't break.