Page 93 of Dark Desires

Domenico Mancini waits in his usual spot, seated in a leather chair. A glass of whiskey rests in his hand, his expression unreadable as he watches me step inside.

He doesn’t rise, doesn’t greet me.

“Domenico,” I look around. “Where’s Stephania? We have business to discuss.”

He sets the glass down and leans back.

“She’s safe. Here, in the mansion, where she’ll stay.”

The way he says it sends alarms ringing in my head. Something’s wrong. My gaze sweeps the room, catching the way the guards subtly shift.

“What’s going on? This meeting was about Stephania, and she’s not here. What is this, Domenico?”

He doesn’t flinch. “What’s going on, Alexei, is that I’m doing what any father would do, protecting his daughter.”

My muscles tense.

“From what? From me?”

Domenico rises slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. The guards close in, tightening their circle.

“Yes, from you. From the man Christian de la Rosa wants in exchange for her life.”

My mind races, anger boiling.

“You honestly think giving me to De la Rosa will bring her back? You think he’ll just hand her over like it’s a fair deal?”

Domenico steps closer, his expression hardening. “I don’t trust him. But I can’t take the chance of doing nothing. My daughter’s life is at stake.”

“This is a mistake,” I reply. “You give me to him, and you’ll lose more than an alliance. You’ll lose everything. And you think a man like him is going to play fair? Domenico, he wants to destroy you and the Bratva. Isabella’s your heir—you really believe he’s going to hand her back?”

I see a flicker hesitation in his eyes. He knows I’m right. But he also knows he can’t risk calling De la Rosa’s bluff. His jaw tightens, and he motions to the guards.

“Take him.”

They step forward, their hands going to their weapons. My heart pounds, not with fear, but with raw, unrelenting fury.

If they think I’m going to roll over and let this happen, they don’t know me at all.

“Come on, Alexei,” Mario says, his palms open as he steps toward me. “No need to make this hard.”

My eyes are on him, but I catch sight of another guard rushing in from my right. I turn quickly, pulling my fist back and landing it hard into his stomach. He lets out anooof, doubling over and collapsing.

That’s all the signal the rest of the guards need. They all swarm, coming in from all angles.

“Don’t kill him!” Mario shouts. “We need him alive!”

I turn toward another guard, landing a quick jab to the face. He stumbles backward, and I turn to take on the rest.

“Enough, Alexei!” Domenico shouts, his voice booming over the din.

A hand claps down on my shoulder, and I turn to see Mario pulling back his fist, driving it forward.

Ouch.

The blow lands, and I drop to my knees. The world’s spinning, and I can already sense the warm trickle of blood down my nose.

“Didn’t want to have to do that,” Mario says. “But you didn’t give me a choice.”