Page 56 of Sapphires and Snakes

Sally claps her hands together. “Okay, slip out of it so I can pack it up and actually meet this insane deadline you’ve assigned me.”

I raise a brow at Danny. “Get out, Snake.”

He doesn’t move nor look up from his phone. “There’s a closet and a bathroom. Use them.”

Anger weighs down my hands, heating my palms. This ismyhome,myroom. I should be able to choose who can step foot inside. Whether they can hover beside the door. A sickening feeling pulls at my stomach, and when the word for it springs to mind, I almost vomit.

Powerless.

Danny fucking Saldano with his stupid hair and his stupid dick and his absolutely fucking stupid mouth is makingmefeel powerless. The idea of it should be laughable. An insult. I’m aGallo. Heiress to the South. But there it is, foreign but real. I hate it.

I lift my chin, gazing down my nose at him with as much disdain as I can muster. He’s taller than me, sure, but I’ve lived a lifetime as a conniving, savage mafia princess. I didn’t almost cut off a man’s dick when he got too handsy at coat check for fun. I did it to challenge every future man to think twice before their hands found my ass lest I take their family jewels as my own. To wield the power I had.

And while I can’t castrate Danny right now, I amnotpowerless.

I signal Sally to start removing the dress. She frowns, but I give her a reassuring nod. “I’ll change where I like. You go ahead and stay, Danny boy. I’ll be sure to tell Marcus you watched.” Sally unclamps the back seam of the dress, still waiting to be sewn up. I let the sleeves fall down my arms, the bodice folding down to show my bra then my stomach. “I’m sure he’ll love knowing you saw me naked before he did. Your eyeballsshouldremain in your face. Probably.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Patrizia.”

“It’s Pat, dipshit,” they snap. It’s been a week of him misgendering them, calling them by their legal name. I don’t blame Pat for their irritable, bordering on violent outburst.

“And I’m Danny,” he retorts.

Pat gags. “Don’t make dad jokes, it’s revolting.”

“Get out. Both of you.” I shoot Pat a subtle apologetic look as they sweep through the room, snatching Danny’s elbow to drag him out the door. He yanks his arm away, like they’re contagious. Which makes me want to drench his pillow in Ebola.

The moment the door clicks, I snatch Sally’s hand and press a finger to her lips before I step out of the dress and lead her into the closet. Every week, I use a device to sweep for bugs and cameras, unwilling to trust my parents, Danny, or Marcus.Today, thankfully, the closet was clear. My bedroom, though, had two fucking microphones hidden away, both of which I threw in a glass of water before placing them back where I found them.

I push Sally into the closet and shut the door with a soft click. The more layers between us and Danny the better.

Sally’s eyes flick between me and the wall facing my bedroom door, as if she can see through it. “What the fuck is going on, Z?”

“Low voices, sorry.” I yank off my bra—better Danny think I actually got naked—and pull on a robe. “I know I’m asking a lot of you.”

“Are you under house arrest or something?” she asks.

“It’s complicated. I need a favor.” I whirl for the wall of shoes and handbags.

“This is some deep shit, Z. I’m not about to get myself killed for you.”

I pull the garish, pink heel that triggers the wall to reveal the secret compartment behind it. “That won’t happen.”

She scoffs. “And how can you guarantee that locked up here in your tower?”

“Sally. Please,” I beg. “Just hear me out.”

She studies the cache of weapons behind me then me. I wait for her to decide, knowing that I truly can’t make her do this. I won’t. She’s my friend. She always has a choice. And maybe it’s how pathetic I am right now or how she knows I’m about to be forced into an arranged marriage with a man despite my parents’ full knowledge that I’m a lesbian. Because she relents.

“Talk fast,” she says.

“I need you to deliver something to the DA.” I turn to the safe set in the wall, twisting the dial. “It can be by courier so you don’t have to be seen there, but I can’t do it from here. It’s too dangerous.”

Sally closes the gap between us. “If it’s murder evidence, absolutely not.”

I shake my head, the twitch of a smile fluttering at the corner of my lips. “It’s just paperwork, nothing illegal. I swear.”

“Why can’t you do it?” She pulls a knife off the wall, studying the edge.