When Prey Becomes Predator

As the door to the interrogation room closed, Leonardo braced both hands on the arms of my chair, trapping me in his shadow.

"The cameras are off," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "Now tell me—where did you hide Lorenzo's body?"

I looked up to meet Leonardo's gray-blue eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do," he murmured, brushing over my lower lip. "You didn't sleep last night. The noise in the basement was from you."

I smiled, reaching out to catch Leonardo's tie and pulling him closer. "Then, why didn't you expose me?"

"That's because I was waiting for you to make a move." His lips hovered just shy of mine as he said, "Waiting for the moment you couldn't keep your claws hidden anymore."

There was a knock on the door, and an officer stepped in. "We have insufficient evidence. You're both free to go."

…

On the drive home, Leonardo quietly said, "The game's over, Vittoria. Or should I call you, Donna Costa?"

I tilted my head and asked, "What Donna?"

The next minute, Leonardo pressed me against the car door and kissed me, rough and sudden. I bit back, the taste of blood sharp between my teeth.

"You win." He rested his forehead against mine, breathing harshly. "I'll admit, I wanted to see how far you'd keep the act going."

"What about now?" I asked, my hand slipping beneath the hem of Leonardo's shirt.

"Now…" He caught my wandering hand. "I want to see the real you."

Leonardo dragged me into the villa, heading straight up to the master bedroom. He opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a document.

"What's this?" I asked.

"The transfer agreement for the last of your assets." Leonardo tossed it onto the bed. "Sign it."

I looked at the papers, then at him. Then, I smiled.

I walked to the vanity, opened the bottom drawer, and took out another identical document—except this one already had my signature on it.

Leonardo's eyes widened.

"I signed it yesterday." I handed the document to him. "Are you surprised?"

Leonardo didn't take it. Instead, he stared right at me. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to see…" I stepped closer, my fingers tracing lightly across his chest, then continued, "Whether you'd really make me sign it."

Leonardo asked, "And if I would?"

"Then, I'd know," I whispered in his ear, "that you truly wanted me dead."

Leonardo's hand closed around the back of my neck. "You've been testing me this whole time."

"Right back at you." I smiled. "You swapped out my medication. Wasn't that your way of testing whether I'd regained my memory?"

Leonardo fell silent, his fingers moving slowly at my nape. It was the same gesture I used on him whenever he was about to head into a dangerous job back when I was still Vittoria.

"What exactly do you want?" he asked, voice rough.

"I want you to admit defeat," I said, looking straight into his eyes. "I want you to admit that at least once in the past two years, what we had was real."

Leonardo swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. Then, he released me, picked up the signed document from the bed, and slowly tore it into pieces.

"None," he said, staring at the scraps of paper drifting down. "None of it was real. Every day, every second, I wanted you dead."

"I figured," I said softly. "I want you dead, too."

Leonardo suddenly lifted me and tossed me onto the bed. His hands were already closing around my throat. "Then, why didn't you do it? You had plenty of chances."

"Because dying would be letting you off too easily," I said between breaths. "I want you alive, Rossi. You need to be alive to feel all of this."

I slipped my hand beneath the pillow and pulled out a dagger, pressing the tip against Leonardo's back.

"Remember this?" I let out a soft laugh. "This is your engagement gift to me. You said Anna needed protection. How thoughtful of you."

Leonardo slowly released his grip on my neck and pushed himself up. Then, he studied me in the dim light.

"Good," he said with a nod. "Very well."

Leonardo swung his legs off the bed and walked toward the door, pausing at the threshold.

"There's a safe in the basement. The password is the date you lost your memory," he said without turning back. "You'll find all the answers you're looking for inside."

The door closed behind Leonardo.

I lay on the bed and listened as his footsteps faded away. I heard the basement door open and shut.

Then, I got up and padded barefoot to the window.

Leonardo raised his hand and mimed pulling a trigger at me. I mouthed back, "You lost."

As I turned away, I heard a dull thud echoing from the basement.

I didn't head downstairs. Instead, I walked to the vanity, opened the jewelry box that had already been emptied, and pressed the hidden switch at the bottom.

A compartment sprang open, and inside lay an obsidian ring.

I slowly slipped it onto my finger and smiled at the person in the mirror. "Donna Costa is back. Time to clean the rats out of the famiglia."