Page 183 of Valentino

I give a weak shrug. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

“Valentino was sure he would hurt you.”

“Is he here?” I ask. “Valentino?”

“Yes, just down the hall.”

“Can I see him?”

“No.”

My gaze drops to the table; he wouldn’t want to see me anyway.

“Why did Carlo come to take you, Anna?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it because he’s still in love with you and he knows that you are sleeping with Valentino?”

“Carlo was never in love with me,” I fire back, the first truth I’ve told her.

She smiles as she sits back. “Everything you are telling me is a contradiction to what I already know.”

“What do you already know?” I frown.

“I have intel that you and Carlo are still very much together.”

My eyes rise to meet hers.

“That you were sent into Valentino’s bed to keep him occupied so that Carlo could move in and murder him.”

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

My heartbeat echoes in the distance.

“That’s ridiculous,” I murmur.

“Is it?”

Is that what Valentino thinks?

“Who told you that?” I ask.

“It’s common knowledge, at least the general assumption.”

“It’s not true.”

She continues her questioning…. A blur in the background.

I don’t remember much after that, I’ve heard all that I can physically handle.

My mind, a clusterfuck of confusion, and an hour later, I hear the words, “Is there someone I can call to collect you?”