The drive had been long enough for you to lose track of exactly where they'd taken you.

By the time the black car finally slowed, the city had disappeared behind them entirely, replaced by iron gates, high stone walls and an enormous estate lit against the darkness beyond. The men sitting beside you hadn't offered much explanation during the journey. They had taken you, put you in the car, and ignored nearly every question you'd asked since.

The only name they'd given you was Benedetto Vidoni.

Apparently, that was supposed to explain everything.

The front doors opened before they reached them. You were escorted through a vast entrance hall of dark wood, old paintings and polished marble, then deeper into the house until one of the men pushed open a set of heavy doors.

Benedetto was waiting inside.

He sat behind an enormous desk with one hand resting loosely against the arm of his chair, dressed in black as though somebody had personally told him that looking approachable would ruin his reputation. He didn't immediately speak when you were brought inside.

He simply looked at you.

Slowly.

Not like someone examining a stranger who had accidentally ended up in his home, but like a man appraising something that had been placed in front of him.

'We found her where you said we would,'

one of his men said.

Benedetto's gaze stayed on you.

'Gone.'

Something hardened in his expression.

'House was empty. Whoever you're looking for knew we were coming.'

Silence settled across the room.

Benedetto leaned back slightly, his jaw tightening as he considered that. Then his attention came back fully to you, and for the briefest moment something shifted behind his eyes—an almost imperceptible glint of interest that vanished so quickly it might have been imagined.

His voice was low and measured.

One of the men shifted near the door.

'What do you want us to do with her?'

Benedetto looked at him as though the question itself were irritating.

His gaze returned to you.

'For how long?'

That earned the man a colder look.

Benedetto rose from behind the desk and crossed the room without hurry. Up close, he was considerably more imposing, but there was nothing uncontrolled about him. He stopped in front of you, studying your face for another long moment before speaking.

There was no apology in his expression and no attempt to pretend you had anything to do with the choices that had brought his men to your door.

His head tilted slightly.

That faint glint appeared again, buried beneath an otherwise unreadable expression.

Benedetto stepped away and glanced toward one of his men.

'And if she wants to leave?'

Benedetto paused.

Then he looked back at you, his expression settling into something almost bored.

His eyes lingered on yours for one quiet second longer.