Breaking Midnight (Il Paradosso Series Book One)

Chapter thirty-five

"You work for him."

Daniel glanced up from his plate shortly, his eyebrows slightly arched as I planted myself in the chair across from him and continued eating his lunch in silence.

Oh, so now he was giving me the silent treatment. Long overdue, buddy. I watched him casually bring the fork up to his mouth, ignoring my accusatory statement.

Finally, when he was done, he wiped the edges of his mouth and placed his hands on the table, while I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

"I've been thinking about this whole situation over the weekend, and I came to the conclusion that there was more to it then you've led me to believe. And the fact that I'm still here, gives me the impression that I'm right."

"You've been thinking about me?" His blue eyes seemed to flicker as his lips curved into a smile.

"I said I've been thinking about the situation," I declared, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his piercing upstare.

"And you think that I would work for scum like Antonio Montanari?"

Ok. Pipe down, that wasn't exactly necessary.

I felt a hint of irritation at his choice of words but played it off, showing little emotion as he studied my reaction.

But for some reason, I wanted to round-kick the table into his face.

"I'm not playing anymore of your games, Daniel," I hissed, lowering my voice when I realized a few people had turned their heads towards us, "you either tell me the truth or I'm walking out of here, and you will never see me again. That's a promise."

He frowned and I could see his leg bouncing up and down under the table, a clear indication of nerves, which I couldn't blame him for.
I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest. I knew he wasn't going to give in. After all, he had probably taken an oath, and was maintaining his loyalty to them.

"And all that bullshit about trying to save me, I'm wondering if you two had a good laugh about it, when you were going over the plan together."
Daniel's expression remained solid, his hand resting on the leg that had stilled as he listened attentively.

"Well, let me tell you that the joke is on you, Daniel, because the girl that you thought was helpless and weak, who you assumed would drop to her knees and beg you to be her knight in shining armor" ―I stood to my feet, leaning over the table so that I was closer to his face― "that girl doesn't want to be saved. So I suggest you take your sorry excuse of a ploy, and shove it up your ass!"

I stormed out of the cafeteria, praying I wouldn't trip on the stupid heels that were making it difficult to walk fast through the long corridors, when I felt a hand grab onto my arm.

I pulled it away from Daniel's grip, preparing myself to slap him across the face if he attempted to handle me again. But he reclined, instead he stood a few feet back, noticing the fury in my eyes.

"I don't work for your boyfriend, Adriana. Come to the bar tonight and I'll tell you everything, OK? Just trust me, can you do that?"

I stared at him for a second, mouth agape and burst into laughter.
"Trust you? You want me to trust you? I don't even know you, Daniel! I don't know anyone in this goddamn country enough to trust them!"