Rosa

Chapter 34

Seconds ticked by like hours.

The tension was suffocating her.

Rosa watched as Mesrine's hands tightened around the steering wheel once more.

"You swear on your life? That you will be loyal to me and only me from now on?"

Had he taken the bait?

Rosa prayed again for it to be so as she nodded fervently. "I do."

The rigidity in his muscles eased a little. "Only time will tell whether or not you are a two-faced bitch. But I will give you a chance to prove yourself to me."

Mesrine seemed placated by her little performance.

The bodyguards put their weapons away.

Thank fuck.

Rosa almost swooned. Her head felt a bit faint and dizzy from the stress of it all.

He gave her one final warning, "Do not disappoint me this time, ma moitié. Now that I have found you, I am willing to forgive your past sins, but if you fuck me over again—"

Rosa rushed to assure him, "I would not dream of it. You can trust me. I will deliver Massera's head to you on a silver platter. To be honest, I have a personal bone to pick with him as well. I just need a little time to break down his... defenses."

His voice grew sharp. "How much time do you need?"

Sweetly, she replied, "That will depend on what you want me to do, of course."

"There have been some rumors going around about Massera..."

Her interest was piqued. "What rumors?"

"Rumors," Mesrine revealed, "that suggest Massera is not who he claims to be."

No shit.

The bastard was definitely not a schoolteacher from Calabria.

But Rosa played dumb. "Oh?"

"There is talk that he is actually a... De León."

This time, Rosa's shocked reaction was genuine. "What?"

The bastard was related to Gaspare?

"His mother is believed to be Aberto De León's sister."

She blinked in surprise.

Her mind became a blur of possibilities with this new onslaught of information. She couldn't tell if Mesrine was lying to her. Still, Rosa found it quite ironic that Mesrine was actually the one feeding her more intel about Cristiano when she was supposed to be his spy.

Could he be right about Cristiano, though?

Did Cristiano's bloodline make him a contender for the fallen De León throne?

Why had the bastard gone through the trouble to change and hide his name, then, if he had been a mafia prince in his own right?

The man was truly a walking enigma.

Cautiously, Rosa inquired, "Who was Massera's father? Presumably?"

"That is what I want you to find out."

She frowned. "Why are you so invested in his family tree?"

"Because I want to know everything about this man. Past, present, and future. I do not want any surprises when I set out to kill this fucker."

"I see."

Mesrine muttered, "I have reason to suspect that he is angling to revive the De León clan."