Chapter 10 I Watched You
He continued, "What I do care about is why brilliant Cedric Santos ended up in my club on opening night, clearly sent by someone, clearly uncomfortable and in over his head."
His face was so close now that Cedric could count his eyelashes if he wanted to. He could smell that expensive cologne that was making it very hard to think straight with every passing second.
"I care," Gianni continued softly, "because the boy I remember from high school was going places. He was too smart, too ambitious, and much too determined to end up serving drinks to criminals." His eyes searched Cedric's face. "So something happened. Something bad enough to bring you here. And I want to know what it was."
Cedric's throat was tight. He couldn't tell if this was genuine curiosity or some kind of interrogation technique, and he didn't know which would be worse.
"People don't always end up where they plan," Cedric said finally, aiming for casual and landing somewhere around bitter. "Shit happens. Dreams die. Welcome to real life."
"Cynical." Gianni's hand came up to cup Cedric's jaw, thumb stroking across his cheekbone. "I don't remember you being cynical in high school. Determined, yes. Stubborn, absolutely. But not this... defeated."
"Yeah, well, a lot can change in six years." Cedric swallowed, he couldn't stop himself from leaning into Gianni's touch, shutting his eyes and sighing with bliss.
"It does." Something flickered across Gianni's face too quickly for Cedric to identify. "I'm certainly not the same person I was then. Neither are you."
His thumb continued its maddening stroke. "But I think, underneath all this defensive sarcasm and these obvious lies, you're still that same brilliant boy who was going to save the world one animal at a time."
Cedric's chest tightened. "You don't know anything about me."
"No?" Gianni's smile was soft, almost sad. "I sat behind you for an entire semester, Cedric. I watched you..." He paused. "I watched you."
The way he said it made Cedric's skin prickle with awareness. Not just watched as I noticed. Watched as in studied. Observed. Paid attention in a way that was either really sweet or really fucking creepy, and Cedric's brain couldn't decide which.
"That's not weird at all," Cedric muttered, but his voice came out hot and breathless instead of sarcastic.
Gianni's smile widened. "I never said I wasn't weird." His hand slid from Cedric's jaw down to his throat, fingers resting gently against his pulse point. "But here's what I think is happening. I think someone sent you here tonight. I think you were supposed to gather information, play spy, and report back to whoever's pulling your strings. And I think you took that wire off because you're too stubborn to let anyone control you, even when it's in your best interest."
Cedric's pulse was jumping under Gianni's fingers, giving away everything his mouth was trying to hide.
"And now," Gianni continued, his voice dropping lower, more intimate, "you're sitting here trying to figure out how to salvage this situation. How to get what you need without getting caught. How to play both sides and come out ahead." His thumb pressed slightly harder against Cedric's pulse. "Am I close?"
Too close. Way too fucking close.
"You're insane," Cedric said, but it lacked conviction.
"Yes." Gianni didn't seem bothered by the accusation. "But I'm also the person who can give you what you need, Cedric. Money, probably. Security, possibly. Whatever drove you to take a job in my club, whatever desperation brought you here tonight, I can fix it."
Nope. Absolutely not. That was definitely a trap. Cedric's mind spun with all the ulterior motives this dangerous hulking man could be hiding behind that offer.
No "Monster of Italy" would ever give anyone something without wanting something in return.
"Why would you do that?" Cedric's eyes, his eyes full of lust and distrust.
"Because I want to." Gianni's answer was direct and completely unhelpful. "Because I've been wondering for six years what happened to Cedric Santos. And now he's sitting in my booth, lying to my face, clearly in trouble, and I find that I want to help him."
His hand moved from Cedric's throat to his hair, fingers tangling in the blonde strands. "But first, you need to make a choice. Keep lying to me and walk out of here with nothing. Or..." His grip tightened slightly, just enough to make Cedric gasp. "Come with me somewhere private, stop playing games, and let's discuss what we can do for each other."
Cedric's brain was short-circuiting. This was insane. Going anywhere private with a mob boss was the definition of a terrible idea. Marcus would lose his mind. The fifty-five thousand was already gone because he'd thrown away the wire like an idiot.
But Gianni's hand in his hair felt incredibly good. The promise of money, of help, of someone actually wanting to fix his problems instead of adding to them, it was intoxicating.
"Okay. Just to talk," Cedric heard himself say. "That's it."
Gianni's smile was slow and satisfied, like Cedric had just given him everything he wanted. "Of course. Just to talk." He released Cedric's hair and offered his hand. "Come."
Cedric stared at that offered hand for three long seconds. This was his last chance to walk away and maybe salvage something from this disaster of a night.
Who was he kidding?
He took Gianni's hand.
The grip was firm, warm, possessive in a way that made Cedric's stomach flip. Gianni pulled him to his feet with easy strength, and suddenly they were standing much closer than necessary, Cedric having to tilt his head back to maintain eye contact.
"Good," Gianni murmured, his free hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from Cedric's forehead. "Very good. Come with me."
They walked through the club, and Cedric was aware of curious eyes following them, but Gianni's hand was still wrapped around his and that seemed more important than anything else.
They reached a hallway marked PRIVATE, and when they got to the door at the end, Gianni pulled out a key, unlocked it, and gestured for Cedric to enter first.
The room beyond was elegant, with leather furniture, soft lighting, and a bar in the corner.
Cedric walked in, his heart hammering against his ribs when he noticed the walls were soundproofed. This was Mafia territory, and if anything were to happen in here, no one would hear him scream.
The door clicked shut behind them.
Gianni leaned against it, his arms crossed, and for the first time since they'd met tonight, he looked fully at ease and in control.
"Now then," he said softly, his accent curling around the words. "No more lies, Cedric. Tell me what you really need, and I'll tell you what it's going to cost."