Chapter 46 Madness In His Golden Eyes
Cedric's POV
The dining room was massive, easily forty feet long with a table that could seat maybe 30? 50 people? And Cedric sat alone at one end of it, looking quite pathetic.
The food in front of him was incredible. Pan-seared salmon with some kind of butter sauce that probably had a French name he couldn't pronounce, roasted vegetables that actually tasted like vegetables instead of TV dinner bullshit, and bread so fresh it was still warm.
It was exactly the kind of meal that would have cost him a week's wages at the bar. The sort of thing he would get Lily as a treat whenever he visited.
But he could barely taste it. His jaw was too tight with anger, his mind too occupied with replaying the last hour over and over, each time feeling even worse than the last.
\--- Flash back to forty minutes earlier---
Cedric's heart beat louder as Luca's boot came so close to crushing the phone, so he had done the only thing he could think of in that moment.
He'd lunged forward, breaking free from Matteo's grip with a desperate twist.
"Don't you fucking dare!" he'd shouted, throwing himself at Luca.
He'd almost made it. His fingers had been inches from the phone when Luca's arm shot out, catching him across the chest with enough force to stop him completely.
Then Luca had shifted his weight and pushed him.
It wasn't a punch or a slap or anything that would leave a visible mark. But it was a hard shove to Cedric's chest that sent him stumbling backwards, his feet tangling, his balance completely gone.
Cedric hit the concrete floor hard, his ass taking most of the impact, his casted arm flying out instinctively to catch himself. White-hot, blinding pain shot up his injured wrist, and he'd let out a choked sound that was half-gasp, half-sob.
"Stay down," Luca had said, his voice cold and professional. "Before you hurt yourself even worse."
Cedric had looked up from the ground, his vision swimming, to find Matteo staring at Luca angrily, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"That was unnecessary, and you’re going to regret it soon enough" Matteo had said, his voice tight.
"He attacked me," Luca replied, not even looking at him. "I defended myself."
"He was trying to retrieve his property that you stole."
"You mean the security risk." Luca's boot finally came down on the phone, not crushing it yet but pressing just hard enough to make the screen crack with a sickening pop. "Which I'm eliminating."
Something had passed between them then, some look that Cedric couldn't quite understand through the pain. Matteo parted his lips like he wanted to say more, while Luca's eyes slid away, unable quite meet the other man's gaze.
Like there was old history there, tension between them that had nothing to do with Cedric or the phone or this moment.
But before Cedric could process it, Luca had bent down, picked up the damaged phone, and pocketed it.
"I'm confiscating this until the Boss returns," he'd said. "And we can talk about appropriate behaviour for guests in this house."
Cedric had scrambled to his feet, dust and dirt clinging to his expensive clothes, his ass bruised and his pride shattered. "You can't…"
"I just did." Luca had turned to walk away, then paused. "And if you try to report this to Mr Falcone, I'll simply explain that I caught you taking surveillance photos of our security systems and weapons storage. Let's see whose story he believes."
Then he'd left, taking Cedric's one lifeline to the outside world with him.
Matteo had helped Cedric back inside without a word, his expression still stormy, and deposited him in the dining room with a quiet, "I think that’s enough walking for one day. Dinner will be served shortly. I'll return to escort you back to your room after."
\----- Back to the present -----
Cedric pushed the salmon around his plate and tried to ignore the eyes on him. Staff members kept walking past the dining room entrance, slowing down to stare. A maid whispered to another as they passed with fresh linens. Two guards stood near the doorway, not quite watching him but definitely aware of his presence.
The outsider. The whore who'd somehow wormed his way into the Boss's bed and was now causing trouble for everyone.
He could feel their judgment pressing down on his shoulders, making it hard to breathe.
This was a complete bust, Cedric thought bitterly, finally giving up on the salmon and reaching for his wine glass. After all my efforts I have no photos, no phone and no fucking evidence. Just a bruised ass and the knowledge that I'm completely fucked.
But maybe... maybe there was another way.
If he couldn't get physical evidence, photographs, documents, or recordings, then he needed the next best thing. An eyewitness. Someone willing to testify about what went on in this house, about Gianni's operations, about crimes they'd witnessed or participated in.
Someone who would be willing to stand up in court and point at Gianni and say, "Yes, I saw him order that murder. Yes, I helped move those weapons. Yes, I can confirm he runs a criminal empire."
The problem was finding someone willing to do that. The only person who even talked to him was Matteo. And he had already shown that he had no intention of talking about the family business, and after that weird moment with Luca, Cedric wasn't even sure he fully trusted the guide anymore.
He needed someone else. Someone with a grudge, maybe. Someone who'd been wronged by Gianni or the family and wanted revenge badly enough to risk everything.
But who…
All of a sudden, a loud crash echoed from the far end of the dining hall, near the service entrance. Loud shouting followed, male voices raised in anger at something, and then the unmistakable sounds of someone getting beat the fuck up.
Cedric's head snapped up. Around him, other staff members and guards were already rushing towards the source of the noise.
Now, Cedric knew he’d already gotten into too much trouble, and so if he had any sense he should stay seated, mind his own business and not get involved in whatever drama was unfolding among Gianni's people.
But curiosity, and the desperate need for any kind of distraction from his own misery, made him stand up last minute.
He followed the growing swarm of men toward the service entrance, craning his neck to see over shoulders and between bodies.
The crowd parted slightly, and Cedric caught his first glimpse of the fight.
This wasn’t a fair fight at all, it would be more accurate to call it a very one sided beating. One man was on his back, grunting in pain with his arms up trying to protect his busted face, while the other straddled his chest and rained down punches with a wild, manic grin on his face.
Cedric took one look at that beast beating down on the smaller man and decided he was either bat shit crazy or super high on some really hard drugs.
The man on top was younger than most of Gianni's guards, maybe mid-twenties, with dark brown curly hair that fell across his forehead and a lean, muscular build that suggested that he didn’t get that from the gym.
Nope, those were the kind of muscles you got from years and years of hard labour and street fighting.
His knuckles were already raw and bloody, his shirt was torn up revealing the solid rock 8 pack underneath, and there was something almost feral in the way he moved, full of violence and controlled rage like a rabid animal.
"The fuck are you waiting for?! Get him off!" someone shouted, and two guards moved forward to intervene.
But before they could reach him, the fighter's head snapped up.
And he looked directly at Cedric.
Their eyes locked across the crowded hallway, and Cedric felt something electric pass between them.
Was it recognition? Impossible. He was sure they'd never met before.
The man's eyes were striking, a dazzling gold-brown colour, almost amber in the overhead lighting, and they were filled with a mixture of rage and something else, something Cedric could quite put a finger on.
He held Cedric's gaze for three long seconds, blood dripping from his knuckles onto the guard beneath him, his chest heaving with effort.
Then he grinned, sharp white teeth and madness in his golden eyes. Whoever this guy was, Cedric knew he was definitely going to be a lot of trouble.