Chapter 47 Dangerous Company
Cedric’s POV
The stranger stood up from the guard’s bloody body, completely disregarding the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle. He walked straight toward Cedric, as if everyone else in the hallway had simply ceased to exist; his amber eyes fixed with an intensity that made Cedric want to take a step back.
Up close, he was even more intimidating. Really tall, maybe six-two or six-three, his dark curly hair was messy from the fight, falling across his forehead, a split lip was already swelling, and there was blood on his knuckles that definitely wasn’t his own.
“I’ve never seen your face before,” the stranger said, his voice low and rough around the edges. “You’re new here. Who are you?”
The question was delivered with such keen interest, such focused attention, that Cedric felt pinned in place, held there by the sheer force of the stranger’s curiosity. And what’s worse, the stranger looked like he already knew the answer to that question.
“I’m—” Cedric started, then stopped, unsure how to answer. A guest? A prisoner? A kept boy? All of the above? “It’s none of your fucking business.”
Behind the stranger, the crowd was busy helping the fallen guard to his feet, checking him for serious injuries. The man’s nose was definitely broken and there was blood streaming down his face, but no one seemed particularly about it.
Cedric understood then that incidents like that happened too often for anyone to really care that much about it.
“Dante!” one of the guards shouted, “That’s strike three, you understand me? One more fight and you’re going to have hell to pay when the Boss gets back!”
The stranger; Dante, apparently, didn’t even glance back. He just kept his eyes locked on Cedric, waiting for an answer, his lips quirking into a half-smile that was both charming and predatory.
“Wrong answer, try again.”
“I’m… I’m just visiting,” Cedric said finally, hating how weak his voice sounded.
“Visiting,” Dante repeated, “Right. Mind if I join you for dinner? I’m starving, and the food here looks way better than whatever slop they serve in the barracks.”
He didn’t wait for permission. He walked over to Cedric’s abandoned seat at the long table and dropped into the chair right next to him, not across, not at a respectful distance, but close enough that their shoulders nearly touched when he settled in.
Cedric was becoming acutely, uncomfortably aware that this mystery guy was hot as fuck. The kind of hot that would have had him making moves back in his old life, flirting shamelessly, maybe ending the night with great sex and no strings attached.
But this wasn’t his old life. Gianni would murder the guy, then murder him for cheating, then bury him, dig him up, and murder him again.
So getting involved with anyone here, especially someone who looked like trouble, seemed like a spectacularly bad idea.
So Cedric leaned back slightly, putting a few more inches between them, and tried to focus on the questions Dante was asking.
“Yeah, I’m new here,” he said, reaching for his water glass just to have something to do with his hands. “Just got here a few days ago.”
Dante’s eyes tracked the movement, lingering on Cedric’s casted arm. “Looks like you’ve had a rough welcome. What happened?”
“Long story.”
“I’ve got time.” Dante grabbed the bottle of wine that had been poured for Cedric earlier and took a swig directly from it, not bothering with a glass. The gesture was crude and intimate all at once, like they were old friends instead of strangers who’d met thirty seconds ago.
The few remaining staff members in the hallway were watching them now. Cedric could feel their eyes, sensing the judgment and the gossip that would inevitably follow.
The Boss’s new boy, sitting way too close to Dante. That’s going to end badly.
“So,” Dante said, setting the wine bottle down and turning his full attention back to Cedric. “Are the rumors true?”
“What rumors?”
“That you’re fucking the boss.”
Cedric choked on his water, coughing violently as it went down the wrong pipe. His eyes watered, his face heated, and he had to set the glass down before he dropped it.
“I—that’s—” he sputtered. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure how Gianni would feel about him discussing their something-ship. Were they in a relationship? Was it just sex? Was Cedric supposed to be keeping it private, or was it already common knowledge?
Dante’s smile widened, clearly enjoying the sight of Cedric being uncomfortable. “I’ll take that as a yes. Don’t worry, everyone already knows. Hard to keep secrets in a place like this when the Boss carries you to his bedroom bridal style and doesn’t come out for twelve hours.”
“Jesus Christ,” Cedric muttered, his face burning hotter. “Is there anything people here don’t gossip about?”
Then suddenly, Dante’s entire look shifted. The sly, playful curiosity vanished, replaced by something much more serious. He leaned forward, his voice dropping low enough that only Cedric could hear.
“Lets cut the shit. I know who you are.”
Cedric’s heart stuttered. “What?”
Dante reached over and plucked the fork from Cedric’s hand, the one that had been halfway to his mouth with a piece of salmon on it, and ate the bite himself, his pink tongue flicking out just the slightest bit with that sly grin back in place.
It was hot. And arousing. And weird. And threatening all at once, and Cedric filed all those reactions away to unpack later when his brain wasn’t short-circuiting.
“You heard me,” Dante said around the mouthful of fish, his amber eyes never leaving Cedric’s face. “I know exactly why you’re here. What you’re trying to do. Who sent you?”
Cedric’s mouth went dry. Was this guy a spy or some kind of mind reader? The stranger hadn’t even properly introduced himself beyond the name shouted by the guard, and now he was claiming to know Cedric’s deepest secrets?
How could he possibly have that information?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cedric quickly fumbled the words out.
“Sure you don’t.” Dante’s smile was sharp-edged. “Look, we can dance around this all night if you want, or we can be honest with each other. Your choice.”
Cedric’s mind raced. He needed to know what this guy knew, and figure out if he was an ally or a threat or something else entirely. He opened his mouth to ask, to demand an explanation, or call the bluff, to do something—
The massive double doors at the far end of the dining hall flew open with a bang that echoed through the space like a gunshot and Gianni walked in.