Chained - Zara Novak Page 0,32

I whispered to myself.

“Be confident,” the girl affirmed. “They will jump on any display of weakness. You have to be strong for him. For us. For the castle.”

I arched a brow. “What can you tell me about these visitors?”

“I shouldn’t say,” the girl said. “Vincent instructed me not to talk to you, unless necessary.”

“Well I’m declaring this as necessary,” I said, trying my best to sound bold. “Tell me what you know.”

The girl looked left and right quickly, as though looking out for spies. “The Cartello family is one of the strongest mafia firms in the vampire world, but others are always trying to be the best. There are five families who can class themselves amongst the most powerful. Mr. Cartello’s operation is currently the strongest.”

“But?”

There had to be more to it than that, otherwise there wouldn’t be a problem.

“But we live in a time of stalemate. No one has the ability to reach out and take everything for themselves. Outside of these five families there is another firm, one of the oldest bloodlines. They are known as the Vigliati. The vampire at the head of the family is an elder vampire named Xavier Vigliati.

“Everyone is waiting to see which family he will back. Right now, the Vigliati are neutral. Xavier is watching the five families carefully. He has promised to merge his powerful operation with one of the five, but only when he has decided which leader has the most promise. With the Vigliati’s backing, any of the five families would be strong enough to take absolute control.”

“He is coming, today?”

“Not him. He has sent three of his daughters. They want to talk to Vincent and get the run of his operation. It will not be a pleasant meeting for him, and they will probably try to test him.”

“Why does he need me there?”

“A strong leader always has a slave present, that is the belief of Xavier Vigliati. The fact that you are a breeder, that only makes Mr. Cartello look even stronger.”

So, I was right. Vincent did need me. A whole lot.

“Thank you…”

“Tasha. It’s my pleasure miss. Good luck.”

A knock came at the door as soon as she was done talking, which made us both jump. Tasha hurried over and opened the door. Vincent stepped inside, dismissing her with a nod of his head. I glanced over at him properly and felt floored. He was wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and no tie. The outfit was simple enough, but he looked damn good.

“My my, slave,” he said. “You do brush up well. If we didn’t have guests to entertain, I’d bend you over and fuck you right here.”

Please.

“Thank you,” I said. “You look good too.”

“Let’s go,” he said and held out his hand. “Our visitors are waiting, and they do not like to be kept. Your job is to stay quiet and look strong. Pull that off and you might just earn back that point you lost earlier.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, playing the part of a dutiful slave as I looped my arm in his and followed him out of the bathroom. We walked through the castle, heading in a direction that very quickly became new to me. Glancing over it was impossible to tell what emotions were running through Vincent’s mind, his face was a mask of flawless white marble, but something about his body language told me he was nervous.

Maybe this was really my chance to prove myself to him. I could win major points—both literally and figuratively—which could definitely give me an advantage somewhere down the line. This meeting wasn’t just important for Vincent, it was important for me too. I had to play the part and nail it perfectly.

Doing so might just let me get out of here.

Chapter 4

Rachel

I followed Vincent through the castle, imagining myself as a queen in some gothic horror novel. Every now and then I caught my reflection in a mirror and surprised myself. Vincent really had transformed me into someone else.

It seemed strange that he wanted me to go into this meeting completely blind. Were it not for the servant girl, Tasha, I would know nothing about who we were about to meet. Surely any information would be better than none?

I decided to feign ignorance.

“What can you tell me about these guests?” I said. “Is there anything I need to know?”

“On top of what Tasha already told you?” he said without glancing over at me. I would have frozen mid-step if he wasn’t pulling me along.

“I