He shook his head. “Did you have to go to college in London to get this dumb?”
Hot tears burned their way out of my eyes and ran down my face. I swiped at them angrily. “Go on then. Tell me what I should have done? Sacrificed my friends for my father’s business. Is that what I should have done, oh, super smart man who didn’t have to go to college in London to become as dumb as me?”
He ignored my tantrum. “Didn’t you also notice,” he said quietly, “that the men were waiting for you at a particularly strategic location?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Your friend took you there, so that they could get to you.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I yelled in disbelief. Christine was my best friend.
“Does it look like I’m out of my mind?” he responded calmly.
I shook my head. It felt as if my head was exploding. “No, no, you’re wrong, buster. You don’t know anything. If you think my friend set me up you’re delusional. I’ve known that girl for years and I trust her. Far more than I trust you!”
He straightened away from the tree. “Why don’t you believe you were set up?”
“Because it’s impossible.”
“Who else apart from your friends knew of your planned escape?”
My heart … was hurting.
He shook his head mockingly. “I don’t want to be rude about your mother, but I’m beginning to doubt you are Siciliano’s daughter.”
I lost it then. Dragging poor Mickey with me, I marched menacingly towards him.
Chapter 23
Sienna
He didn’t move a muscle.
I stopped in front of him so angry I wanted to punch his jaw. “Take that back,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Take what back? That I’m beginning to doubt you’re your father’s daughter? I’m sorry but I don’t know how else to explain why you were so utterly clueless yesterday.”
The burn in my chest at the abuse and accusation was too much for me to take. Before I could catch myself, I lost it. Blind rage took over and my fist swung towards him. Unfortunately for me he was quicker than a bolt of lightning. He jerked his head back, and effortlessly dodged the blow.
I, on the other hand, had put too much force into my swing. The momentum carried me forward and I stumbled forward, taking me headfirst into the wall of his chest.
He caught me roughly by my arms, and set me away from him.
But my sore ankle twisted under me and I found myself collapsing to the ground. I was shocked when I looked up at him.
Surprise flashed across his face, then his expression settled into confusion … and pity!
With a scream of fury, I jumped up to my feet, throbbing ankle be damned, and went for him.
I swung my fists … one strike and then another, and with the momentum of that one yet another one, but he effectively blocked each one, each time fluidly moving out of the way before I could even so much as touch a hair on his body.
Now I felt absolutely embarrassed, because I had trained almost all my life, so how was it possible that I couldn’t even hurt him once? I needed to hurt him, at least once, otherwise I didn’t know how I would be able to move on from the embarrassment. How would I ever be able to face him again?
So I kept on fighting, exerting all my energy, ignoring all the aches and pains I’d incurred the previous evening.
Mickey began to yap in terror at the uneven exchange.
“Stop!” Angelo growled. “You’re going to fucking hurt yourself.”
“Fuck you!” I roared right back at him and lunged ferociously at him.
This time, he caught both my wrists then held me away from him as I kicked, yelled, and swore at him like a wild cat. “Stop it,” he snarled.
I swung my leg, aiming for the bulge between his thighs. But of course, he moved, snapping his legs shut and trapping my leg between his thighs before it could attack the vital area. I was left standing precariously on the leg with the bruised ankle, but that gave me the opening that I had truly been hoping for. Using all my strength I smashed my wrists out of his loosened grasp. This time around, I did not miss.
Quick as an arrow, I balled my fist and struck his face. The blow was so hard his head turned and I lost my balance. I fell on top of him. I went down