Seeing Alex gave me hope because I knew the Knights would come for their Queen. She had people who cared about her, who needed her to fulfill their legacies. No way would the Knights let her go without a fight. And if we were on the same boat, then there was a chance we would be rescued together. Of course, it was a longshot, but I had to believe in something to keep me going.
I slid to the edge of the mattress and leaned forward to tap her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
She peeked up at me with one eye open, then blinked a few times. “Where am I?” Alex pushed herself from the mattress, her arms trembling. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and leaned back against the wall, disoriented.
“We’re on a ship.”
She rubbed her thighs as if she were attempting to self-soothe, avoiding the worst cuts. “Yeah, but where are we going?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Men kidnapped me from my house in the middle of the night. It happened so fast. They knocked me out cold.”
“Who are these men?”
“They’re criminals.”
“I got that much. Have you overheard their conversations? Anything that can help us get out of here?”
I tucked my sweat-matted hair behind my ears. “No, nothing.”
“Have they fed you? Come back to check on you?”
I shook my head. “I just woke up.”
“How long have you been here?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe a few hours or a few days? They injected me with something at my house.”
“Same for me.”
“I’ve never done drugs before.” I picked at the rip in the mattress beneath me, forcing back the bile rising from my stomach. “I don’t like the feeling of being high.”
“Me too. I feel like shit. My head is pounding from all the drugs.”
“I know you,” I muttered. “You’re Luca’s fiancée.”
She nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Rhiannon.” I forced a smile. “Under different circumstances, I would say it’s nice to meet you, Alex.”
She nodded. “You must be important to someone if you ended up on this boat.”
“My dad is a bad man with a lot of enemies.” I slid my bare feet under my butt to keep them warm, my gaze focused on her. “I live in Beacon Bay. I know the Salvatores.”
“What’s your last name?”
“O’Shea.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re Sonny’s cousin?”
“Unfortunately.” I chuckled.
“I’m guessing your family is looking for you.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and yawned. “Knowing my dad, he’s already started a war to get me back.”
Not quite. But a girl could hope.
“I overheard the men talking about getting rid of Luca and their associates,” Alex told me. “I think we’re here because these men are trying to lure our friends and families to the auction to kill them.”
“Are you sure that’s what they said?”
She nodded. “I thought I was here because Luca killed the wife of an Albanian crime lord. But the men who brought me here stole me from them.”
I bit my lip, contemplating her words. “If it’s someone our families know, we’re not getting out of here unless they come for us.”
“Luca told me they hold the auction in a different place. It moves around the world. He called it Il Circo. It means The Circus in Italian.”
“I’ve heard of it. My dad was arguing with his men about it the night they took me.”
“Luca and Marcello will come for me,” she said with certainty.
I forced a smile. “Marcello is good at his job.”
“Do you know him well?”
I shrugged, nonchalant. “We go way back. There’s a long history between us.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What kind of history?”
“He saved me once.” I blew out a deep breath. “But it’s complicated. Our families would never approve of us.”
“You dated Marcello?”
“Nah.” I waved my hand and chuckled. “Nothing that serious. His dad would never allow him to date someone like me. Arlo only pretends to like my father to use him for favors.”
“Someone like you?”
“A mobster’s daughter,” I explained.
“Arlo and his sons aren’t exactly on the up and up.”
I snorted. “But they’re old money.”
“Not really. The Wellingtons are old money. Luca and Marcello are only the third generation.”
“Compared to my family.” I sighed. “Anyway, Marcello is way out of my league. It would never work with us.”
She leaned forward with genuine interest on her dirt-covered face. “How did you meet Marcello?”
I dug my teeth into my bottom lip. “He would kill me for telling you this… But who knows if I’ll ever leave this boat alive.”
“Is it that bad?”
I shook my head. “Marcello refused to tell Sonny about us. He said it was a conflict of interest since he’s best friends with my cousin.”
“I don’t understand why Sonny would care. Marcello is one of the best men I know. He’s loyal and trustworthy.”
“We’ve had our issues,” I said with a smile that made my dry lips crack open even more. “Your version of Marcello sounds great, but the one I know is… complicated. Arlo considers my dad beneath him and made it clear his sons were not to associate with me.”