Jumping into the back, I give the driver my father’s address. “Quick! Hurry!”
As he pulls away, I watch Leo run toward the car, his face torn with worry.
I’m sorry, Leo.
I lean back against the seat, and closing my eyes, I start to pray. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get to my father’s villa.
How is this happening?
She’s alive?
God, she has Lucian!
Can I even reason with her?
Why is she doing this?
“Faster,” I say when it feels like the driver is taking his time. “It’s urgent.”
It feels like time crawls, and when the taxi finally pulls up to the villa, I pay the fee and climb out. I don’t even think to put on my shoes as I rush to the gate. My heart beats in my throat as it opens, and then a man dressed in a black combat uniform steps in front of me.
He grabs hold of my arm, and without a word, he drags me up the driveway to the front door of the mansion I had hoped to never enter again.
I have no idea what to expect.
My mother’s here, inside the house.
Lucian. God, Lucian.
My emotions toss inside me like wild waves.
Everywhere I look, bodies lay scattered, and I recognize none of the men standing guard.
So much blood.
So much death.
My phone begins to ring, and it has the man yanking my handbag away from me. With my heart thundering in my chest, I’m taken to my father’s study and shoved inside the room.
My phone rings again, and the first thing I see is my father, tied to a chair, his face beaten and his shirt bloody.
Then I see an older version of me, and the sight of the mother who I thought was dead shocks me to my core.
She’s really alive.
I can’t help but feel hurt that she left me behind. I have so many questions filling me, but then I realize there’s no sight of Lucian.
“Where’s my husband?” I ask, not caring about what she does to my father or me.
Her lips curve up as her eyes glide over me, and then she points a gun at me. “I see you got your father’s intelligence. I doubted whether you’d fall for the lie, but I had to try. Lucian Cotroni’s not an easy man to kill, and using you as bait was the only hand left for me to play.”
He’s not here.
Lucian’s safe.
Oh, thank God.
In a trance where fear wars with relief, I begin to shake my head, not understanding. “Why?” I manage to ask through the shock, still dulling my senses.
She gestures with the barrel of the gun at a chair, and then the guard shoves me toward it.
Refusing to take a seat, I meet her gaze again. “Why are you doing this?”
Again my phone rings, and then it really sinks in.
Lucian’s not here.
It was a trap.
I realize how stupid I was. I just reacted out of fear without thinking of calling Lucian.
Elena… what have you done?
Slowly I turn my head to the guard holding my handbag.
Lucian’s probably trying to get a hold of me.
“Why am I doing this?” she lets out a bark of laughter, then she slams the gun against my father’s head. “Tell your daughter why I’m doing this.”
“Fuck you,” my father spits. “Kill me, you fucking bitch.”
Hard until the end. My father still refuses to bow or show emotion.
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder, and I’m shoved down on the chair. I glare up at the guard, and as he raises his hand against me, my mother says, “No, Zeus. Don’t hit her. Bring me the bag.”
Confusion spills into my heart because she stopped one of her men from hurting me.
Does it mean she cares?
Maybe I can reason with her after all?
Maybe she won’t kill me, and she’ll spare Lucian because I love him?
I watch as he hands her my bag, and then she digs my phone out. “Lucian seems to really care about you. Let’s hope it’s enough to make him come here.”
Chapter 27
LUCIAN
Alexei and Demitri are standing by the cars while Franco and I check the shipment of CA-415s and incendiary grenades that just came in.
As Franco opens another crate, my phone begins to ring. I pull it out of my pocket, and seeing Leo’s name, worry instantly floods me.
“What’s wrong?” I snap into the phone.
“Mrs. Cotroni ran away. She went to the restroom, broke the window, and took a taxi. I couldn’t get to her in time,” he says, sounding out of breath.
“Why the fuck would my wife run away?” I shout, instantly losing my temper.
“There was no sign she was upset. We were in the store. She went to try on a dress then gave it to your aunt to pay for while she went to the restroom. She showed no distress whatsoever,” Leo explains, sounding puzzled by what happened.