Minutes become an hour, and all we can do is wait in Madame Keller’s office, which looks more like an armory. Cabinets, filled with every kind of weapon, line the walls.
At first, Lucian paced the length of the office like a caged lion. After a while, he stopped in front of the one cabinet, and he’s been staring at the guns ever since.
My tongue darts out, nervously licking my lips, and then I get up. Slowly, I walk closer to Lucian, not knowing what I’ll say or do once I reach him.
Stopping next to Lucian, he doesn’t move. His eyes remain trained on the weapons.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Lucian,” I whisper, not knowing what he’s going through.
Slowly, Lucian nods, and then he glances at me. For a moment, all I see is grief, and it makes me want to hug him, but then his eyes narrow. “Have you heard from your father?”
“No,” I answer honestly.
Lucian’s gaze snaps from me to where Madame Keller is sitting with a glass of wine in her hand, looking way more relaxed than I feel. “Any word on whether just my father was assassinated?” Lucian asks her.
Madame Keller holds up a finger, and I watch as she makes a call. She murmurs into the phone, and I can’t hear what she’s saying.
“You think my father might be dead too?” I ask, strangely not upset by the thought. God, as long as Dante’s dead as well.
The thought lifts some of the darkness that’s fallen around us.
Lucian shakes his head, and then he walks to Madame Keller as she sets the wine glass down and rises to her feet. I follow after him.
“Valentino is secure in his villa. There was no attack on him,” Madame Keller informs us.
Which means Dante’s alive. Damn. At least one good thing could’ve come from today.
“Interesting,” Lucian mutters. I watch as he dials a number on his phone, and moments later, his voice is filled with anger as he says, “Do you think you’re safe at your villa, Tino?”
My eyebrows lift when I realize he called my father. It has me shamelessly listening in on the conversation.
“Where the fuck were you when my father was killed?” Lucian asks. Seconds later, he snaps, “You better find out who’s behind the attack. Until then, I might just think you’re behind the assassination.”
Oh. God.
If Lucian thinks my father had his father killed, what does it mean for me? I instantly step away from him, and it has his eyes snapping to me. Slowly, he shakes his head, then he says, “I have Elena. I’ll keep her with me until you figure out who’s trying to kill us all.”
It doesn’t sound like I’ll be safe with him, not with the warning darkening every word.
Lucian ends the call then he tilts his head, his eyes locking with mine. “You’re leaving with me as soon as Carson gets here.”
“What?” I gasp. “Leave? Where?”
A two-way radio crackles, and then a voice says, “It’s safe. The grounds have been secured.”
“Thank God for small mercies,” Madame Keller mutters, and then she gestures to the guards by the door. They open it, and not wasting time, I walk away from Lucian.
I don’t know where I plan on going. If I stay here, I’ll end up being taken by Lucian. If I leave… I might just get killed right outside the gates of St. Monarch’s.
A man comes walking down the hallway, dressed in a dark blue suit. He looks scary as hell, and I step to the side so he can pass by me.
God, is there anywhere safe on this planet?
“Stop her, Carson,” Lucian calls out from behind me, and the man instantly grabs hold of my arm. “She’s going with us,” Lucian explains, and then I watch like an idiot as the two men hug.
Too much has happened today, and it’s hard to try to make sense of any of it.
Carson shoves me toward Lucian, muttering, “Yours.”
I try to pull free as they pass me over like I’m a piece of property, but Lucian quickly grabs hold of me by the elbow.
“Ah, Mr. Koslov,” Madame Keller croons behind us. “It’s always a pleasure seeing you.”
Carson leaves us to greet Madame Keller, and then Lucian begins to drag me down the hallway while he tells Carson, “We’ll be ready to go in ten minutes.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I warn him.
“Oh, little bird,” he murmurs, his voice deadly, “you don’t have a fucking choice.”
I’m dragged back to my suite and shoved into my bedroom. “Pack your shit. We don’t have any time to waste.”
“I’m not leaving with you,” I snap back at Lucian.
“Elena…” Lucian’s voice is low with warning. “Don’t fucking test me today.”
He’ll probably throw me over his shoulder again.
“Lucian?” Carson calls from the hallway.
“In Elena’s suite. Come watch her while I get my belongings,” Lucian says without taking his eyes off me.
“Don’t do this,” I resort to pleading. “I’m nothing to my father. It won’t matter to him if you kill me.”
“I have no intention of killing you, so calm the fuck down and pack your clothes,” he bites out, the tension on his face clearly telling me he has zero patience left.
Carson comes into my bedroom, then glances between Lucian and me. “Why is she coming with?”
“She’s Valentino’s daughter.” It’s the only explanation Lucian offers him before he leaves us.
Carson’s one eyebrow lifts, and it makes him look scarier. “I didn’t know Valentino had a child.”
“I’m not a child,” I mutter as I walk to my closet. Not wanting to be dragged out of St. Monarch’s with only the clothes on my back, I begin to pack.
Carson doesn’t say anything else, but I feel his eyes watching my every more. “Can you not stare at me,” I ask when it becomes too much.
“Why? Do you have something to hide?” he asks.
I let out a huff and pack faster. Even though I hurry, Lucian’s done before me, and he comes back into my suite. “Did you bring vests?”
“Yes, I’ll go get them quickly.”
After Carson leaves, I shove the last of my clothes into the bag and zip it closed.
God, what will become of me?
“You’re wasting your time taking me,” I try one more time. “My father really doesn’t care about what happens to me.”
Lucian just stares at me with a clenched jaw. His phone begins to ring, and it takes his attention off me.
“Yuri,” he answers, and after listening, he says, “I appreciate it. I’ll be in touch about the shipment as soon as I get home. Don’t worry, business will go ahead as planned.”
He ends the call, and a moment later, Carson comes back with bulletproof vests.
I watch as Lucian takes off his jacket. He straps the vest on and then shrugs his jacket back on. Taking the other one from Carson, Lucian comes to me. I’ve never worn one and let him help me, not knowing what use the vest is if someone’s going to shoot me in the head.
“Let’s go,” Carson says.
I take hold of my luggage, and with my teeth worrying my bottom lip, I walk out of my suite.
LUCIAN
With Elena walking between Carson and me, I warn her, “Don’t try to run. If I have to carry you out of here, I’m going to be fucking angry, and that’s the last thing you want right now.”
“This is absurd. I’m worthless.”
Her words grind against my last nerve, and I clench my jaw.
Carson stops by the guard at the door and takes the weapons he had to surrender when he entered St. Monarch’s. He hands me a Heckler and Koch and a Beretta. I check both the clips before I tuck the Beretta behind my back. Holding the Heckler and Koch in my right hand, I glance at Elena. “You do exactly as I say.”
The dismayed expression on her face changes into worry as she turns her eyes to the exit.
“Wait here,” Carson instructs. He walks to the exit and scans the grounds, then gestures at us. “Let’s make this quick.”
“Move,” I order Elena, and thankfully she doesn’t decide now’s a good time to put up a fight.
We leave the castle and hurry down the steps to where Carson’s armored SUV is waiting. We load the luggage in the back, and then I open the back door and wait for Elena to get in. “Move over,” I snap tensely, and then I get in next to her.
Carson slides in behind the steering wheel, and as he starts the engine, he says. “It’s a fifteen-minute drive. There’s more ammo and guns in a hidden compartment beneath your seat.
I duck forward and press against the velvet by my legs, which instantly springs open. “Got it.”
He pulls away from the castle and drives toward the exit. As we near the guardhouse, the gates begin to open, and I check the clip of my gun again.
Elena sits quietly next to me as Carson steers us off the grounds. I instantly scan the area around us, consisting of a short stretch of road with trees lined on either side. We get to the main street, which leads through the town, and it makes the tension ease from my shoulders a little.
After we’ve made it safely away from St. Monarch’s, Carson makes a call. “I have them.” A moment later, he says, “Lucian and a woman, Elena Lucas.” He listens then holds the phone over his shoulder for me to take.
Putting the device to my ear, I say, “Yes.”
“Elena Lucas?” Alexei asks. “Why?”
“Security,” I answer so Elena won’t catch onto what we’re talking about.
“Makes sense. Demitri and I are on the way. We’ll meet you at the safe house.”
Knowing I owe Alexei my life, I say, “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He lets out a chuckle. “By the way, the fee went up.”
His words draw a chuckle from me, but it feels foreign on my lips. “I expected as much.” The grim cloak of sorrow tightens around me, then I ask, “My father’s…?” I can’t force the word ‘body’ over my lips.
“In safekeeping.”
“Thank you.”
Papà… Dio, Papà…
I close my eyes as intense grief rips through me.
“We’ll find out who’s behind this and kill them,” Alexei assures me.
“I won’t rest until they’re dead,” I growl.
“Neither will I,” Alexei murmurs darkly. “I considered your father a friend.”
It means a hell of a lot to hear Alexei say that. He’s the best there is, and knowing I have him on my side offers me some comfort.
We end the call, and I toss the device onto the passenger seat, then say, “Thanks for coming, Carson.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We have a tail,” he mutters.
“Only one car?” I ask as I glance over my shoulder at the sedan carrying four men.
“Yes.”
“Stop the car,” I order.
Carson slams on the breaks, and it brings us to a screeching halt. I throw the door open, and as I get out, I remove the Baretta from behind my back. Lifting my arms, I open fire on the fuckers who dared to come after me.
People on the sidewalks scatter for cover while cars swerve to get away from the hell breaking loose.
“You come after me?” I shout as I let one bullet after the other fly. “You fucking kill my father and dare come after me?”
The fuckers should’ve invested in armor-proof windows because I take out the driver and passenger in front without breaking a sweat.
The other two in the back seat open their doors and take cover behind the metal, returning fire.
A bullet clips my jacket on my left arm, then Carson opens fire, using a submachine gun, and it riddles the sedan with bullets, killing the last two men.
“Fottuta feccia,” I mutter, you fucking scum, as I walk closer and search the body on the passenger side. Carson helps, and finding the dead men’s wallets and phones, we jog back to the SUV.
Once Carson steers us away from the crime scene, I begin to search through their wallets and phones for any information that can help us find out who’s behind this.
“We should expect more. The scouts were only reporting where we are,” Carson advises.
“I’m ready,” I mutter as I open the first phone and check the call history. I press dial on the last number, and then a man answers, “Give me an update.”
“You should’ve sent more than four men,” I bite the words out.
There’s a moment’s silence, then the fucker asks, “Who am I talking to?”
“Take a wild fucking guess, asshole.”
The line goes dead, and it has me cursing, “Fucking piece of shit.” I meet Carson’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “He had a Greek accent. What fucking Greek is moving in on my territory?”
“A soon to be dead one,” Carson mutters. “We’ll let him bring the war to us and then end it.”
I glance at Elena, who’s been surprisingly quiet, and then I see why. She’s pressed herself against the door, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist and her hair hanging like a curtain between us.
Noticing how badly she’s trembling, I reach over and brush her hair away from her face. She instantly flinches, the short bursts of air leaving her parted lips speeding up even more.
It’s the look of terror in her eyes that makes me realize she’s having a panic attack right next to me, and I didn’t even know.
Fuck.
I slide closer to her, and taking hold of her chin, I turn her face to me. “Deeper breaths, little bird,” I murmur, so I don’t spook her more. She begins to gasp, and it has me lifting my other hand to her cheek. “Shh… you’re safe,” I say the only thing I can think she wants to hear right now.
It seems to help, though. Elena snaps out of the haze she was caught in and yanks her face free from my hands.
“Don’t… touch… me,” the words shudder from her.
I move back to my side of the seat, watching Elena squeeze her body against the door again.
She doesn’t look like she’s about to stop breathing anymore, and shaking my head, I turn my gaze to the scenery passing us by. Buildings, street lamps, people going about their business.
I close my eyes, my thoughts returning to my loss.
It’s more than a loss, though. I’ve lost the only person who knew me inside out.
I lost my best friend.
My mentor.
I loved my father more than life itself, and his death has left a gaping hole in my heart that will never heal.
