“You never know until?—”
“Put me down! Youmonster!” Sophia’s scream tears through the hallway below.
A man—not Nikolai Kozlov—carries my cousin over his broad shoulder. He rumbles a laugh as she frantically struggles against him, then he swats her ass.
Arianna and Gin gasp
I blink, shocked at the crude display.
He’s kidnapping Sophia, strolling right through the front door, and no one’s attempting to stop him.
Arianna and I look at each other in horror.
“Did he—? Who was that?”
Gin answers. “Roman De Luca. I noticed him staring at Sophia earlier.”
“Well he can’t justtakeher like that! She’s engaged to Nik.” I can’t believe this is happening. Where is my uncle? Where are the Russians?
“Actually, it’s worse than you think.” Arianna’s pale as a ghost. “Roman De Luca really is a monster.”
Uncle Davide steps out of a doorway and gestures for us to come down. I follow my cousins downstairs and into his office, where Aunt Rosa joins us.
“What is the meaning of this!” My aunt shouts at her husband once the door has closed. “You better start speaking.”
Uncle Davide holds up his hands in surrender against his wife’s fury. “I had no choice. Roman De Luca and I came to an understanding. Sophia is no longer engaged to Nikolai Kozlov. She will marry Mr. De Luca instead. Everything will be fine.”
“Everything isnotfine!” Aunt Rosa glances at us. “You girls go join the party. You don’t need to be involved in this. This is between me and my husband.”
Quickly, we scurry from the office as Aunt Rosa lays into Uncle Davide. We climb back up to our perch on the landing. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, prickling with awareness. My bodyguard is watching us.
Arianna grabs my shoulder, turning me to face her. “Roman De Luca murdered his first wife. Now he has Sophia. We have to do something. She’s in grave danger.”
“Are you sure? Your father seemed… less concerned.”
“I’m sure. He either doesn’t know or doesn’t care. We have to help Sophia before it’s too late.”
My mind races, seeking a solution. Uncle Davide didn’t try to stop Roman and we know they have an understanding. One that Sophia didn’t agree to by the look of things. Disappointment and anger flares in my veins. I thought my uncle was a better man than my father, but it seems I was wrong. Uncle Davide is just as quick to sell his daughter as Papa was to put me up for sale.
What can we do? How do we stop this?
Cian’s out of town, so he can’t help us. I don’t trust any other man but him.
“We’re going to have to save Sophia ourselves,” I murmur. “But first…” I glance around until I spot Wolfe sulking in a dark corner. He’s been my shadow all evening, as that’s his job. Unfortunately, he won’t let me go after Sophia on my own. He certainly won’t help me confront Roman De Luca.
Which leaves me no choice but to get him out of the way. How does a person incapacitate a huge Irishman? I purse my lips in thought.
I don’t have the time to drug him. Hitting him over the head seems insufficient. I don’t want to do anything that would risk his life. He’s going to be furious with me, and hate me even moreafter tonight, so I’ll have to do this as gently as possible. Or say screw it and go for maximum effectiveness.
“But firstwhat?” Arianna presses. “I can’t read your mind.”
“First we have to deal with my bodyguard. I’m open to ideas on how to get rid of him for tonight. Not permanently,” I clarify.
“Can’t we just give him the slip?” Arianna points to a window. “We can climb out through there.”
I shake my head. “You don’t know Wolfe. He has a sixth sense when it comes to guarding people. I’m worried that he’s already suspicious, and I’m onlythinkingabout getting rid of him. As soon as we move, he’ll be on to us. Trust me. I need something he won’t see coming. Something… unpredictable.”
Ginevra moves closer to me, her voice low. “How about something extremelypredictableinstead?”
