About his enemies finding us if we leave.
About torture and death.
I want to believe he 's exaggerating to scare me into compliance.
But the truth is… I don’t know.
I don’t know what kind of danger we're really in.
I don’t know who sent us here or what they want.
All I know is that Dante believes the threat is real.
And if he is right, then running might get Sofia killed.
I press my forehead against the cool glass and close my eyes.
I am trapped between two impossible choices.
Stay here and remain prisoners in Dante's villa, or leave and risk whatever nightmare is waiting for us outside.
Dante thinks he can keep us here.
He thinks locking the door and posting guards are enough.
But he's wrong.
I am the clever fox from the stories I tell Sofia.
And the clever fox always finds a way to escape.
I just have to bide my time and be patient.
6
DANTE
The phone rings for the fourth time in an hour, and I'm starting to expect more bad news.
I answer and hear the voice of one of my suppliers from Milan.
He sounds agitated before he even speaks.
"We have a problem," he says. "Three of my trucks were hijacked last night outside Bologna. The product is gone and two of my drivers are dead."
I lean back in my chair and press my fingers against my temples.
"Who hit you?" I ask him, knowing this is the worst call yet.
Things are stewing toward a major storm and I can't seem to get ahead of the ball.
"I don't know yet. But whoever it was knew the route and the timing. This wasn't random."
"Gerard," I say.
The supplier's quiet for a moment.
"You think he's behind this?"
