Something flashes in his eyes. Anger. Rage. But he controls it, smoothing it away. "We'll see about that. We have time. Your boyfriend won't be back for hours, you said. That's plenty of time for us to come to an understanding. To get to know each other again."
He reaches for me again, and I back away. But there's nowhere to go. The table is behind me, he's in front of me, and Elena is sleeping just down the hall.
I'm trapped.
And Lupo is miles away, working on a construction site, with no idea that the life we were building together is falling apart.
That the monster I ran from has finally caught up to me.
Draco's hand closes around my wrist, pulling me toward him. "Let's start over, shall we? Let's talk about how this is going to work. You're going to wake Elena. You're going to pack yourthings, not much, you won't need most of this. And then we're going to drive back to Rome. Like a family."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll take Elena myself. Have you forgotten, I have legal rights? Rights to my daughter. And I have the resources to enforce them. I can make your life very difficult. I can make it so you never see her again." He leans closer. "Or you can come willingly. Be a family. And I'll forget all about this little rebellion. I'll forget about your boyfriend. I'll forget about the past eighteen months. We'll start fresh. This is your one chance to do the right thing."
Tears burn my eyes. "You'll hurt her. Eventually, you'll hurt her like you hurt me."
"I would never hurt my daughter."
"You say that now."
"I would never hurt Elena." Each word is sharp, deliberate. "She's my child. My blood. Whatever you think of me, whatever I've done to you, and you pushed me, Isabella, you always pushed me, I would never lay a hand on her."
I want to believe him. Part of me desperately wants to believe that Elena would be safe.
But I can't. I've seen what he's capable of. I've felt his rage. And I know that control is a fragile thing.
"Please," I whisper. "Please just leave us alone."
"I can't do that." His grip on my wrist tightens. "You're my family. And families stay together."
And all I can do is pray that somehow, someway, Lupo comes home early.
That he saves us.
Even though I don't know if he can.
Chapter 19: Lupo
I'm about halfway to town when I see the car.
Black Mercedes. Sleek. Expensive. Driving past me on the narrow road, heading toward the farm. An alarm bell screams in my head.
The car doesn't belong here. No one drives a car like that on these country roads unless they're lost or looking for something.
Or someone.
Isabella's voice echoes in my head from last night, "Draco found me once. He could find me again."
My feet are moving before I make a conscious decision. Walking faster. Then jogging. Then running as fast as I can.
The construction site doesn't matter. The fifty euros doesn't matter. Nothing matters except getting back to that farm.
Getting back to Isabella and Elena.
My ribs scream in protest. The barely healed wound pulls with every stride. But I don't slow down. Can't slow down.
Something's wrong. I know it the way I know how to breathe. The way I know how to kill.
