The shot pings off the wall when I shove my shoulder into her as hard as I can, giving the real agent a chance to yank her arm up and to the left, dislocating it and making her drop her gun. She shrieks in agony and I cringe.
“We’re walking out that door and if you try to stop us, I’m putting a bullet through her head and no one gets what they want.” It’s the fake male agent, who now has his gun pressed painfully into my temple.
“Don’t believe him,” I say frantically, “the guy who sent them to kidnap me wants me alive.”
Now there are guns everywhere - one still shoved into my skull, the two real agents alternating between the woman, who’s gripping her weirdly sagging arm, and the man threatening to shoot me and everyone seems at a standstill.
Then the lights go out.
I drop like a rock, pulling away from the fake agent guy and scrabbling down the hall. I can see the flashes of light as the guns go off and there’s shouting and screaming. It only lasts for a couple of seconds but it feels like a lifetime. And then the overhead lights go back on and Dario fucking Toscano is standing over two very dead fake agents with a big grin and a pair of night vision goggles.
Kneeling on the dirty airport floor, cringing was never how I visualized our reunion happening. At least the right people are dead.
I think.
Bracing my back against the wall, I stand up, trying to control my shaking legs.
“There you are, you bad,badgirl.” Dario’s hand is around my neck and he yanks me closer, smiling down at me. “We have so much to talk about, don’t we?”
Ah, god…Sagging against him, I’m so pissed off that I’m relieved. He really is my best option right now.
Dario…
After marching Cora onto my jet and strapping her into a seat, I can see how exhausted she is. I sit across from her, waiting until she finally lifts her head and glares at me defiantly.
“Cora Thorne, a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I purr, enjoying how her lips press together, trying to hold back what I am sure is a torrent of obscenities in my direction.
“You really went to this much trouble just because I killed Him- I mean, Schmidt first?” she snaps. “You really take things personally, don’t you?”
“Well, that is part of it,” I allow, “I thought we had something. Rescuer, rescuee… But you’re just full of surprises, aren’t you,Bellissima?”
“Look, thank you for saving me-”
“Again,” I interrupted.
Glaring at me, she says, “Again. Thank you for rescuing meagain.But can you please let me go? Seriously, what are you expecting here?”
Stretching my arm out over the back of my leather seat, I smile at her pleasantly. We’re in the back, where there’s a bank of seats facing each other with a table in between. “Do you know this jet is the first one I bought on my own?” I ask.
Her brow furrows. “Okay.”
“I selected the Bombardier Global Express because I tend to pace,” I said. “Most corporate jets can feel so confining.” Cora’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“I see,” she said faintly.
“Now, I need this jet because I’m about to take over the family’s new business concerns in Boston. There’ll be a lot of flying back and forth, Boston to New York… Boston to Italy…” I get up and help myself to the well-stocked bar, pouring a glass of the D’ Amalfi Limoncello. “Oh, would you like a glass,Bellissima?I believe you consumed several last night, but this is a much better brand.”
Cora narrows her eyes at my mention of the night before. “No thank you. I’ve made enough mistakes for one twenty-four-hour period.”
“Understood,” I nodded pleasantly. “But back to the point I was making. After buying this $75 million dollar jet, guess what I’ve been using it for?”
She shrugs uncomfortably.
“Not for actual business that will increase my family’s bottom line and gain more power in America. No, I’ve been flying countless hours chasingyou,Cora.” I point at her. “You are a slippery little thing, aren’t you? And not in the way I traditionally prefer my women.” I catch her mid-eye roll, pinching her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “I almost had you inLiechtenstein - and by the way? Liechtenstein? Who goes there? The quick switch on the train was masterful, by the way, and then there’s Zurich. I believe you went out the back door of that hotel as I came in the front. Not as impressive as your roof-to-roof stunt work last night, but a fine job, all the same.”
Cora’s shaking her head, her mouth hanging open. “Why? What the hell is wrong with you, Dario? If you found out who I am, you must know I would never say a word to anyone about you.”
“Because you ran!” I shouted. I’m out of my seat and my hands slam down on her armrests, caging her in. “You have been a very bad girl. I intend to punish you for it.”
