“I don’t feel like it,” I responded tersely, taking a tiny hit of vindictive pleasure in denying him. I played the piano to calm my mind, not to perform for others. Especially not for him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
I thought of how Luca had commanded me to dance for him when he’d gifted me with the ballet studio at our home. Longing tugged at my heart. Yes, I could’ve made a home with him there. We were meant to be a family.
I straightened my spine. Once we were free and Dante was dead, we would fulfil that dream.
The monster caressed my hand again. “It doesn’t have to be this way between us,” he said for what felt like the dozenth time. He kept trying to tell me that I could make a home with him, not Luca.
He was insane.
“As long as you’re torturing Luca and me, it can’t be any other way,” I shot back.
Some part of me registered that I no longer feared a beating if I spoke out against him. Dante hurt me for his own pleasure, but he didn’t lash out in anger.
His jaw firmed. “I’m only torturing Luca,” he insisted. “I’m giving you what you secretly desire. You just don’t want to accept that. Luca deserves to suffer. He?—”
Pain exploded through my skull as something smashed into my head. I reeled to the side, and my seatbelt burned my chest, driving the air from my lungs. The world spun, and I floated a few inches above my seat before the belt caught me, digging deeper between my breasts and crushing down on my sternum.
Metal screeched, and my brain rattled at one final impact.
“Nora!” Dante’s voice was faint beneath the ringing in my ears.
I blinked slowly, my brain struggling to understand what was happening. The side airbag deflated to my right, blocking my view out the window. Dazed, I stared forward, distantly noting the way the front of the SUV had buckled around the tree.
“Nora!” Dante’s shout was clearer this time, closer. His big hands cupped my cheeks, carefully turning my face to look at me.
Something like fear flashed over his shockingly green eyes as he studied me, his intense gaze raking over each of my features.
“Are you hurt?” I could barely hear him over the tinny sound that threaded through my skull.
Before I could gather my thoughts to formulate a reply, a deafening bang resounded through the SUV. Dante cursed and quickly unbuckled my seatbelt, throwing his body atop mine.
“The SUV is bulletproof,” he reassured me, hands roving over me to check for injuries.
He raised his voice to address the driver. “Get us out of here!”
“Can’t,” the man grunted in reply, voice slurred from the disorienting impact. “It won’t move.”
Another bang as a bullet smashed into the armored vehicle, the sound drawing a soft cry from my aching chest. Dante’s body lowered over mine, almost suffocating me with his weight.
Gunshots rang out, rending the quiet country air with sharp reports. They must’ve been waiting for us only a few miles down the road from the estate.
“Russian motherfuckers,” Dante muttered, cursing his enemies.
Ice frosted my skin, and I shuddered.
Dante caressed my cheek. “I won’t let them get to you,” he promised.
Several bullets smashed into the window on the driver’s side, and glass crunched as it began to give way.
“What’s going on out there?” he demanded.
His side airbag had gone off too, hampering his visibility.
“Three armored cars,” the driver groaned. The other man in the passenger seat wasn’t responding at all. “One wrecked from hitting us, two others blocking the road ahead. Our men are returning fire, but this thing isn’t going anywhere.” He punched the dashboard in frustration.
My teeth clicked together as cold seeped into my bones.
They would capture us. The Russians would rape me before they killed me. Just like they’d done to my mother.
