No matter how many times Dante saved me, he would always be my personal Devil, not my savior. I’d been a fool to allow him to touch me. To welcome him into my body.
I shuddered as cold washed over me, and I hugged my knees to my chest.
I had to escape, or I would lose more than my dignity; my sanity was at risk every moment that I remained Dante’s captive.
Chapter 14
Nora
It was nearly midday, but I hadn’t seen Luca at all since Dante had ripped him away from me last night; he hadn’t been brought out of his cell to share breakfast with us. The monster was on edge, his dark mood like a cloud around him, making the air heavy enough to suffocate me. He held me possessively as he fed me, barely speaking. I’d found myself wishing for him to murmur reassurances to me. Anything to dispel the tension that coiled in my stomach, making me nauseous.
I wandered across the library for the dozenth time, my fingers skimming the spines that lined the shelves. I was desperate for anything that might hold my attention, to distract me from my churning thoughts.
Longing for Luca tugged at my heart, as though an invisible string tethered me to him, pulling me toward the basement.
But I didn’t dare visit him. Not when Dante was in such a feral mood.
He’d claimed my mouth last night, but if anything, the act had only made him more possessive and jealous of my affection for Luca. He’d been the one to arrange the messed-up scene, when they’d both ravaged me at the same time.
Loathing tinged my longing for my husband. Dante had further debased me. And Luca.
And I had enjoyed every savage second of it.
“Nora!”
My heart leapt at the familiar voice, and I spun to face the library entrance.
“Giana?” I said her name with awe and rushed toward my sister.
She caught me in a fierce embrace, and her familiar, floral scent suffused the air around me. My eyes stung, and I gripped her more tightly, whispering her name like a prayer.
“I’m here,” she promised, voice shaking with her own tears. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I pulled back so that I could look into her hazel eyes—a mirror for my own.
“Did Dante bring you here?”
Had my captor found a way to allow me to see my sister, after all?
My flicker of gratitude was quickly doused by dread. If Giana was here, then that meant Dante had returned.
I swallowed hard and looked past her, only to find a burly man I recognized as one of my father’s guards, Antonio, waiting in the open doorway. His hands flexed at his sides, and his square jaw ticked with strain.
“We have to go,” he rumbled.
Giana grasped both my hands in hers and started dragging me toward him.
“Dante didn’t bring me here,” she explained quickly. “Antonio snuck me in. Father knew you wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
My feet stalled, and I eyed the guard warily. “What’s going on?”
“Father found out that Dante killed Alberto,” she said in a rush. “He’s decided that Dante is too erratic to be Don; he’s going to take control himself. Dante murdered a member of our family. Father won’t let that go unpunished. He’s not allied to the sadistic monster anymore. I’ve come to take you home.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Father is betraying Dante?”
“Yes.” Giana squeezed my hand in a pulse of comfort. “You’re free, Nora. We have to get out of here.”
“Luca,” I gasped. “I have to get Luca. He’s locked in a cell in the basement.” I looked to Antonio. “Do you know anyone who might have access to the key other than Dante?”
