I'd make sure of that. Even if it killed me. Even if I had to fight Salvatore with my bare hands.
I wanted to live with every ounce of strength in my body, so I would survive this. Somehow. Some way.
I had to.
The bedroom they'd locked me in was on the second floor of the compound. Expensive furniture that meant nothing. Windows that were barred from the outside. Door that was solid wood with a lock I had no hope of picking.
I'd spent the night pacing. Testing the windows. Looking for any weakness. Any way out.
Nothing. The room was designed to hold someone prisoner. And it was doing its job perfectly.
Terror sat in my chest like a living thing. Made breathing difficult. Made thinking nearly impossible.
Salvatore was coming. He'd said so before they'd dragged me here. Said he had business to handle first but then he'd join me. Would claim me tonight before the wedding tomorrow.
The wedding that was happening whether I wanted it or not. Whether Kai saved me or not.
I'd tried to sleep. Couldn't. Just lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. Listening to guards talk outside my door. Watching the sky lighten from black to gray.
Dawn came. I was still alone. Still terrified. Still praying that Kai would somehow find me before it was too late.
Then I heard it. Gunfire. Distant but unmistakable. The rapid crack crack crack of automatic weapons, I bolted upright with my heart hammering. What was happening?
Explosions. Closer now. Making the windows rattle.
Screaming. Men yelling. Running footsteps.
Papa had taught me what to do during gunfights. Get low. Find cover. Stay put unless you had a clear escape route.
I dropped to the floor. Crawled under the bed. It wasn't much protection but it was something.
My mind raced. Who was shooting? Was it Kai? Hadhe found me? Or was this something else? Salvatore's enemies attacking? Some unrelated violence?
I didn't know. Couldn't know. All I could do was huddle under the bed and pray.
The gunfire got closer. Right outside the building now. Glass shattering. Wood splintering. The sounds of a full-scale battle.
Then silence. Brief. Terrible. The kind that came before something worse.
Footsteps in the hallway. Heavy and running. Getting closer to my door, I held my breath. Tried to make myself smaller. Invisible.
Then I heard banging on my door. Someone trying the handle. Finding it locked and then the sound of something heavy hitting wood. Once. Twice. The door shuddering with each impact.
Terror flooded my system. I didn't know who was on the other side. Didn't know if I should hope they got in or pray they gave up.
What if it was Salvatore? Coming to claim me while his compound was under attack? Using the chaos to finally make me his?
What if it was one of his guards? With orders to kill me? To eliminate the evidence of whatever was happening outside?
What if it was Kai? Actually Kai? Come to save me? I didn't know. Couldn't know. Could only wait and hope and pray. The door splintered. Gave way. Burst open with a crash that made me flinch.
I stayed under the bed. Watching. Waiting.
Boots. Dark. Military-style. Covered in dust and what looked like blood.
Then a voice. Rough. Desperate. Achingly familiar.
"Aria! Where are you? Aria!"
