“I’m trying, Giotto!” Anais says, and I remember the name. He’s thesoldatofrom the third floor she’s been fucking.
“He’s in the building, and he’s coming for you now, Elisa,” Giotto says, stalking forward. “Caleb will pump me full of bullets if I don’t get you to safety.”
I stare at his face, and there’s something off about it and him and the entire situation. Nerves fire at me from all angles as goose bumps sprout on my arms. “I’m just getting my cell, and then we’ll leave,” I say, shucking Anais’s arm off and backing up.
They exchange a look, and all the hairs lift on the back of my neck. Adrenaline courses through my veins as my fight-or-flight response kicks in. I turn and run, but I’m too late.
Giotto tackles me from behind, taking me to the ground. “You just had to make this difficult, didn’t you,Lili,” he says inmy ear in a completely different voice. “It doesn’t matter anyway because very soon there won’t be anyone left to stop me.”
I kick and fight as he manhandles me to my feet.
“Shut up, bitch,” Anais says, lunging at me.
I scream as pain pierces me in the side of the neck, staring in shock at the large empty needle she’s holding in her hands. “What did you do?”
“Don’t worry,Lili,” the man in front of me says. “You’re just going to sleep for a little while.”
I sway on my feet, and my vision turns blurry, but I see enough as he peels the mask off his face revealing his identity. “No!” I gasp, staring at Cruz in horror right before I pass out.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Caleb
My cell beeps just as I’m about to board the plane en route to Vegas. I step to one side to check the message I’ve just received, earning a frown from my twin. All the blood leaks from my face when the picture loads. It’s Lili. She’s stripped to her underwear and tied to a chair in a dingy room. Her head lolls forward, her hair hanging in strands around her face. Panic sluices through my veins as I read the accompanying message with location coordinates.
TELL NO ONE OR SHE DIES. I WILL KNOW.
I take off running as Joshua calls after me.
Elisa
Pain-filled grunts fill the air as I come to, disorientated and confused. Hair curtains my face as I lift my head, moaning at the ache in my neck and the throbbing pain in my arm. My visionis sketchy when I open my eyes, and I have trouble focusing. A rotting stench filters into the air, and my nostrils twitch. The floor under my bare feet is cold, dirty concrete, and the raw stone walls are covered with stains. The air is frigid, lifting all the hairs on my body and hardening my nipples behind my flimsy bra.
But that is the least of my worries when I hear a familiar voice.
“Lili.” His gravelly tone sends icy shards plunging into my spine.
I turn my head in horror, barely able to see him through knotty strands of hair. “Caleb,” I rasp in a hoarse voice, hoping the vision I’m seeing is a nightmare and not reality. My love is tied to a chair beside me in only his boxers. Arms behind his back and ankles bound to the chair legs, like me. Blood seeps from the hole in his arm where they hacked his tracking chip out, and blood also covers his face, coats his hair, and drips down his chin and onto his chest.
“The lovebirds are reunited for one final tragic act,” Anais says, yanking my head back by my hair and causing me to cry out as splintering pain radiates across my scalp.
“Leave her the fuck alone!” Caleb shouts. “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill both of you.”
Anais tilts my head to the side so I can see everything going down. “Look what your love did to him,” she scoffs. “He just raced off without hesitation, leaving his brother and others to their fates.”
“Always so fucking arrogant, Accardi,” Cruz says before ramming his fist into Caleb’s stomach. “But I appreciate your predictable reckless streak.”
“Stop!” I scream as Cruz continues beating my boyfriend. “Just tell us what you want, and we’ll do it!” Right now, I would do anything, sacrifice anything, to set Caleb free.
Outside, a loud boom claims all our attention, and my eyes widen in horror as I stare out the small window. A mushrooming fireball shoots upward through the sky from the direction of the airport.
“You’re a dead man,” Caleb says in a fearless tone, eyeballing Cruz with unconcealed hatred. “I’m going to enjoy ending you.”
“You and whose army?” Cruz stands, flexing his bloody knuckles and grinning at the fiery sky outside. His phone pings. Removing it from his pocket, he chuckles as he reads the message. “They’re all dead, and there’s no one to stop me now.”
Oh my god! It all snaps into place. It was a trap to get all the dons on the plane and take them out. My eyes whip around to Caleb, and his reassuring gaze meets mine, silently coaxing me to trust him. Caleb wouldn’t leave his twin to die. This must be part of some plan, so I force my anxiety aside and concentrate on getting out of here alive.
“Let me see that.” Anais lets go of my hair and stalks over to her husband, her heels clicking on the hard ground. She’s dressed in a figure-hugging dress with her cleavage hanging out, high heels, and pearls. A fur coat keeps her warm while I’m over here literally freezing my butt off in my underwear. She grabs his cell and smiles. “You did it, baby.” She throws her arms around Cruz and kisses him.
