Ava watched the road ahead, wondering where she was.That’s when the SUV she was tailing took an unexpected turn onto a dirt road.
Her pulse raced.She couldn’t lose Luca now.
The SUV kicked up clouds of dust as it rumbled down the unpaved path, the sound of the engine rumbling in her chest.This wasn’t good.Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, and she swerved to the side, pulling her SUV behind a row of construction trailers.She parked quickly, heart pounding as she cut off the engine with a soft sputter.
Ava swallowed back the bile rising in her throat.Luca was in trouble and she wasn’t sure how to help him!The shadows of the night swallowed her as she slipped out of the vehicle, taking a deep breath.There was a construction site ahead, a massive structure that was far from finished, but whatwasdone loomed ominously under the dim lighting.The dust from the other vehicle was thick here, enough to conceal her presence as she crouched low, her every step careful and measured.
A piece of scrap pipe lay nearby.She grabbed it quickly—improvised weapon in hand—and snuck toward the group of men she could hear talking in a language she didn’t understand.They were clearly too focused on their own conversation to notice her.
Her thoughts flashed back to the mysterious gifts that had arrived at her office without explanation.Were the gifts and this attack connected somehow?What did all of it mean?And why hadn’t these men come after her?She would have been an easier target than Luca.
Or was there something more going on?Had the gift-giver expected her to shift her affections with the unexpected gifts?Or had those odd gifts been a trap, something aimed at sending her to Luca?Were all of those strange gifts and the vandalism around her office meant to get her here?Or were the gifts and vandalism not connected to her relationship with Luca?
None of this made any sense!
But if everything was connected, what did they want?
As she watched the SUV idling in the shadows with nothing happening, Ava wondered if she’d followed the wrong vehicle.Had she made a mistake?
The minutes seemed to stretch into an eternity, her senses heightened as she strained to hear anything from above.The men standing by the skeleton of a building were still talking, laughing among themselves.But there was no Luca!
She was just about to return to her car and drive away, thinking she’d lost her target in the mad rush to follow the SUV, when something happened.One of the back doors opened.Two of the men who had been leaning against one of the support beams of the structure hurried over.Moments later, she watched as they pulled something big and heavy out of the back seat of the SUV.
Instinctively, Ava knew that they were lifting Luca out of the backseat, hauling him up the concrete stairs to the second level of the building under construction.
They’re not afraid of him, Ava realized.They were too casual.Too confident.
Ava’s heart was pounding in her chest as she crouched in the shadows, watching the men carry Luca to the strange, metal cage.Her grip tightened on the pipe, but her instincts screamed at her to wait.She was torn between rushing in to help and staying silent, hidden by the shadows.If she stepped back into the shadows, she could call Luca’s men, alert them to the location, but the sound of her phone could give away her presence.Every part of her being screamed for action, but every fiber of her body knew that one wrong move could make things worse.
The men were still laughing, speaking in a language she didn’t understand, their words spilling out between raucous chuckles.The way they carried Luca—like an object, not a man—made her blood boil.She clenched her jaw, fighting against the heat rising in her chest.She didn’t know who these people were or why they were doing this, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
She had to get closer, get him out of there.But how?
Her breath caught in her throat as she inched forward, her shoes barely making a sound on the gritty concrete floor.The shadows of the construction site swallowed her whole as she crouched behind a stack of metal beams, the pipe in her hand her only defense.
Ava’s mind raced.She could call Luca’s men, but their presence could alert the kidnappers.Her phone was just as dangerous as a loud shout in a situation like this.If she tried to make a call, the screen would light up, alerting everyone around of her presence.
So, calling and texting was out.
The seconds felt like hours as she stayed crouched, fighting to control her breathing.She strained to hear every noise—the faint laughter from the men, the scuff of their boots.
Then she heard the most welcome sound; the SUV doors slamming shut as they prepared to leave.
The SUV roared to life and disappeared into the night, leaving Ava crouching in the shadows, frozen.She waited a moment, her heart hammering in her chest.Silence settled over the construction site, thick and heavy.The tension in her body didn’t lessen, but she knew the immediate danger had passed.The men had left, but something gnawed at her.What were they going to do to Luca now that he was trapped?
She couldn’t wait any longer.
Ava stood up, her body trembling as adrenaline rushed through her.She moved quickly, her heart pounding in her ears as she ran toward the stairs leading up to the second floor.Each step felt heavier than the last as she climbed, looking around with each step, searching for any sign of Luca.When she reached the top of the stairs, she immediately saw the cage.Her stomach twisted in knots at the sight of Luca, unconscious but alive, crammed into a metal cage like an animal.
The anger that had been simmering in her veins for hours exploded, and the pipe in her hands felt like a tool of righteous fury.But it was the sight of Luca—weak, trapped and caged—that cut deeper than anything she had ever known.
She had come here because she’d needed him, but now, seeing him locked up like this, something inside her shifted.The man she had fought against, the man she had teased and resisted for over a year until finally giving in, had somehow wormed his way into her heart without her realizing it.
And now, she was going to rescue him.
Chapter 21
RikoTanakawalkedawayfrom the construction site with a smug smile stretching across his face.He had everything under control now, and his plan was unfolding several days ahead of schedule.By some miracle—or perhaps carelessness on Bernardi’s part—the man had left himself vulnerable.No bodyguards.No watchful eyes.Just Luca Bernardi walking straight into his hands.
