My hands begin to tremble.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"Chloe, my eldest sister, might be in trouble," I say.
"Was she at the auction too?" he asks.
"I didn't see her there, but my mother was planning a trap for her,” I say, thinking about the snake venom.
Just as my mind starts to unravel, Dante places his hand over mine. Something about the weight of his hand is so comforting.
"Don't worry about your sister," he says. "I'll find out where she is and confirm if she's safe."
"Do you promise?" I ask.
He nods. "I promise."
I curl up in the seat and face him.
"It's not wise of me to trust someone like you."
"You're right," he says. "It's not."
"But I do anyway."
He watches me for a moment.
"Why did you think it was your mother who sent the shooters?”
"Who else could it have been?"
"There's nobody else who would want to hurt you?"
I shake my head.
“Okay, get some rest now," he says. "I'll wake you up when we reach our destination."
I don't feel okay. Nothing feels okay.
All I have now is my intuition.
And it tells me that the safest place for me is by Dante's side.
For now.
9
GRACE
It's dark when I wake up.
I’ve never liked the dark.
My heart races hard against my breastbone. Panic claws at my throat as my head fills with unwelcome thoughts. It gets harder and harder to breathe.
And then I remember.
My mother isn't here. I'm with Dante, the handsome man from the auction. His home isn't exactly a sanctuary, but anything is better than being under my mother's thumb.
