I don’t like it.
There is too much speculation. I’m floating around as if I’m bleeding in shark infested water.
My gun lies heavy against my shoulder and I’m itching to use it on the gardener. Ludo fucking Dettori. How did I miss him? I thought I knew every motherfucker in that organization but a nephew—I didn’t see that one coming.
It makes sense now. Liam has probably been planning this since Enrico’s will and testament became common knowledge. Even I must admit he was ahead of the field. Six months ahead and placing his man on the inside was a stroke of genius.
He must have been pissed when the first sister escaped his carefully laid plan, and now he’s trusting his nephew to deliver the prize. Yes, Sydney Dettori has every reason to be afraid because if Liam is taking Alice for his wife, Sydney’s grave has already been dug.
“I’ve told the driver to break the sound barrier. They’ve had a head start on us and we may be too late.”
Jack states the obvious and I snarl, “Do we have any contacts at the airfield who can stall for time?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“Anyone in authority there?”
“Sadly no. Our reach doesn’t extend to Switzerland. However, we do have the pilot and three of his crew on our payroll. Getting a message to them will be risky, but not impossible.”
“Do it.”
We need all the luck on our side because if Liam’s jet takes off from Lucerne, Alice is screwed—probably as soon as the seat belt sign extinguishes. Sydney will be dead before the plane hits thirty thousand feet, and Alice Zaferelli will be the new Mrs. Dettori, and her billions will be the wedding gift.
My jaw grinds as I stare out of the window, the scenery flashing past in a blur. Fuck, this is not working out as planned and for a man who likes to win, losing isn’t even an option.
CHAPTER 9
ALICE
My head is heavy and my eyelids are impossible to raise. I can’t even move my limbs, and voices float in and out of my head as if spoken from a distance.
I can’t focus, my mind is gone, and if I’m in a deep nightmare right now, I hope to wake up sooner rather than later. It’s as if I’m dead and the mourners have gathered around my coffin. Whispered words come from far away, and I have no ability to answer them.
I sense movement and a blast of warm air hitting my skin as strong arms lift me from the car and sling me over someone’s shoulder.
I attempt to form words. “Ste…”
My mind forms the word, but my mouth doesn’t cooperate. It must be Stefan. It can’t be anyone else, but why is he carrying me this way?
Were we in an accident? Am I being lifted out of a wreck? Is this what happened to my mom?
Tears trickle down my face, reminding me I’m still alive at least, and then I’m roughly deposited onto something hard. The light fades behind my eyes, and the dull thud of something closing leaves me in complete darkness. The air is stale, there’sa faint odor I can’t place, and my head hurts. My heart is racing and breathing is difficult, and then I hear an engine and we set off. What’s happening? I am so confused, and where is Stefan?
I’m so muddled, I can’t think straight, and my only memory is of falling asleep in the truck.
Something happened between then and now, and I am so worried about Stefan. This isn’t right. What is happening?
As my body thumps against the confines of my space, it hurts like hell, and my mind struggles to keep up. This isn’t right. I’m in danger and now is not the time to have a panic attack. Am I being kidnapped—but why?
‘You know why.’
That voice kicks the cage door down and berates me for being so stupid. There is only one person who hates me enough to stage something like this, and I pray to God I’m not being delivered back to her.
Morgan Sorcusi, our hated stepmother, who insisted on the title despite the fact she never married my father. Is this her? If it is, I should be very afraid because I’m guessing with my father gone, she has no reason to keep me around and every reason to get rid of me.
Understanding dawns as the dots connect, as my father’s empire rears its ugly head. The Diamond Dynasty. The bane of our lives is a ship without a captain, and it’s only now I realize that as the eldest daughter, that captain is now probably me.
Tears trickle down my face, but they are angry ones. How could I have been so stupid? Of course it’s her. I wouldn’t put it past her to have kidnapped me from Stefan, and my heart clenches as I imagine what they did to him.
