“Yes, you will marry me,” he quips, making it very clear I don’t have a choice in this. The deal is already done.
“The wedding will be in a few weeks, and after that you will move to Italy with your new husband,” my father informs me.
My mind is reeling.
Wedding? Italy? A few weeks?
Fuck. No.
2
LIAM
Our unmarked black SUV cruises through a cool, starry night, headlights illuminating dark roads. In the distance, the moon rises over the treetops, surrounded by wispy clouds. What a beautiful night for vengeance.
It took twelve years of biding my time, researching, and planning. Putting my team together, making sure I could trust them. It took me a while, but now I do, with my life.
“ETA?” Turning my head, I look to Nick, my best friend since we were teens.
“Five minutes.” Nobody would guess what he’s on his way to do by looking at him. He’s completely relaxed, steering the SUV skillfully, following sudden curves with ease.
I feel as calm as he looks. Nothing is going to stop me now. All the pieces have fallen into place, and all I have to do is follow the last few steps of the plan.
Looking over my shoulder, I address Selina, “How close are you to hacking into the compound?”
“Just got Gabriel’s signal. We’re ready,” she assures me, her voice sharp, and the tapping of her fingers against her laptop doesn’t slow down as she speaks. “I won’t let you down tonight.”
“None of us will,” Nick agrees. “The fucker’s going to die.”
And everything he calls his will be mine.
I’ll never get my family back. All the money and power in the world are nothing compared to them. But tonight, the scales fall into balance.
We reach the rendezvous point on schedule, with Ethan’s SUV coming to a stop beside us on the unlit road. They’ll take the lead during this last quarter mile before we reach the iron gates leading into the Blackwell compound. All we need is Selina’s expertise, and we’re golden.
Ethan rolls down his window. “We good?” As a former SEAL, he isn’t exactly verbose. The fewer words, the better.
Selina calls out from behind me. “Almost there.”
“Your guys know the place?” I ask Ethan for the tenth time. They’re professionals, who would have studied every inch of the floor plans and the layout of the grounds contained inside the tall, stone wall outlining the perimeter. But tonight, I can’t make any assumptions.
“By heart,” he replies.
“Here we go.” Selina’s voice tightens. “I’m in. Cutting power.”
My blood is racing, but there’s no anxiety involved. Only anticipation.
“Power’s down.” Sure enough, the glow from the lights behind the stone wall far up ahead cuts out all at once. “And there goes the security system,” Selina adds with pride in her voice.
“Let’s move.” Ethan nods at my command, his window moving up as he pulls ahead to ram the gates.
It all happens fast. We follow the SUV once it slams through the unsecured gates–the two armed men who burst from the guardhouse wind up under Ethan’s wheels, then ours as we tear up the gravel driveway. We reach the circular courtyard before coming to a stop. Six black-clad men pour from the first SUV,using their night-vision goggles to clock the guards rushing out from the mansion. Bullets fly, but we have the advantage. Once they’re eliminated, Ethan gives the signal for me to emerge while Selina hangs back to monitor the power and security, and Nick keeps watch.
Ethan’s guys enter the house, but he hangs back to cover me in case they miss somebody. Shouts fill the air by the time we enter, with men barking instructions down the hall from the entrance.
Gabriel and his brother Lorenzo walk past my men without a care in the world. “Don’t forget our deal,” he warns as he approaches.
“Of course. Everything will go as planned,” I agree.
