“Both,” she tells me in no uncertain terms.
Fuck me. I stare up at the ceiling, blowing out a harsh breath. I pretend to mull this over, allowing unease to hit my features. Finally, I drop my chin and nod. “All right. But if I do,Jaqueline goes free whether I make it out of the palace alive or not. Do we have a deal?”
“I have her locked up at an undisclosed location. Antonia will kill her if I don’t call in or if I don’t return home. She’ll also kill her if the files aren’t uploaded by midnight or if I get the slightest inclination that everything isn’t going perfectly.”
Jesus. I should have known. She always has an insurance policy. That changes things up a bit, but it’s not insurmountable.
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is,” she assures me. “I’ve waited five months for you to do this. Antonia repeatedly told me to be patient. To give it time. In all this time, you’ve done nothing. You broke into the king’s computer once, and all you have to tell me is that he didn’t do anything wrong?” Her voice climbs before she evens it back out. “This is unacceptable, Marcella. I want it done tonight, or you both die. Jaqueline’s life in your hands will motivate you.”
“Signoria,” I press. “Our freedom?”
She squints at me. “If you put these files on the king’s computer by midnight and kill him, I will allow you and Jaqueline your freedom.”
She’s lying. She’s going to kill us both. I’m a liability, and Jaqueline is inconsequential to her. Not that I’d make it out of the palace alive if I tried or actually did kill the king.
“Thank you, Signoria.” I smile. “I’ll do whatever it takes for you, then Jaqueline and I will leave and never look back.”
“If you don’t do what I ask—and be warned, I will know when the files are uploaded—then I will kill both of you.” She leans forward. “And Marcella, I will make it hurt in ways you never imagined possible.”
That she’s not lying about. “Yes, Signoria. I understand. I won’t let you down.”
She nods, satisfied. She puts her giant designer purse onthe table and pulls a drive from it. It slides across the table, and I quickly snatch it up and pocket it.
“You’ll return by dawn tomorrow, and we’ll progress with the next steps.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I rise and leave her behind. Part one of my plan is in play.
Now I need to get to her car and hide myself in there before she sees me. I’ll send the drive to the king after I’m out of the country. He should have it. He should know what she was planning to do. It’s likely a virus. Some kind of malware. Or perhaps it’s simply files she wants on there, but that would be entirely too traceable unless set up properly.
I exit the hotel and veer right, heading toward the garage, when I slam into a hard wall. Except it’s not a wall. It’s a man. I draw back, but his hands capture my shoulders, and his face is right in front of mine.
No.
“What are you doing here?” I glance over my shoulder as panic skitters through me. She won’t come out this way. She’ll go to the garage, but fuck, she could see him if she decided to go for a walk or shopping.
“That’s my question for you. Imagine my surprise when I get a notification from the palace that you left and then I see you walk into this hotel.”
“Rowan—”
“Who were you meeting?”
“No one.” I shove him off me. “And none of your business.”
I try to move around him. My window for making it to her car undetected is growing slimmer by the second.
“Oh no, sweetheart, it is my business.” He glances over my shoulder, and I twist back to find a tall Black man right there. I didn’t even hear him approach. “Bind her wrists.”
Jesus. “No! Rowan, you can’t. You have to let me go.”
“Not this time. You told me you’re dangerous. I believe you.”
My wrists are forced behind my back and locked together with a zip tie.
“Let’s move,” the man behind me says.
