He hasn’t said a single word since forcing me into the car. Not when I screamed, not when I cried. The silence is worse than any threats would have been. I twist as much as the restraints allow, leaning forward against the seat.
“He’s just a child. He needs me. Please, just pull over. I won’t try anything, I swear.”
Nothing.
Not even a glance in the rearview mirror to look at me.
The realization settles over me, a slow, dawning horror. Maybe Luca is already dead.
My breath starts to come faster, panic clawing its way back up my throat and nearly choking me. I force myself to count the inhales before I get lightheaded, the way I used to when Luca woke up from a nightmare and cried until he was sick.
In for four. Hold. Out for four.
I can’t fall apart. Not yet. If I do, there will be nothing left of me that can fight.
Chances are high that keeping Luca alive is the point. Dead, he’s useless. A corpse doesn’t force concessions. A body doesn’t bend men like Dante Cosenza. If they wanted revenge and a spectacle, they would have killed Luca the second he was torn from my arms.
Using him against Dante will require him to be kept alive.
For all his faults, Dante is not a man who reacts blindly when the stakes are this high. Even under pressure, even with his son’s life hanging in the balance, he is devastatingly logical. I know him well enough to be certain of that.
He will demand proof of life. He would never negotiate on blind faith alone. Not with men willing to put a price on a child in the first place. He will want confirmation or some kind of tangible evidence that proves Luca is alive before he gives them anything at all.
That knowledge steadies me a little. I press my lips together, breathing carefully now, forcing the terror back into its cage where it belongs.
The car drives for what feels like forever. My body aches in places I didn’t know could hurt, muscles locked tight from fear and tension, wrists burning where the restraints cut in every time the car jolts. Somewhere along the way, the terror rattling in my chest dulls, settling into a heavy, aching bruise that throbs with every thought of Luca.
The road changes beneath us eventually. I notice it dimly at first, the way the vibrations shift, the sound of the tires smoothing out and no longer hissing against wet, uneven pavement. I force myself upright and lean toward the window. Dark shapes rush past outside, unfamiliar and indistinct.
Wherever we are, it’s far from where I started.
Gravel crunches loudly beneath the tires, the sound jarring after the long stretch of slick pavement. My heart stutters painfully as the SUV rolls forward, then slows again. Suddenly, brilliant white light floods the interior, harsh enough to make me flinch.
Spotlights.
I squint, trying to see through the windshield as a towering iron gate looms out of the darkness ahead. They’re massive, black metal rising high into the night, flanked by stone pillars that disappear into the shadows above them.
The driver rolls his window down just enough to exchange a glance with the man stationed at the gate, then the gates begin to move. They creak open slowly, the sound deep and ominous. The SUV rolls forward again, passing through as the gates close behind us with a final, echoing clang that reverberates through the quiet interior of the cab.
The drive curves sharply upward in a winding S-turn, each one tightening the knot in my chest. It’s hard to see more than three feet ahead with only the SUV’s headlights. Trees crowd in on both sides, their branches arching overhead like grasping fingers blotting out what little sky there is. The road feels intentionally claustrophobic, no doubt designed to disorient, to remind you how far from escape you are.
Then, suddenly, the tree line breaks.
The headlights sweep across open space as a massive estate looms ahead. Stone walls rise out of the darkness, tall and imposing. Their edges are softened only slightly by carefully placed lights that glow warmly against the rain. Beyond them, the grounds stretch endlessly with perfectly manicured lawns, trimmed hedges, and a stone path that glistens from the storm.
The main house sits at the center like a fortress. Its windows glow warmly against the night, yellow light spilling out in stark contrast to the cold dread curling tighter in my gut. It looks welcoming… almost civilized.
Which somehow makes it worse.
The car slows as it approaches, curving smoothly around the front bend of the entry port. Gravel crunches beneath the tires again as the vehicle rolls to a stop beneath the overhang. Before I can brace myself, the door beside me is yanked open.
Cold air rushes in immediately, biting against my damp clothes and skin. I gasp as hands grab my arms, fingers digging in with a bruising force used to haul me out of the car. My feet drag uselessly against the gravel as I’m pulled upright, the restraints on my wrists forcing my shoulders back at a painful angle.
I stumble, barely catching myself before I fall. Then I’m guided, though more like dragged, forward toward the front entryway as massive double doors are pulled open ahead of us.
Warm air spills out, hitting me all at once. The sudden temperature change sends a hard, uncontrollable shiver through my body. My teeth chatter as we cross the threshold, rainwater dripping from my clothes onto polished stone floors.
Half a dozen guards wait just inside the doorway. None of them are familiar, though none of them look all that surprised to see me, either. Their eyes track me with detached interest. One man steps forward, taller than the others, his presence commanding everyone’s attention immediately.
