“Are you fucking sure?” Because I just got a bunch of notes from someone who shouldn’t have gotten past these guys, and I don’t know what to think about it.
Are they traitors? Working with the enemy? Or did the intruder know exactly how to avoid them?
“Positive,” he says. “Nothing’s moved out here since the shift started.”
“Keep your eyes open and watch the house,” I say, then I head back into the dark along the side, because the notes are pulling me out toward the trees at the edge of the property.
I slowly creep through the dark, my gun ready, as I check everything around me.
“You can put that away.” A voice comes from my left, and I swing toward it, my gun up.
A man steps out from between the trees, as if he’s got all the time in the world.
Dominic.
Fuck!
I keep my gun trained center on his chest.
“I’d think hard about your next move,” he says.
I glance over my shoulder. A group of men, all with their guns up and pointed at me, comes out of the shadows. Fuck.
“Put it down,” Dominic says. “You’re not going to win this one, and I think you know it.”
One shot at him, and I’m dead before I can even tell if I’m going to hit something, and that does nothing for me or Amalia. I lower the gun, then I crouch and set it on the gravel and straighten my back with my hands up.
“Smart,” he says. “Now you’re going to come with me.”
“And why would I do that?”
He pulls out a phone and turns the screen toward me. It’s a live feed, showing a window, and through it, I can see Amalia moving around. My hands curl into fists.
“I’ve got a man on that window right now,” Dominic says calmly. “If you come with me, he’ll go home. If you make this difficult or try to run or shout for your guards, she dies. It’s a simple choice, really.”
I look at the screen, and there’s no way I’d let anything happen to her. She put herself between me and a bullet, so the least I can do is return the favor.
“Fine,” I say. “Call him off. I’m going with you.”
Dominic gives me a small nod, as if he never doubted it, and he lifts his phone and says something before tucking it away. One of his men moves up to take my arm.
I’d hand myself over a dozen times before I’d let anyone put a bullet through that window. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Amalia, and I guess I’m done pretending otherwise.
But what the fuck does Dominic want with me? If he knew Amalia and I were here, why not just take us both out? Why me? I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m going to find out.
Chapter 26
AMALIA
I CHECK MATTEO’S ROOM, but the bed’s untouched and the light’s off. Huh. I was sure I’d find him here. Maybe he couldn’t sleep either. I head toward the kitchen. Maybe he was hungry or something.
But the kitchen’s empty too. Where is he?
I told myself I’d find him and just say something before I lost the nerve. Even if he doesn’t feel anything for me, I want to know. Now I’m half relieved and half annoyed, because I have to go looking for him like an idiot, and maybe I won’t tell him anything in the end.
I check the study, then the back room where he likes to clean his gun, but both are empty. He’s not on the terrace either. I lean on the railing and look across the dark yard, but I don’t see anything.
Maybe he’s in the gym if he’s wound up. But as I turn back inside, I hear footsteps coming fast up the stairs. Marco appears at the top, his jaw set.
