I pull the shirt and hoodie on first, just in case as I call out, “Don’t you dare come in here!”
I’ve just pulled the leggings up when the lock turns and the door opens anyway. I whirl around, fury already on my tongue, one hand clutching the hem of the oversized hoodie down over my thighs. Lorenzo steps inside, then stops when he sees I’m dressed.
“Happy?” I snap, shoving the ruined gown toward him. “Or were you hoping to make more of a spectacle of yourself?”
His gaze sweeps over me once—black leggings, bare feet, one of my own hoodies hanging loose enough to hide what the dress no longer does—and something in his expression eases. Barely. But I catch it.
That only makes me angrier.
I thrust the gown into his chest. “Take it. You’ve already destroyed everything else.”
He takes it without a word.
The silence is unbearable.
I shove past him into the cabin, and this time when he reaches for me, I jerk free before his fingers can close around my arm.
“No. You do not get to touch me right now.”
He lets his hand fall, but his eyes stay on me as I stalk back to my seat and drop into it hard enough to jar my spine. The hoodie pools around me, warm and blessedly shapeless. Lorenzo follows a beat later, tossing the gown onto the seatopposite before lowering himself across from me with infuriating calm.
I stare at him.
Then I laugh. It comes out frayed and mean.
His jaw tightens. “Say what you want to say.”
“Oh, I plan to.” I lean forward, every nerve in my body humming with fury. “What exactly is your plan here, Lorenzo?”
His expression doesn’t change. “You’re with me now.”
I blink at him.
Then I laugh again, harder this time. “That’s not a plan.”
“It’s enough.”
“No, it isn’t.” My voice rises. “You stormed into a church in another man’s territory, threatened his family, kidnapped the woman he was about to marry, and got on a plane. That is not a plan. That is a tantrum with a flight path.”
Something dangerous flashes in his eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then enlighten me.” I spread my hands. “Where are we going? What happens when we land? Were you planning to hide me somewhere? Drag me into your house with your wife? Tell her what—surprise, I decided to bring home the woman I actually wanted?”
His mouth hardens. “Watch your mouth.”
“Why?” I bite back. “Did I hit the part you conveniently forgot to think through?”
The cabin goes very still. Outside the window there’s only darkness now, the occasional blink of light from the wing. Inside, it feels like all the oxygen has been sucked out.
I hold his gaze and keep going, because if I stop, I might scream.
“You came for me with guns and men and all that righteous fury, but you didn’t actually think past getting me on this plane, did you?” My voice cracks on the last word, and I hate that hehears it. “You were so blinded by the idea of Dante touching what you think is yours that you forgot reality exists.”
“I forgot nothing.”
“No?” I lean in farther. “Then tell me the brilliant next step. I’d love to hear it.”
