A familiar tingling over my skin informs me of the voyeur’s identity before I even turn around.
Connor stands just a few feet behind me. Although he’s not glaring or frowning, his tight expression instills me with uneasiness…
The man’spissed.
He opens his jacket to show me his gun.
My spine tingles, fear and anticipation tangled together.
Funny. Even being part of the family I belong to, I never imagined I’d be taken away at gunpoint like this. “Lead the way.”
He places his hand on my arm and tugs me around a corner to a Range Rover parked in an alley.
As I reach for the door handle, a sharp pinch pricks my neck, and then I tumble into darkness.
Caterina
I wake, fuzzy-mouthed, nauseous, and chained to a cement support pole in an expansive, gloomy space.
A scream itches the back of my throat, but with my body and brain out of sync, no sound emerges.
Though the room’s dark, I can discern some rolled-up mats, old gym equipment, and weights. A partially shredded punching bag lies in a heap just outside my reach.
Some kind of training facility, maybe, but probably from three decades ago based on the antiquated machines.
The air smells of dust, or possibly chalk. Or maybe that’s just the taste coating my teeth.
My tongue feels thick, my throat dry and scratchy. I’m dehydrated, dizzy, and drained.
“Conn—!” I choke on his name, coughing until my chest heaves and aches. I need water.
How stupid can I be? I know what he’s capable of, and I still called the cops on him. Sicced my driver on him. He could’ve been jailed or killed because of what I did.
I’m not getting out of the fact that I lied and set him up.
Will he put a bullet through my head and sign his name across my chest for my brother to find?
I wouldn’t even blame him if he did. Twice now, I’ve tried to end this man. I’ve gotten even and then some.
I thought if I could get rid of both Domenico Verone and Connor, I’d appear more than capable in the eyes of my father, and by default, my brother.
This was my chance to save my family and earn a permanent seat at the adult table so they’d finally listen to me about not joining forces with the Bratva.
I knock my head against the pole, studying the chains shackled around each wrist. “What the hell have I done?”
“That’s what I was wondering.” Connor climbs out of the shadows like a demon, stopping in front of me with an almost delighted expression.
“Connor, please don’t do this.” I shake the chains out of instinct more than anything. A caged animal can’t help but try and break free. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… Can we talk?”
I have no idea what I’d even say. I don’t know how long I’ve been here or how long he’s had to stew in what I did to him. My demise is written all over his face.
His nonchalance chills me to the bone. Underneath that strange, off-putting smile, he looks angry…but also sad. Those eyes watch me with a haunted, empty stare.
Maybe he possesses a soul after all…one I shattered when I betrayed him.
Fuck.
I glance around, attempting to gain a better sense of time or location. “Where am I? How’s Danny?”
