Relief floods through me. “Thank you.”
He looks at me for a long moment, something unreadable in his eyes, then turns to Marco. “Get the car ready. We leave in ten minutes.”
As Marco walks off, Nico pulls me closer, his hand firm on my waist. “This is dangerous, Eleonora. If anything feels off, we leave immediately.”
“I know,” I whisper, leaning into him. “I just need to see her.”
He doesn’t say anything else. He just holds me tighter, like he’s afraid I might slip away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Eleonora
We pull up to one of Nico’s safe houses on the outskirts of the city, and I can barely wait for the car to stop before I’m reaching for the door handle.
“Eleonora, calm down,” Nico says firmly, his hand on my arm. “We need to be careful.”
I nod, but my heart is racing. The second Marco and the men clear the area, I’m out and rushing toward the entrance. Nico stays right beside me, his hand on the small of my back, guiding me inside.
The moment we step into the living room, I see her.
Sienna is sitting on the couch, a thick blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She’s staring blankly at the wall, eyesred and swollen, looking completely lost. My chest tightens painfully.
“Sienna…” I whisper.
She turns her head slowly, and the second her eyes meet mine, something breaks.
“Ellie!” she screams, launching herself off the couch.
We crash into each other, arms wrapping tight, both of us sobbing uncontrollably. I hold her as hard as I can, burying my face in her hair, feeling her tremble against me.
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. “I’m so sorry about Domenico. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
She cries harder, her whole body shaking. “They killed him, Ellie… He told me to run. He protected me until the end.”
We hold each other for what feels like forever, crying, clinging, whispering how much we missed each other. I’m so relieved she’s alive, so grateful she’s safe, even while my heart breaks for her loss.
Eventually, I pull back just enough to look at her, cupping her face and checking her over. “Are you hurt? Did they touch you?”
She shakes her head, wiping her tears. “Not really. It doesn’t matter anyway… He’s dead because of me.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper fiercely. “You’re alive. That’s what matters right now.”
Nico clears his throat behind us. “We can’t stay long. We need to get going.”
Sienna flinches at the sound of his voice, finally noticing the other men in the room. She shrinks back slightly, fear flashing in her eyes.
Nico steps forward, his voice calm and steady. “I’m Nico Lombardi. These are my men. The one who brought you here is also one of mine. I’m sorry about what happened to your boyfriend.”
Sienna nods shakily, still looking overwhelmed and a little confused, but she doesn’t pull away from me.
“Thank you.”
We all move toward the cars. I keep Sienna close, her hand gripped tightly in mine. Nico rides in the front with Marco driving, while Sienna and I sit in the back with the other cars following behind us for security.
We’ve only been driving for a few minutes when Sienna breaks into another sob, curling into my side. I wrap my arms around her, holding her as she cries, my own tears falling silently.
I glance up and catch Nico watching us in the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable.
