After dinner tonight, I retreat to my bedroom and pace the floor like a caged animal. All I can think about is leaving. Getting as far away from Nico Lombardi as humanly possible.
I need to find my sisters. I need to know they’re okay. I need to make sure Sienna is safe and far away.
I’ve been listening carefully for the past two days. His bedroom is right next to mine, and I haven’t heard the door open once. No lights have come on.
He hasn’t been home.
Good.
I wait until midnight. By then, Daniel is usually gone from his post outside my door. I crack it open slowly, heart pounding, and peer into the hallway.
Empty.
I head back inside and put on black leggings, and because I have a penchant for pain, the black polo Nico had given me. The fabric still smells faintly like him.
I ignore the way my stomach tightens as I tug it over my head and smooth it down my body. I need to blend into the night.
I slip out, and gently close the door behind me. My pulse is racing as I move down the hallway, keeping close to the wall.
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat. I’ve spent the last few days memorizing every corner of this house, the blind spots, the camera angles, the times when the guards change rotation.
I know the servants’ staircase at the far end has fewer eyes on it at this hour. I know the motion sensor near the east corridor flickers for exactly twelve seconds after someone passes.
I move quickly but carefully, sticking to the shadows I’ve mapped in my mind. Down the back stairs, through the narrow service hallway that the staff use, past the laundry room where the cameras don’t reach the far corner.
My sneakers are silent on the marble. I’m almost out.
I can see the side exit door that leads toward the garden wall. If I can make it through the hedges and reach the outer gate before the next patrol?—
“Going somewhere?”
The deep voice stops me cold.
I scream, spinning around so fast I nearly lose my balance.
Marco, Nico’s scarred, terrifying friend, stands a few feet behind me, arms crossed, watching me with a mixture of amusement and surprise. His face is half-hidden in shadow, but I can still see the jagged scar cutting through his eyebrow.
“I—I was just going for a walk,” I stammer, hating how weak my voice sounds.
He raises one brow. “Indeed.”
I look around desperately, but there’s nowhere to run. He’s blocking the only clear path back inside, and I know I won’t make it past him.
“Come back inside,” he says, not unkindly, but with clear authority. He gestures with his chin toward the house.
Defeated, I walk ahead of him. Every step feels heavier than the last. I couldn’t even make it twenty minutes outside. I feel so stupid. So useless.
Marco follows close behind, silent until we reach my bedroom. He opens the door and waits for me to step inside. Then, without a word, he closes it and locks it from the outside.
I stand there for a long moment, staring at the door like it might magically open again. Then my legs give out. I slide down to the floor, back against the wall, and bury my face in my palms. Defeated.
I’m back to square one, locked in this beautiful cage, no closer to freedom, no closer to my sisters, no closer to knowing if Sienna is safe.
I’m tired. So incredibly tired.
Nico
She tried to run.
