Chapter 25 #2
I fought. Kicked. Scratched. Did everything I could to break free.
Nothing worked. Luca was stronger. Trained. He dragged me back across the garden like I weighed nothing.
"Lia! Where's Lia?" I twisted, trying to see if she'd gotten away.
"The other guards caught Miss Accardi. She's being detained. You'll both answer for this."
No. No no no.
This couldn't be happening. We'd been so close. So close to freedom.
Luca dragged me through the house. Past guards who watched with expressionless faces. Up stairs. Through hallways I recognized with growing dread.
Toward Salvatore's study.
Terror flooded my system. Cold. Paralyzing.
Salvatore was going to kill me. Or worse.
The study door opened. Luca shoved me inside so hard I stumbled.
Salvatore stood by the window. Turned when he heard us enter.
The rage on his face was terrifying. Absolute. Murderous.
"Did you really think you could escape me?" His voice was quiet. Deadly. Somehow worse than if he'd been shouting. "Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for exactly this kind of stunt?"
He crossed the room in three strides. His hand shot out, grabbed my throat, slammed me back against the wall hard enough that my head bounced off the wood paneling.
Stars exploded in my vision. Pain radiated through my skull.
His grip tightened. Cut off my air. Made breathing impossible.
I clawed at his hand. Desperate. Panicking. Needed air. Needed to breathe.
"You're mine." His face was inches from mine. "You belong to me. And the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be."
Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. My lungs burned. I was going to pass out. Going to die right here against this wall.
Finally, he released me.
I collapsed. Hit the floor hard. Gasped for air that burned going down.
Salvatore stood over me. Calm now. Like he hadn't just nearly killed me.
"You just made things considerably worse for yourself.
I was going to be patient. Wait until the wedding.
Do this properly." He crouched down. Grabbed my chin.
Forced me to look at him. "But clearly you need a more immediate lesson in obedience.
So here's what's going to happen. The wedding is moved up.
Tomorrow. And after this little escape attempt, I'm not waiting for the wedding night to claim you.
I'm going to make you mine tonight. Right now, if I wanted. But I have business to handle first."
Terror turned my blood to ice. Made my stomach revolt.
Not tonight. Please not tonight.
"Guards." Salvatore stood. Addressed the men who'd entered behind Luca. "Take her to the mountain compound. My private property two hours north. Lock her in the master suite. Post guards on every door and window. If she escapes, you all die. Understood?"
The guards nodded.
"I'll join her there after I handle some business here. By tomorrow evening, she'll be my wife. And by tomorrow night, this will all be over." He looked at me with something like pity. "You should have just accepted your fate, Aria. Fighting only makes it worse."
Hands grabbed me. Hauled me to my feet. Started dragging me toward the door.
"No! No, please! You can't do this!" I fought. Struggled. "Lia! Where's Lia? Don't hurt her, please!"
Through the doorway, I saw her. Lia being held by two guards. Tears streaming down her face. Mouth moving in words I couldn't hear over my own screaming.
I reached for her. Tried to break free.
The guards' grip only tightened. They dragged me down the hallway. Away from Lia. Away from any chance of rescue.
"I'm sorry!" Lia's voice finally reached me. Broken. Anguished. "I'm so sorry, Aria! Kai will come! He'll save you! Don't give up!"
Then she was gone. Out of sight. And I was being hauled toward the front entrance where a black SUV waited.
They threw me in the back seat. Two guards climbed in on either side of me. Boxed me in completely.
The car started. Pulled away from the estate.
I pressed my face against the window. Watched the only home I'd known for months disappear into the darkness.
Kai didn't know about the mountain compound. Had no idea where they were taking me. By the time he figured it out, it would be too late.
The wedding would be over. Salvatore would have claimed me. I'd be bound to him legally and physically.
Unless I found a way to escape. To fight. To delay long enough for rescue.
My hand went to my stomach. If I was pregnant, I had to protect this baby. Had to survive. Had to find a way out.
For me. For Kai. For our potential child, I wouldn't give up. Wouldn't let Salvatore win even if it meant fighting until my last breath.
The car drove north into the darkness. Taking me further from safety. Further from Kai. Further from any hope of rescue.
Two hours to the compound. Then tomorrow, the wedding, I had less than twenty-four hours to either escape or be saved.
The clock was ticking and I was running out of time.
CHAPTER TWENTY -SEVEN
KAI
People talk about death like it's the worst thing that can happen. Like it's something to fear above all else.
They're wrong.
Death is just an ending. Quick. Final. Certain.
What's terrifying is running out of time. Watching the clock tick down while someone you love is in danger and there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's worse than dying. That's torture that makes death look like mercy.
I knew what dying felt like. Had come close enough times to recognize the signs. The way time slowed down. The clarity that came when you realized these might be your last moments. The strange peace in accepting it.
And I'd accepted it. If dying meant Aria lived, I'd walk into that darkness without hesitation.
That was when the memory hit me without warning. Real enough to make my chest ache.
A week before my father returned. Aria and I in the garden at midnight. She'd been lying with her head in my lap, staring up at the stars like she could find answers written there.
"What if we don't get a happy ending?" Her voice had been small. Scared. "What if we try everything and it still doesn't work? What if we end up dying for this?"
I'd been quiet for a moment. Running my fingers through her hair. Feeling the silk of it between my fingers.
"We won't. I'll make sure you make it out even if I don't. That's not negotiable."
She'd sat up fast. Looked at me with those brown eyes that saw too much. "Don't say things like that. Don't talk about dying like it's acceptable. I need you alive, Kai. I need you with me."
"And I need you safe more than I need to breathe.
You're my life, Aria. The only thing that makes any of this worth doing.
If keeping you alive means I don't make it out, then that's a trade I'll make every single time without regret.
" I'd cupped her face. Made her look at me.
"I'm at peace with dying for you. Completely at peace.
Because a world where you're alive and safe is better than any world where you are not in it. "
"That's not romantic. That's terrifying."
"It's honest." I'd pulled her close. Held her. "But it's not going to come to that. I'm getting us both out. We're going to have our future. I promise."
She'd turned in my arms. Her mouth had found mine. Clinging like she could keep me alive through sheer force of will.
I'd held her. Memorized the way she felt. The way she tasted. The sounds she made. Stored every detail for safekeeping.
Just in case I'd been wrong about us both making it out.
The memory faded. Brought me crashing back to the present.
I was in the armory at Marco's safe house, loading weapons with methodical precision. Checking magazines. Testing sights. Making sure everything was perfect.
Because if we only got one shot at this, it had to count.
My arm still hurt like hell. The stitches pulled every time I moved. But pain was good. Kept me sharp. Kept me focused on what mattered.
Getting to Aria before my father destroyed her.
The door opened. Marco walked in looking grim. Pale. Like he was carrying news he didn't want to deliver.
My stomach dropped. I knew that look. Had seen it enough times to recognize bad news before a single word was spoken.
"What happened? Tell me now."
Marco closed the door behind him. Ran his hand over his face. "I got information from inside the estate. From Mrs. Rossi."
"And?"
"Aria tried to escape. She and Lia made a run for it during the diversion we'd planned for tomorrow. They almost made it." He paused. "Luca caught them. Salvatore lost his shit. He's moving Aria to the mountain compound. The wedding is tomorrow instead of three days from now."
The words hit like bullets. Each one finding its mark. Destroying something inside me.
I started pacing. Couldn't stand still. Needed to move before the rage building in my chest exploded.
"Fuck. Fuck!" I grabbed the nearest thing, a chair, threw it across the room. It shattered against the wall. "Is she okay? Did he hurt her? And Lia, what about Lia?"
"Both alive. Both physically okay as far as Mrs. Rossi knows. But Kai, Salvatore is at the compound with Aria right now. The wedding is tomorrow. We're out of time."
Out of time. The words echoed in my head. I'd promised to save her. Promised we'd both make it out. Promised a future and I was failing. Every second she spent with my father was another second I'd failed to protect her.
"We're going now." The decision was instant. Absolute. "Forget the plan. Forget being careful. I'm getting her out tonight."
"Kai, a direct assault on the compound is suicide. The place is fortified. High walls. Armed guards. Your father will kill her the second he sees us coming. He'll put a bullet in her head just to hurt you before we can reach her."