“Marcello, what are you doing in Haven?”
His strong jaw flexed. “You know why I’m here, Alex.”
I hadn’t seen Marcello Salvatore in nine months. Not since I had accused Luca of killing my twin brother. After Aiden vanished from Devil’s Creek, I blamed Luca for my loss. The police had no physical proof to suggest Aiden was dead or alive. And no leads. They closed the case after one week, which seemed rather convenient.
When Luca forced me out of the town, he’d made it clear we were over. I was never to come back to Devil’s Creek, not unless Luca summoned me. And if Marcello was in Haven, that meant my family was in trouble.
“Don’t move another inch.” My pulse raced from the adrenaline shooting through my veins, my voice cracking as I spoke. “Why are you here?”
He crossed his arms over his thick chest, ripped beneath the fitted suit jacket. “Your grandfather is expecting you.”
“Is Pops okay?”
“Yes, your grandfather is fine.” Marcello nodded toward the student parking lot. “Follow me.”
“My Uber driver is on his way.”
“Unnecessary,” he said in a stern tone. “Let’s go. We don’t have time for games.”
I held the Taser at my side, ready and waiting for him to attack me. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Your grandfather’s life depends on it.”
I gritted my teeth. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.” He scratched the corner of his jaw with an evil grin. “Yet.”
“No, Marcello.” I approached him, careful to keep my distance. “You don’t get to say something like that about Pops and not tell me why you’re really here.”
“You can call him on our way to the airport.”
I couldn’t trust Marcello or his family. They were thieves and murderers disguised in Brioni suits. The Salvatores did nothing but lie and cheat to get what they wanted.
Marcello’s gaze lowered to the Taser in my hand. “Can you handle such a powerful device in your condition?”
Anger ripped through my insides, burning me from the inside out. He had no right to speak about my medical condition.
“Don’t you dare,” I said through clenched teeth. “Not after what your brother did to me.”
He smirked. “What he did to you? You seem to have different memories from mine.”
“Fuck you! I don’t care what you remember. I’m not going back to that nightmare of a town with you.”
He removed his hands from his pockets and stepped toward me. “You don’t have a choice.”
I pushed my hand out in front of me, and he halted like a good dog. “Why are you here instead of Luca?”
“He’s in Italy on a business trip. Luca will be home on Saturday for my father’s Midsummer Night’s Dream masquerade ball.”
The same party where Luca and I first met.
Headlights flashed from a distance, rounding the corner at the top of the hill. Relief washed over me. Of course, my driver was late again. Did any of them ever show up on time? He could have saved me a lot of grief.
“Our power has no limits.” Marcello’s deep voice rolled over me like a storm, sending shivers down my arms. “Don’t make me chase you, Alex.”
“I like the chase,” I taunted, but Marcello didn’t like the threat.
He moved so fast he was standing in front of me within seconds.
Pointing the Taser at him, I muttered, “Stay where you are.”
His eyes darted down the street, snickering as the car approached us. “You think a Taser will stop me? And here, I thought you were a smart woman.”
He pushed his suit jacket to the side, revealing the two guns strapped to his chest.
“You won’t shoot me.”
He narrowed his eyes, a challenge on his face. “Are you willing to take that chance?”
I reached into the messenger bag on my shoulder and fished out my cell phone.
“Don’t even think about calling the cops,” he warned.
“Like they can help me,” I shot back as I dialed Pops.
The phone rang once before my grandfather answered. “Alex, I was just about to call you.” He sounded as if he’d run three miles after smoking a pack of cigarettes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “Marcello Salvatore is in Haven. He says you sent him. Is that true?”
A red-haired man parked a silver Honda Civic at the curb beside us and rolled down the window. “Are you Alexandrea?”
I held up my hand to acknowledge the driver, speaking into the phone. “Pops, did you send Marcello?”
He released a deep sigh. “Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s complicated.”
That’s an understatement.
Marcello bent down in front of the window and whispered something to the Uber driver. Shit. This was my only chance to escape him. He handed the guy money for the inconvenience, even though I had paid in the app. As the man sped off, leaving me alone with a trained assassin, my stomach twisted like a pretzel.