My stomach twisted into knots as a wave of nausea swept over me. The sickening vinegar smell burned into my nostrils, an unforgettable scent that slowly coaxed me to sleep, filling my lungs with pure agony.
Long lashes brushed my skin, a reminder I needed to stay awake. I would never get back to my handsome princes if I didn’t fight the drug working its way through my system.
What did they do to me?
To my boyfriends?
A man lifted me off the bed and pressed my face to his chest. I tried to scream as he walked us out of the apartment and handed me to another man. Two other men walked beside us, their footsteps loud on the hardwood floor in the hallway. I couldn’t see their faces, only heard them breathing deeply.
One man opened a door for us and whispered words in a foreign language. Then we descended a staircase, my captor bouncing me in his arms with each step. I tried to move, and he mashed my face into his shirt that smelled like cigars and sweat.
I had one last hope.
Luca.
Before we left the penthouse, he was awake and calling out to his brothers, telling them to wake up. His voice sounded pained, frantic. My cruel prince hated me, but he would never let someone take me from him.
So I said a silent prayer.
That was all I could do as the man carried my limp, lifeless body downstairs. It must have been early in the morning, the lights dimmed and the house almost silent except for a few moans and screams of pleasure.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at the house before I went upstairs. Before I lost my virginity to the men who’d made my life hell for years.
It still didn’t seem real.
I told Bastian I thought I was falling in love with him and meant it. My feelings were growing for each of the Salvatore brothers. Even Damian, who was so beautiful but damaged my heart ached when I looked at him.
My broken billionaire boys were slowly earning places in my heart. Breaking down my carefully constructed walls one by one. I thought about each of them, hoping they would find me as I fought the sleepiness washing over me. They would burn the world to find me. After last night, we were closer than ever. We formed a bond that was unbreakable.
I had faith in them.
As my eyes closed, I heard a loud bang, followed by a popping sound. The man stumbled, losing his grip on me, and we crashed to the floor. My back slammed into a hard surface and blinding pain shot down my spine. My captor attempted to get up, and then I heard another two more pops.
Gunshots.
I covered my ears, my screams louder than the sound of each shot. His lifeless body slumped on top of me, the weight of him crushing my stomach. My entire body trembled, fear shaking through me. I’d never heard the bloodcurdling sound of a gun firing. Never had someone try to kidnap me until I’d met the Salvatore brothers.
A few more shots fired, the sound reverberating throughout the room, echoing off the high ceiling. One after another, the men who kidnapped me dropped to the floor like sacks of potatoes. They hit the marble with a thud beside me, their eyes open wide and staring right at me.
I gasped, clutching my chest, afraid to move from the cold marble floor. Curled into a ball, I laid on my side and closed my eyes.
This isn’t real.
It’s a dream.
A nagging pain shot through my skull, the migraine working its way to the back of my head. I needed to stay sharp, focused long enough to get out of here. But I could already see the images flashing through my mind, haunting me with memories of the past.
The closet.
The darkness.
My screams.
“Alex,” a familiar voice shouted as he pushed the man’s heavy body off me. He lifted me from the floor and cradled me against his chest, his strong arms wrapped around me like a warm blanket. “Little Wellington, wake up.”
Sonny Cormac.
Sonny’s handsome but tired looking face came into view, his features as sharp and strong as iron. His usually styled blond hair was unruly, sticking up at the ends. Another man I couldn’t see stood beside us and tucked my hair behind my ear.