I looked up, and Dante spun me around again. We started dancing in a different part of the floor, and the crowd behind Dante parted to reveal Luca standing over by the bar.
He watched me dancing with Dante, and his eyes shone bright and clear through his mask, but he didn’t glare. Did he feel anything at all watching me dancing with another man?
Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around the other way to find Dominic standing near us. “Time to step aside, brother. Make way for the better man.”
“You little shit…” Dante began, but Dominic was already prying me out of Dante’s hold.
“Stand back, and watch how it’s done.” Dominic stepped into Dante’s place, and we started dancing.
“You okay?” he asked as soon as we got out of earshot.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Look over my left shoulder, and tell me what you see.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist, lifted me off my feet, and twirled me around in a complete circle. He came back to the starting place and started to lower me. That moment gave me just enough elevation to see three men standing across the hall.
They all wore tuxes, and the man in the center was considerably shorter than his two companions. All three wore elaborate masks decorated with sparkling rhinestones and silver filigree.
I recognized the guy in the center instantly. “Is that Michael?”
“And Alessandro and Giovanni. They’ve been watching you since you started dancing with Dante.”
I shivered. “Do you really think they’ll try something here—in front of everyone? There must be Council members here.”
“Very good,” he replied. “The Councilishere, but they can’t stop the Vittorios from pulling a fast one on their own territory. Besides, the Vittorios will be planning to get you away before anyone realizes you’re gone. They’re planning on having you across town before the alarm goes up.”
I nodded and drew in a shaky breath. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”
“Take a look over by the buffet.” He whirled me the other way.
A whole group of guys in tuxes clustered by a seven-tier cake at the end of the table. None of them appeared to have a date. They stood close and talked with their heads together.
They kept casting sidelong glances toward the dance floor, and I shuddered again. “What are they doing here?”
“They’re Vittorio enforcers. They’re here to stop anyone who gets in the way of Michael’s plan. The Vittorios will say they brought in security personnel to ensure no trouble breaks out at the party, but they’re really here to stop anyone from interfering with the trouble the Vittorios plan to carry out.”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to hover?” I asked. “You said you were going to give me plenty of space so they would be able to make their move.”
He scrutinized me through his mask. “We just don’t want you to get hurt. None of us wants to leave you unprotected.”
My heart flooded with relief and affection for all three of them, and I hugged him tighter. I didn’t want anything to happen to me, either. Nothingwouldhappen as long as they were around. I already knew that, but that was exactly why they had to let it happen.
“Are you hungry or thirsty?” He glanced sideways. “Luca is signaling us to meet him over by the bar. Come on.”
He took my hand and led me over to the bar. Dante was nowhere in sight.
Luca handed me back my champagne flute. “Scout the perimeter, Dominic. Dante just went south, so you can head north. I’ll handle things here.”
Dominic nodded and faded into the background. My nerves stretched to the breaking point now that I was alone with Luca. This was the first time I’d been alone with him since the twins first kidnapped me.
Did Luca plan it that way? Was he avoiding being alone with me?
“What should I do?” I asked. “Should I try to mingle with the other guests so the Vittorios see me away from you?”
His head snapped around, and he stared at me. I got another powerful sense that he was just Luca, the boy I used to hug and tell how much I loved him. This was the boy who took whippings for me when I was too young to know any better.
He immediately looked away, but those eyes left no more doubt in my mind. He didn’t hate me. Did he still love me as much as I loved him? Could I dare to hope that?