I look in every direction, but there’s nowhere to go. The man grabs my arm, yanks me close, and I feel the barrel of a gun against my ribcage.
“You’re coming with me,” the man growls in my ear.
Alarm bells go off in my head. I realize I stepped outside without the second man Dom sent to stay with me. I’m all alone.
I kick and scream and bite as I’m dragged away from the exit. The cold press of the gun shifts to my temple strikes, and fear slits through me. I’d fight harder, but what if the guy has an itchy trigger finger? I can’t fight too much or he’ll kill me. All I can do is let the man take me to God knows where.
A car is waiting nearby, the engine running. I’m thrown into the backseat like a sack of flour, landing with a hardthudon the car floor.
“Who the hell are you?” I shout. “What do you want?”
The driver doesn’t answer. He simply stomps on the gas and we’re off, careening into traffic and narrowly missing cars in other lanes. I hold on for dear life. There’s no time for a seat belt, no time to escape. They’re going too fast. If I jump out of the car now, I most definitely won’t survive the landing.
“Let me go!” I shout, kicking at the back of the driver’s seat.
The sharp press of a knife against my windpipe shuts me up. A man beside me is bleeding from one side of his face. It looks like the tip of his ear has been cut off. It takes me a second to recognize him.
“Don’t worry, dolcezza,” he says, Dominic’s pet name for me sounding very much like a slur. “Stay quiet and I won’t kill you. I’d hate to have to pay to get my car detailed. Do you have any idea how fucking hard dealing with blood stains is?”
“Elio?” I breathe, shocked and bewildered. “You’re alive?”
His grin sends a chill racing through me. “It’s good to see you, Arin. You’re looking well.”
“W-what’s going on? Why did you…” I shake my head, too confused and angry to form sentences. “What thefuck, Elio? Why are you kidnapping me? Where are we going?”
“Would you shut up?” the driver snaps from the front.
I can’t turn all the way because of the knife at my throat, but I recognize his voice, too. “Milo?”
My heart races. What the hell is going on here?
A dreadful thought pries its way into my brain.
“What did you do to Dominic?” I rasp, tears stinging my eyes.
“Would you shut her the hell up?” Milo hisses.
Faster than I can think, Elio slams the butt of his knife’s handle against my temple. I slump against the car seat, black creeping in around the edges of my vision. I lose my grip on consciousness, slipping under in a hurry with only one thought lingering on my mind.
Dominic.
Chapter 37
Arin
Ihave the headache of all headaches when I finally come to. There’s no telling how much time has passed. Could be a few minutes, or a few hours, or even a couple of days. It’s impossible to tell because it’s pitch black with no hint of sunlight to be found. I groan, struggling to sit upright. I quickly realize I’m in a chair, my ankles taped to the legs and my wrists bound behind me.
“Hello?” I call out. My throat is painfully dry.
The lights flash on, blinding me, the contrast so violent I wince from the pain.
“Well, well, well…” comes a man’s voice. It takes forever for my eyes to adjust. Elio steps into view, looking way too fucking proud of himself. “About time you woke up, princess. I was worried I fractured your skull or something.”
My memories come rushing back to me. The attack after my fashion show, being dragged into the car, Milo in the front seat, Elio being very much alive.
I look around and realize I’m in a warehouse of some sort, surrounded by supply shelves. I’m unable to identify an exit.
“But why?” I demand, my voice weaker than I like. “I don’t understand why you’d do any of this!”