“I won’t be back tonight even if I leave now.” I glance at my watch.
“You will, as you are taking the jet back.”
“What the fuck? It’s not like this is an emergency. Why would I take the jet?”
Luca’s expression hardens. “Because Massimo wants to get ahead of this fast.” His eyes narrow. “Pack your bag and I’ll wait outside the door.” He pauses just as he’s about to exit the room and turns back to me. “I almost forgot. Massimo asked me to retrieve your cellphone from you.” He holds his hand outstretched.
For a moment, I just stare in disbelief. “Are you fucking serious?”
He winces. “Unfortunately, yes. Massimo doesn’t want you contacting Nitkin while you are back in Chicago. You can have it back once the week is out.”
I stare at my phone and then at Luca. “Can’t I—”
“No, not one text or call.” He gestures for me to hand it over. “It was Massimo’s orders.”
I stare at him for a few long seconds in utter disbelief, before walking forward and slamming it into his outstretched palm. “You are being as big an asshole as him.”
A muscle flexes in his jaw. “I’m just doing my duty.”
“Fuck duty.” I turn away from him, but he grabs my wrist and stops me.
“Father is sick and Massimo is just doing what he’s supposed to do. Don’t hold it against him and listen to what he has to say.”
I yank my wrist away in anger, and march into my closet without another word. There’s nothing more to say. I’m being taken hostage by my own family. Forced away from my friends without saying goodbye. But that’s not the most painful thing, it being ripped away from the man I inexplicably love.
31
GAVRIL
Oak is sitting behind my desk when I barge in. He looks up, brow furrowed. “What’s wrong, Gav?” He knows me well enough to know when something isn’t right.
“Where is she?”
He shakes his head. “Where is who?”
“Camilla.”
His eyes narrow. “What is it to you?”
I bare my teeth, a growl rising from my throat. “Don’t play games with me, Oak.” I clench my fists, knowing that I’m on the edge of losing it. “Tell me where the fuck she is.”
Three days now she hasn’t replied to my texts or calls. I thought she was playing games since it was the weekend and she was probably busy with her friends, but when she didn’t attend class today, I knew something was off.
His brow raises. “So the bullshit you gave me about her just being your student was a lie?”
“At the time, it wasn’t.”
“And now?”
“And now if you don’t tell me where the fuck she is, I’ll rip your goddamn head off.” I’ve not felt so angry or out of control in a while. Her cell is disconnected, and she didn’t meet me as arranged in my classroom.
“Luca was right then…”
“Luca was right about what?”
Oak stands and paces toward the window in his office, gazing onto the grounds of the academy. “He suspected the two of you were involved intimately.”
That revelation makes the blood drain from my face as some of the anger eases. “How?”