Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Carmine pulls the door open, sticking his head out into the hallway. "Domani!" he shouts. "She slipped out a window. Headed across the east lawn!"
A clatter sounds as the house clears, everyone inside immediately taking off to find me. It would be funny if it weren't so damn terrifying. And it's entirely my fault. They believe him because I've done nothing but try to run away since Rafe brought me here. They've been chasing me for days now, only for me to let myself be cornered or outran or outsmarted and silently marched back inside. Time and time again.
"Let’s go," Carmine orders.
I stomp toward him, glaring daggers. "Rafe is going to kill you when he finds out you're the one who took me," I say, finding immense satisfaction in that fact. I shouldn't…but I do. I don't think I've ever truly hated anyone until this moment. But I hate this man. It burns like acid in my stomach, hardening my spine, turning my resolve to steel.
Carmine grabs my arm hard.
"Let me go."
"Start walking, principessa."
I press my free hand against my side, feeling for the letter opener. The weight of it steadies me, gives me courage. I take a breath. And take a step.
Carmine stays right beside me, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise. I hope Rafe makes him pay for every single one of them. We move swiftly toward the foyer. I decide to make my move there. It's the best place, the only logical place.
Moving carefully, I slip the letter opener out of my pocket, hiding it in my fist. My knees shake so hard I'm terrified my legs are going to give out beneath me. I've never been this scared before in my life. Not even when Rafe's men showed up on my doorstep.
Rafe, I love you. I love you so much.
As soon as we step over the threshold from the hallway into the foyer, I swing the letter opener toward Carmine's thigh with as much force as I can. For a split second, the metal fails to penetrate.
A voice in my head wails in fury.
And then the dull edge rips through his flesh, sinking deep.
"Figlio di puttana!" he roars, flinging me away from him with his hand on my arm.
I scream as my feet come out from beneath me and I go flying across the room, the letter opener still clutched in my hands. I feel it ripping free of his flesh. Hear his howl of pain as it does. I land against the wall closest to the stairs so hard it knocks the breath out of me.
Before I can catch my breath, let alone think about getting up and running, Carmine spins on me, rage on his face. His pants are ripped, blood pouring from the wound on his leg. It soaks into the dark fabric, spreading rapidly. Spots drip onto the tiles, leaving a trail of blood as he limps toward me.
I raise my hands up to fend him off…and then he's gone. Plucked from the ground like a ragdoll. Rafe lifts him completely off his feet and flings him across the room, roaring like an enraged bear. Hellfire burns in his chocolate eyes, searing his expression with pure murder. His jaw is rock hard, every muscle in his body taut.
Carmine's body slams into the credenza table. The table crumples beneath his weight, crashing to the floor with him on top of it. He doesn't move again.
For a long moment, silence reigns in the room. It's deafening.
"Get him the fuck out of here," Rafe snarls to Domani. "And bandage his leg. I want him alive when I get to him."
"Got it," Domani says.
I watch in silence as Domani and Vito haul Carmine up from the wreckage. They aren't careful about it. His head bangs against the wall as Domani hefts him over his shoulder. He hangs limp and unmoving.
My stomach twists.
I quickly avert my gaze, only for it to land on the blood smeared across the floor. Carmine knows who I am. He just tried to kidnap me. Because someone else knows too. Someone out there is offering millions to get their hands on me.
"Amalia."
I flinch, cowering against the wall as Rafe squats in front of me.
"It's me, tesoro," he says, his voice soft. "It's just me."
I stare at him, unable to tear my gaze away. Unable to think straight.
"Can you put down the letter opener, tesoro?" he asks. "I swear, I'm not going to hurt you."
I glance from him to my hands, only to realize he's right. I'm still clutching the letter opener in my hands. Carmine's blood still drips from the end of it. I cry out and fling it away from me, shuddering in revulsion.
I just stabbed a man.
"Rafe," I sob as the dam bursts.
He pulls me into his arms, wrapping himself around me. "Shh, tesoro," he breathes, holding me like he doesn't intend on ever letting me go again. "Shh, amore mio. Sono qui ora. Sono qui."