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“I…don’t know,” I grunt out.

There’s a 50/50 chance she’s involved in whatever twisted plan her father is currently concocting; either way, playing dumb is probably for the best. “Besides,” I inhale deeply, drawing whatever little energy I have left to form this sentence, “even if I did know, I sure as fuck wouldn’t tell you.”

“Wrong answer, lover boy.” His shoe flies into my face, and I hear the distinct crack of bone as it makes contact with my nose.

“Fuck,” I groan out, reaching for my face despite all the other pain I’m already in.

Warm liquid floods my hands and my eyes start watering instantly, blurring my vision of the two assfucks in front of me.

In one swift motion, another kick lands in my stomach, and I curl forward retching as blood rushes into my mouth. I cough up as much of it as I can, the movement only worsening the pain. My vision starts to spot, making the dimly lit room even darker.

Kylian crouches down and threads his fingers into my hair before ripping my head back so that I have a full view of his face.

As much as I would call him ugly, he and Theá share too many of the same physical features for me to lie like that.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is Theresa?” His eyes are stern, but even with blurred vision, I can see them brimming with concern and worry.

I bare all my teeth in a smile as I start laughing. After all of this, if Theá really is gone with the wind, they still need me more than I need them. And if it means keeping her safe, they’ll have to kill me before I ever say a thing.

“Vaffanculo,” I spit, hoping whatever blood left in my mouth lands on his stupid shoes.

I hear Enzo snicker before my head is thrown back against the floor. Kylian manages three more kicks to my stomach before Enzo eventually decides to say something.

“We need him alive for the plan,” he says.

Kylian looks down at me with disgust in his eyes before spitting on my chest. “Make sure he doesn’t die then.”

The clicking of his shoes grows fainter as he walks off, until I hear a door shut.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.Cugino,you always find yourself in these unfortunate situations.” Enzo walks closer. “All because of your brothers. When are you going to learn not everyone is so deserving of your undying loyalty?”

My head is pounding as I try to cling to the words he’s saying.

How did things get so fucked up that even Enzo is making sense?

“Don’t forget what your sweet old papá used to say. Blood makes you related, but loyalty makes you family.”

He’s even closer now, probably crouched down from what I can sense since both my eyes are slowly swelling shut due to the breaking of my nose. “If you want to see any of them again, I suggest you hold onto whatever stupid sense of hope you have left and start praying.”

Then nothing. No sounds, no sight, no pain. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And I hate to admit it, but feeling nothing is the best thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

Chapter forty-one

Theá

It’saroundhournineof our eleven-hour flight to Cape Town when Pierre decides to elaborate on everything that happened.

It’s been torturous just sitting here, clueless, none the wiser to what’s going on or what happened. Even with the way Noelle dashed to her seat the second I mentioned Antonio tells me that she knows something I don’t.

“I’ll start by saying we had to use this situation to our advantage,” Pierre prefaces as he turns to face me in our very cramped, economy class seat. We’re stuck between a snoring granny and a fifteen-year-old who has been laughing at reruns of the same show for the last two hours.

“Just tell me already,” I snap, drawing a few sideways glances from our neighbours.

“Kylian found out first about you being outside of Monaco; he had a tip-off from the receptionist of the building you live in who saw you two packing multiple suitcases into the car.”

I roll my eyes at our negligence. Running away to Paris with the man I love was clearly so entrancing that I left all my common sense in the penthouse.