Page 91 of Corrupt Crown

My nostrils flare as I clench my jaw and, without waiting for his response, I strike out toward the waiting SUVs, calling over my shoulder.

“Let’s just get this done. Then we’ll discuss Aurelia.”

I push down on the guilt churning in the pit of my stomach, remembering how Papa had refused every offer for Aurelia’s hand that had been brought before him. Knowing this is not what he wanted for her.

But the simple truth is that I need more men than I have available to me in order to take down Conti.

In order to even get Aurelia back to fulfill our side of the bargain.

But right now, I need to focus on what needs to be done. I’ll make peace with my guilt once everyone is safe, and Domenico Conti is burning in Hell.

CHAPTER 32

ELODIE

My body aches,and my mouth is parched when my lashes flutter open to find pretty brown eyes watching me in concern.

“Santo Cristo, I thought you’d never wake up.” Despite her words, there’s a relieved smile in her voice as she watches me with those wide eyes.

“Aurelia?”

I clear my scratchy throat as she smiles encouragingly. “Here, have some water.”

She holds out a bottle, and I accept it with a grateful quirk of my lips before taking a large gulp.

As I re-screw the bottle cap, I scrunch up my face, feeling groggy, and like I’ve slept for far too long. “Where are we?”

Aurelia shrugs her petite shoulders. “Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve not seen anything outside of stone walls since they brought me here.”

I blink several times, attempting to dispel the wooziness before blowing out a breath. “How long was I out for?”

“You’ve been here almost two hours, so at least that long.” Then she extends her hand with a tilt of her dark head. “Pleased to finally meet your acquaintance.”

I accept her proffered hand, shaking it gently with a small smile. “I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

She rolls her eyes heavily. “It was never going to come about any other way. I think you’ll find that, when Domenico Conti takes something, he has a very hard time parting with it.”

Our gazes lock and hold as an understanding flows between us, and instantly, I feel a kinship with the beautiful girl before me.

“Did he hurt you, too?”

She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can answer, the door is thrown wide open.

Luca Conti, Nico’s excessively vicious first cousin, steps inside, and I can feel Aurelia shrinking back as he comes closer.

“You’re coming with me,puttana.” He yanks my hair, tugging me to stand as I press my lips firmly together, refusing to give him my pain, and his eyes shift to Aurelia. “And I’ll be back to see youreallysoon.”

He tosses her a wink before he shoves me out the door, slamming it behind him. Then he marches me forward down a long, winding hallway with no windows. It’s narrow and feels entirely claustrophobic, even when we pass by a set of wide stone stairs. It’s only once we reach an open space, I can feel my chest expand as I suck in a deep lungful of air.

The walls are all made of stone, and it seems like we’re inside some medieval castle or something.

Luca pushes me through a door, where I find a long wooden dining table. It’s set as though for a feast, with Nico seated at the head of the table, a roaring fire crackling in a huge open fireplace.

My eyes move past him to take in the narrow window at his back, and I barely stifle a gasp of shock when I see the now-familiar turquoise waters off the coast of Sicily.

He snorts a smug laugh. “Right on that bastard’s doorstep this whole time.”

Luca pushes past me to jerk a bound and gagged man from a darkened corner of the room. “Muovi il culo, Alessio.”