Page 38 of Darkest Desire

“Ah. An American. I can help you.”

“I don’t need it.”

“But I think you do.” He tugs me further into the alleyway and shoves me against the wall.

I’m well aware of the danger I’m in and I try to scream before he clamps his hand over my mouth.

“If you want money,” I gasp when he removes his hand.

“I don’t want any money. If I had wanted money, I would have pickpocketed it from you without you even noticing. No. What I want is a girl who is lost. Now you’ll come with me, won’t you? I can get you to safety.”

“You shoved me against a wall. I don’t think you want to get me to safety.”

“How smart. A smart American. What a surprise.”

“I don’t have any money on me. Just let me go.”

“I don’t want your money,” he snaps. “I want a pretty little thing like you. Do you know it’s dangerous to walk the streets of Rome at night? Men like me come out to play.” He punches me right in the stomach, knocking all the wind right out of me.

I fall to my knees. The hard cement is going to leave bruises behind – that is if I survive this night.

The man begins to kick me right in the stomach, over and over and over again.

“Why?” I groan.

He stops, breathing heavy. “Why not? You were lost. Vulnerable. You walked right into my trap.”

He raises his foot to kick me again when he lets out a strangle noise and stumbles back. That’s when I look up and see that his throat is bleeding.

And standing behind him is Nico, holding onto a small knife. It’s covered in blood. The man clutches at his throat but it doesn’t do anything for him. He falls to the ground and bleeds out.

Nico turns to me. I brace myself for a lecture but instead, he holds out his hand and tentatively, I take it.

“How did you find me?” I whisper, clutching my arms around my stomach.

“One of my guards spotted you running through the vineyard near the house. It wasn’t hard to figure out which direction youwere going. But it was pure luck I found you when I did.” His eyes rake over me. “Are you hurt?”

I start to shake my head when I double over, groaning in pain.

“Shit,” Nico grumbles. “I have a private doctor I can get you to.” He scoops me into his arms and carries me away from the man he just killed, acting as if he’s my knight in shining armor when he’s really the devil in disguise.

Chapter Seven

Sasha

The private doctor is truly a private doctor. Nico takes me to the home of a man named Elio Rocci, a certified physician.

“Why not a hospital?” I ask as Nico carries me over Elio’s threshold and into a small room that has an exam table in it and other medical equipment.

“Elio is a real doctor and this way, no one will ask any questions. I don’t need any doctors wondering if I beat you. And knowing you, you’d tell them that I did beat you and I’d get thrown in jail.” He sets me down on the exam table.

“That’s a good thing. You’re a murderer.”

Nico doesn’t comment on that and instead, turns to the doctor and speaks to him in Italian. Elio motions for me to lay down.

“Where are you hurt?” he asks in fluent English.

“My stomach. I was kicked. Multiple times.”