Page 8

Considering how I’d kidnapped a girl and all that . I needed to fix this problem fast before the Italians realized I was behind taking an Ajello woman, and hopefully before Caspian returned.

“Fine,” Federico conceded.

I ended the call, knowing there was no point in troubling Caspian about the matter. He was still on his honeymoon and would see through the call. A shipment delay due to packaging issues was a simple problem—one he wouldn’t expect me to call him about, so I refrained.

I sat back in my chair and my mind wandered once more to Larissa.

I thought of her face in the darkness, the naked terror there, and something turned over in my chest. I stood up, deciding to check on her one more time. I remembered all the trays of food she’d left untouched in the basement. I had to make sure she’d eat, at least.

I reached the guest room and unlocked it, knowing immediately that something was wrong when the door swung open to reveal an empty room. The food tray sat untouched on a side table. The bathroom door stood open, revealing no one inside.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered, turning for the door. She’d made a run for it. How?

Then my eyes caught on something by the door—small scratches in the metal around the lock. She'd picked it somehow, probably with something as simple as a hairpin.

Of course she did. She must have tried the same tactic in the basement, but those locks were escape-proof against such tactics. The bedroom locks, on the other hand, were simply for privacy, not imprisoning.

Shit.

I moved quickly and pulled out my phone, alerting security to keep an eye out for her. Within moments, I heard an alarm sound along the perimeter wall to the right of the house. Some guards must have spotted her and were sending out a signal.

I raced through the house and out the back door, scanning the grounds. In the distance, a small figure was sliding through the back gate—a gate that was monitored hourly, but not around the clock.

I sprinted across the lawn, closing the distance with each stride. She heard me coming and tried to run faster, but I caught her just as she cleared the gate, my arms wrapping around her waist.

“No!” she screamed, kicking backward, her foot connecting painfully with my shin. “Let me go!”

I lifted her bodily off the ground, slinging her over my shoulder like a sack of flour. She weighed near nothing. “Not a chance.”

She pounded her fists against my back, twisting and struggling as I carried her back through the gate, securing it behind us. One of her hands slipped lower, clawing at my side, and I adjusted my grip, my hand accidentally skimming the curve of her ass in the process.

A jolt of awareness shot through me, and I knew the contact had been inappropriate—accidental, yet clearly unwelcome.

I slid my hands down immediately to hold her behind her knees and felt her body stiffen at the prior contact, a moment of stillness before she resumed her struggle with even greater ferocity.

“Put me down, you bastard,” she hissed, trying to knee me in the chest.

I tightened my grip on her legs. “Stop fighting or I'll drop you on your head.”

“I'd rather have a concussion than go back in that house with you.”

We were halfway back to the mansion now, and I was growing tired of her squirming. I stopped and set her down, but before she could make another run for it, I pushed her against the stone wall that lined the garden path, pinning her there with my body.

“Listen to me,” I said, my face inches from hers. “You have two choices. Come back inside and cooperate, or go back to the basement. Without lights.”

Her breath hitched, but the fear in her eyes was quickly replaced by fury. “You're a monster,” she spat.

“I'm a man doing his job,” I corrected, suddenly aware of how close we were. Her chest rose and fell rapidly against mine. Her lips, full and cracked from nervous biting, parted slightly as she drew breath to argue further.

“Your job is kidnapping women?” she challenged, tilting her chin up defiantly.

“My job is protecting my family's interests,” I said, my voice dropping lower. “And right now, you're a threat to those interests.”

“I'm not telling you anything.”

“We'll see.”

Her eyes dropped to my mouth for a fraction of a second, then back to my eyes. The air between us seemed to thicken, charged with an undercurrent that made no sense. I became intensely aware of the softness of her body against mine, the way she swallowed at the base of her throat.

God, that throat. It was beautiful, long, and I thought of all the things I wanted to do with it that didn’t involve wrangling it.

I should have stepped back. I should have maintained distance and control. But instead, I found myself leaning closer, drawn by a gravity that was difficult to fight.

“Boss!”

The voice shattered the moment. I pulled away from her, turning to see two of my men approaching along the garden path.

“What?” I growled in their direction, stepping away from Larissa. I thought I heard her sigh. It wasn’t one of relief, but something different. Exasperation.

“Your brothers are here,” one of them said.

What the hell were my brothers doing here without any warning? I felt my pulse quicken as I looked over at Larissa.

And how the hell was I going to explain her presence?