Page 33 of Taken by the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #1)

SERA

I t’s been hours now since Olivia brought me breakfast. An entire day had passed.

I paced beside the windows overlooking the mist-covered garden two stories below me.

Night was falling. Stars played peek-a-boo through breaks in the clouds, and I counted a handful of constellations before the cloud cover darkened the sky entirely.

Down below, a guard paced back and forth across the patio, his shadow stretching out across the grass in front of him.

I ground my teeth as I picked through what was left of the dinner that had been delivered, and not by Olivia. I hadn’t seen her since this morning, which was odd. The new maid bustled in and out so quickly I didn’t even get a look at her face.

I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and let it go with a pop.

This wouldn’t do. I was trapped up here while someone, possibly my father from the sound of it, was downstairs.

Could he have left already? No, Killian wouldn’t have just let him walk out the door like that. If a deal had been made, I would be halfway home by now—halfway to my father’s home. Not stuck up here in my room rotting my life away.

I ran my hands over my face before stalking forward and jiggling the knob.

Locked, of course. Always locked. I tried the windows next like I had the physical skill required to scale the walls to freedom.

I went into the little sitting room where the phone had been, but the door leading out to the hallway was locked as well.

I went as far as to pull all of the books off the bookshelf and slide the massive shelf out of the way, looking for a trap door or something behind it.

A house like this, run by a criminal mastermind, had to have a hidden exit—or ten—tucked out of sight.

But there was no way out.

Resigning myself to another night spent wasting away in bed, I started for the bathroom.

I picked up the bobby pins I’d been using to hold back my hair while washing my face when a thought struck me.

“ Oh my God .” I twirled the pin between my fingers.

I called myself an idiot for the millionth time as I looked down at my outfit.

I wore heather-gray sweatpants and a matching crewneck sweatshirt.

I looked down at my socks and immediately went to the little closet in the corner of the bedroom, fishing through the outfits Olivia had brought me some time ago.

I found a pair of sneakers and put them on, then pulled my hair up and away from my face, the bobby pin secured between my teeth.

I’d be cold for a little while, but if I made it out of the house I could run far in these shoes.

I’d been watching that tall, waving grass for days now.

It would be easy to blend with it, especially under the cloak of darkness descending over the house.

I was short enough that no one would be able to see me as I ran, and ran, and ran until I made it to the woods and, eventually, freedom.

I twirled my tongue over the bobby pin and walked to the door, taking a breath. I knew how to do this. I could do this . My life depended on it.

I pushed the thought of Killian’s tongue in my mouth away as I started to pick the lock. It took far longer than it should have, but I finally snapped something deep within the doorknob and slowly inched the door open, finding the hallway empty.

I went for it, breaking into a silent sprint and slowed to a tiptoed creep when I reached the stairs.

I didn’t know where the doors to the back terrace were, but if I could get through the front door, I could run around the house before the men guarding the gates at the end of the long driveway noticed me.

This was it. Escape.

I ran down the grand staircase, jumping over the last few steps and landing silently on the mosaic tile in the foyer. I paused, listening for any noises or voices.

“I’m keeping her. She might be useful to me in the future.”

I froze as Killian’s voice echoed down that narrow hallway off the foyer. His words traveled from the direction of his office.

I held my breath as his voice came again, laced with malevolence.

“She’s been throwing herself at me like that will change her fate.” He chuckled, an evil, grating sound. “She disgusts me.”

“What about her father?”

My heart began to race. He was talking about me . About my father.

“Francesco is ending him now.”

My mouth dropped open as pure, unfiltered rage ripped through my body and blurred my senses. Every thought of escape left my mind.

I ran, and not toward the front door.

I burst through the door to his office, my sneakers squealing as I came to an abrupt stop, screaming, “No!” The door bounced off the wall and nearly hit me in the face, but I caught it, panting.

Killian stood, his pistol pointed at my chest. He didn’t lower it as I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, finding it hard to breathe as our eyes met.