Page 105 of The Temptation

Chapter 22

Lucia

I’m kneeling on the back seat with my face pressed against the window as I frantically search the darkness for Romeo. He’s been gone for almost twenty minutes, and I’m struggling to remain in the car like I promised.

The sharp crack of a gunshot echoes in the distance, turning my blood to ice. Minutes later, two more ring out, and I lose the battle.

I lunge for the door handle, but it won’t budge.

He’s locked me in.

I scramble through the gap between the front seats and place my knee on the centre console as I lean forward to frantically search the dashboard for a button to release the lock.

It’s pitch-black, so I flick on the overhead light, but as soon as I do, I hear, “Capo, vieni, sta nella macchina(Boss, come, she’s in the car)!”

I whip my head around, trying to pinpoint where the voice came from, just as a shadow looms at the rear window. A split-second later, the glass shatters, spraying tiny shards that resemble ice across the seats.

The rear door flies open as I lunge forward, desperate toget my body fully into the front seat, and away from them, but a hand clamps around my leg and yanks me back with brutal force.

I’m trying to grab whatever I can as I’m dragged backwards. The steering wheel, the gearstick, the driver’s seat, but it’s no use, they are too strong.

When all else fails, I start to kick and scream. I may be overpowered, but I am not going down easily. I won’t let thesestronzostake me without a fight.

I twist, I squirm, I buck, and the second they haul me out of the car and someone clamps their arms around my waist, pressing me tightly against their chest, I whip my head back with all I’ve got, feeling the satisfying crunch as it smashes into their nose.

Another fucker steps in front of me when the guy behind me starts calling me every derogatory word in Italian.

The guy before me receives the same fate when my leg juts out, kicking him straight in the nuts.

He crumbles to his knees, and despite the fear that is rocketing through me, a satisfied smile curves my lips.

My elation doesn’t last long because a third man appears from the left and strikes before I get a chance to lash out, smashing the butt of his gun into the side of my head, and my world goes instantly black.

When I come to, I’m slumped forward. My head is hanging like a dead weight, and for a moment, I’ve got no clue where I am. I remain deathly still, making no sudden moves. I breathe. I think, and give myself a moment to get my bearings.

My head is throbbing and making it hard to concentrate, but after a moment, the flashes come hard and fast.

The struggle.

The gunshots!

Romeo.

I swallow down my sob as panic claws at my chest. I don’t even know if he’s okay. Did he fire those shots, or did someone fire at him?

Tears burn the back of my eyes, and my stomach churns. If something happened to him, nobody would even know I’m missing, but on the flip side, without him, I couldn’t possibly go on.

For some reason, that thought brings me a sense of comfort. I can only hope that when the time comes, my end is swift. But knowing the things I know about Giuseppe Salvatori, it isn’t going to be merciful.

I take a quick inventory of my current situation. My hands and feet are bound, and the cable ties around my wrists are already biting into my skin.

My nostrils flare as my breathing grows shallow and ragged against the tape that has been put over my mouth.

I’m in a car, I know that much, wedged between two other bodies. I’m trying to concentrate through the haze and make sense of what they are saying.

They’re speaking in rapid Italian, but thankfully, that’s my first language, so I can understand every word.

“She broke my nose,” one of them says.