Page 126 of The Temptation

The first sound I catch is her gasp. “Romeo,” she breathes, spinning in my arms. “Whose house is this?”

I grin down at her. “It’s ours, babe. I built it for you.”

Before my beautiful wife can even respond, someone nudges my arm. “Wake up, fucker.”

My eyes snap open to find Dante standing over my bed again. This is the second time today I’ve caught him watching me sleep, and honestly … it’s starting to creep me the fuck out.

“Do you always smile like that when you sleep?” he asks. “Because if you do, that’s fucking weird.”

“What’s weird is you watching me sleep like a creepy stalker,” I deadpan.

He chuckles as he shoves his hand deep into the pockets of his trousers. “I have a good reason to be here, arsehole. I’m looking for Lucia.”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “She left with you earlier … didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but I dropped her off at the safe house so she could pack up her things. She was supposed to call me when she was ready to be picked up. I haven’t heard from her since.”

A jolt of pain flares in my side as I sit up too quickly, making me wince.

“Wait … what do you mean you haven’t heard from her? Did you check to see if she was still at the house?”

“No,” he snaps, irritation flickering across his face. “I thought I’d check everywhere else first, you dumb fuck. Of course, I did. That’s the first place I went.”

Fuck me.

The fragile peace I’d been holding on to—thinking the whole Salvatori mess was behind us and Lucia was finally safe—shatters in an instant. A surge of pure, ice-cold terror claws its way up my spine.

I reach for the tape holding the catheter in place, and my fingers shake slightly as I tear it off. The sting barely registers as I pluck the needle from my skin.

One by one, I begin to rip the wires from my body. My heart is pounding, and my breath catches in my throat when I ask, “Do you think someone took her?”

“I don’t know,” he answers, running his fingers through his hair. “I’ve got Alexander and some of our men out searching now. She must’ve turned off her phone because her location is showing the safe house. She and the dog are gone, as well as all of her and your belongings.”

I throw back the covers and move to the side of the bed, ignoring the wooziness in my head and the throbbing ache in my side. It feels as if I don’t move fast enough, something terrible will happen. Like I’m already too late.

I’m unsteady on my feet when I stand. “Easy there,” Dante says, reaching out to grasp my elbow.

“I’m fine,” I snap, tugging my arm out of his grip.

I place my hand on my side as I start walking towards the door. I need to get the fuck out of here.

“Where are you going?”

“To find my wife,” I growl.

“Dressed like that? Your bare arse is hanging out.”

Dante is laughing as we cross the car park, side by side, heading for his vehicle. “Everyone is looking at your arse,” he says smugly.

“Do I look like I care?”

He glances over his shoulder. “At least the nurses have stopped chasing us.”

“They can’t keep me here. I don’t care what they say.”

“That fucking trunk between your legs is shlonging all over the place.”

“Stop looking at my cock, you weirdo.”