I was shaking with fear at what would happen if I refused him. I’d spent too long giving this man the benefit of the doubt, believing he wasn’t who they said he was. But I’d been a fool. He was capable of anything. And I couldn’t be the reason an innocent man died, and my father was framed.
“I’m not yours,” I hissed. “But I’ll do it if you promise to leave my father alone.” His eyes lit up, and a slow smile teased his lips. Then he grabbed the wrist of the hand carrying my bouquet and dragged me towards a fire exit. The sun blinded me before I could even comprehend that we were outside, and I was struggling to keep up with his fast strides through the graveyard in my heels.
I noticed a slumped body against a gravestone we passed and gasped when I realised it was the priest.
“Did you kill the priest?” I shouted at his broad back. He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze flicking towards the body before he met my wide eyes with a smirk.
“Of course not. He’s just taking a nap in the sunshine.”
“You are going to hell, Santino Buccini!”
“That’s afterlife problems.” The asshole found this so amusing.
That’s when the enormity of the situation struck me. What the hell was I doing? Leaving my wedding with this insane criminal? I grabbed his wrist withmy free hand and tried to pry him off me, but he was so strong.
“Get off me!” I hissed, resisting every step. “Help!” God only knows where he was going to take me. Perhaps the whole marriage thing was a lie, and he was actually taking me hostage to blackmail my father, torture me, or kill me. Oh God. Oh God!
“Don’t bring out that rebellious side now,Amore,” he chuckled over his shoulder. “We don’t have time for it.”
“Let me go!” I shouted, dragging my nails down his forearm over his shirt to hurt him.
He spun to me, crouched, then flung me over his shoulder and stormed through the gate towards a parked Bugatti. No matter how much I punched his back or kicked his stomach, he seemed completely unaffected. His body was forged from bloody iron. The car door opened, and he dumped me into the passenger seat, shoving the tulle of my dress into the car so it covered my head. I ended up in a tangle of my veil and dress, fighting my way out of the cloud of white when I heard the door slam shut. Then he was in the car next to me, starting the engine.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Let me out!”
I dived for the door handle, but I couldn’t find one. What was with these new, insanely expensive supercars and their confusing features? Why get rid of bloody door handles? Perhaps it was voice-activated.
“Open the door!” I shouted as Santino ignored me and sped up down the rural streets, heading back towards the city. “Car, open the passenger door now!”
Santino scoffed. “What are you doing? If itwerevoice-activated, it wouldn’t listen to you.”
I huffed back into the seat, leaning against the door to put as much distance as possible between us. My eyes frantically searched the interior for anything I could use as a weapon. I had nothing on me, not even my phone. Allegra had it all.
The only thing I still had was my bouquet. The flowers wouldn’t protect me, but they might distract him enough to make him stop the car. In a sudden rage, I started beating him around the head with the lilies and roses.
“Ah, fuck,” he laughed, doubling over the steering wheel, one hand raised to protect his head, which only made me see red as I unleashed all my fury with every hit. He grabbed the stems, lowered his window, and then tossed them out onto the road without the car swerving an inch. A frustrated noise tore from my throat, but another, much better idea came to mind. I rummaged through the tulle to find my feet and yanked off one of my heels, holding it up, ready to strike.
His dark eyes slid my way as he suppressed his amusement. “Now, you’re really turning me on.”
“Let me out, or I’ll stab you with these six inches!”
“Only six?” he tsked. “I think we’d both prefer it if I stabbed you with my nine.”
I swallowed, my thighs squeezing together at the thought. Absolutely not. “You and your ‘nine’,” I said, using air quotes, which made him smirk. “Won’t be coming anywhere near me. I hope you are prepared for a sexless marriage.”
“That’s not what you confessed. Unholy thoughts about me? Please elaborate.”
“Go to hell!” My fingers tightened around my shoe, my body vibrating with the urge to make him hurt, yet too fearful to go through with it. He might actually kill me then.
“That was before I knew…” I looked him up and down with disgust. “The real you. The moment I found out about Damiano, my fleeting attraction to you was cured for good.”
“Is that so?” he smirked, but his nostrils flared, and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. A brief spark of triumph spread through my chest, knowing it had gotten to him. “We’ll see.”
“No, we won’t see. Because you are going to stop this madness and let me out of the car.”
“You know what?” He glanced at me, that fire back in his gaze. “I don’t know what you’re so pissed off about. If anything, I should be angry at you.”
