Page 51 of Vow Of Fire

If I could get them without waking him, I could make a run for it. If I reached the SUV without being shot, I could make a clean getaway.

Except, where would I go? I bit my lip and tried to think rationally.

There was only one road out of here. The guards were trained soldiers. Mercenaries. They wouldn’t take prisoners.

No, it was too risky.

Still, staying here with him, waiting for a way to prove my innocence, didn’t exactly fill me with joy either.

Valentina wanted me dead. His family was using my gallery to launder money. Plus, they’d transported drugs in my shipping container.

What I should do is get the hell out and go straight to the police. Confess all. My abduction, the fraud, the kidnapping. All of it. The Marcellis should be punished for what they’d done to me.

Angry indignation made me take a step closer. My heart pounded so frantically I feared it might wake him up.

Crap. Was I seriously considering this?

I looked out of the nearest window. It was pitch dark outside. Heavy clouds had covered the moon.

I knew the guards were out there somewhere, but there were only two of them. If I was very quiet, I might make it to the SUV before either of them even noticed I was gone.

Dante would be arrested, go to prison.

I frowned. Why did that thought bother me? He was nothing to me.

Nothing.

I drew in a steadying breath. Screw it. I had to go for it. The authorities would be lenient on me. I was being held against my will. Threatened. Used. Coerced. I’d make a deal. I knew things about the Marcelli family, things he’d told me.

I leaned in and reached for the keys.

His hand shot out, fingers closing painfully around my wrist in a vice-like grip.

14

TROUBLE WITH A CAPITAL T

Dante

My body reacted before I was fully awake. One second there was weight beside me and the next, my hand had clamped around a wrist.

I twisted, yanking my attacker off balance. They hit the floor with a sharp cry, and I went with them, driving them onto their back. My knee landed across their hips, while I pinned their arm to the floor. My other hand closed around their throat.

Pressure. Control. Eliminate the threat. The mantra came to me easily in my groggy state.

She bucked beneath me, trying to unseat me.

Then I caught the scent. Vanilla. I felt the warmth of her skin beneath my hand.

Blinking, I registered copper hair spread across the hardwood.

Ophelia.

I recoiled so fast it was almost violent.

Jesus Christ.

She sucked in a ragged breath, one hand flying to her neck as she stared up at me with wide, frightened eyes.