Page 135 of Claimed At First Sight

His expression is controlled, his authority absolute. This is why grown men obey him.

“Fine. But you will do exactly as I say for the next five minutes.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mialina

Every instinct in me revolts against being ordered around by Maximo.

Normally I would have several arguments ready, but all I can think about is Ari and the distance between us.

The three Romero men are far too close to her, and the fact that Maximo considers it a problem worries me.

I get he wants me to stay where he thinks it’s safe, but I can’t wait around here when my sister is in danger. She’s fourteen, and Mamma trusted me to look after her.

“I’m going with you,” I declare, trying to put as much steel into my voice as I can. It still comes out more trembly than I’d like.

Maximo’s gaze holds mine for one brutal second. He’s probably deciding whether arguing with me is worth the time.

Apparently it isn’t. That alone can’t be a good sign.

We outnumber the Romero men easily, yet nobody around me is acting as though that’s reassuring. Then again, we’re not the ones closest to Ari. They are.

“You do not leave my sight,” he says. “And if I give an order, you follow it. Understood?”

I nod, just wanting to get to my sister, and Maximo is the one person who seems to know what to do.

Apparently satisfied, he heads into the alley without waiting. Two guards move ahead of him, sweeping the narrow passage while another remains close at his shoulder.

I look back once to make sure Paolo is with Sienna. Only then do I follow, two guards closing in around me.

The alley is narrower than I expected, with several smaller passages branching off on either side. Ari disappeared down one of them. Which one, though?

“Ari?” I call sharply.

There’s no answer. My heartbeat kicks harder.

The guards spread out, checking side alleys, dumpsters, and service entrances as they advance. One reports to Maximo before moving on.

“She wouldn’t go far,” I say, more to myself than anyone else. “Not intentionally.”

Maximo scans everything around us before crouching near the ground.

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

His fingers brush against something in the snow. Small paw prints, with larger footprints following after them.

“A cat,” he says flatly.

I almost laugh. Ari went after a cat. Of course she did.

My youngest sister has never met a stray animal she didn’t immediately decide was her personal responsibility. Given half a chance, she’d fill the estate with anything willing to accept her affection.

Maximo rises smoothly. “She went deeper in.”

We move quickly, following the tracks, while an icy wind funnels through the narrow space.

Then I hear her.