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I flung open the door and switched on the light.
I hadn’t made it down the stairs when Luca growled, “You can’t be here.”
“Giana has come to get me out,” I said, rushing to him so that I could examine the lock on his cell. “We’re leaving.”
His eyes widened with hope for a moment before his face settled into grim, stony planes.
“No,” he said sharply. “You’releaving. Go with Giana before Dante comes back.”
“No!” I tossed right back at him, gripping the bars as though I could break the lock through sheer force of will. “I’m not going without you.”
His big hands closed around mine. “Look at me,” he commanded.
My eyes lifted to his, and I sucked in a breath at the depth of emotion I found in their ochre depths. He stroked my hair back from my cheek, and my tears wet his palm as I turned into his tender touch.
“I can’t leave you.” I managed a strained whisper.
“You have to,” he countered sternly. “I’ll die before I let him touch you again. Do you understand? I’ll do anything to keep you from him.”
“But your friends—”
“I would trade anything for you,” he rasped, eyes burning into my soul. “Anything.”
I swallowed a sob and traced the line of his strong jaw, memorizing the shape of his face. “I can’t let them die because of me.” I squared my shoulders and vowed, “I’ll find them. I’ll rescue Gabriele and Lorenzo, and then Dante will hold no power over you. Father won’t come to save you, but I can convince him to save them. He needs allies if he’s going to take power.”
His only response was to cup my nape so that he could crush his lips to mine. My tongue tangled with his, the need to join with him burning me up inside. Leaving him would rip out a piece of my heart, but I didn’t have a choice.
As long as Dante had me as his hostage, Luca would be his prisoner. My husband might be prepared to risk his friends, but he would never risk me.
Luca broke away from me. “Go.”
Three desperate, passionate words teased at the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down. If I uttered them, I wasn’t sure if I’d have the strength to leave him.
“Come on.” Giana snagged my hand and dragged me away.
I hadn’t even noticed that she had joined us in the basement. Tears blurred my vision as I rushed after her, away from Luca. Guilt twisted my stomach as I abandoned him in the darkness.
I took a deep breath and hardened my resolve. I’d find a way to free his friends, and then he could fight back against Dante. My husband was strong, fierce. He would find a way back to me.
Antonio led Giana and me to a side entrance that was usually used by household staff. His SUV waited for us outside. No one witnessed our mad dash to the vehicle, and he quickly helped my sister and me into the back before sliding a cover over us. The rear door slammed, and the space suddenly became tight and suffocating.
Giana’s hand closed around mine. I could barely make out her delicate features in the spare light that peeked around the cover.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “They won’t search the SUV. They trust Antonio.”
My heart stuttered when we paused at the gates, but within less than a minute, we were moving again.
The drive back to the city was interminable as I huddled close to my sister. She tried to ask me what I’d been through, but I refused to answer. I’d never tell her what I’d suffered at Dante’s hands.
“You care about Luca,” she said quietly. “He kidnapped you and forced you to marry him.”
“He proved to me that he wants to make me happy. I…do care about him.” I held in the depth of my emotion, scared to declare it aloud. As long as he was the monster’s captive, there was a chance that he would die. I might never see him again.
I shoved the thought away, refusing to contemplate it.
Giana murmured soothing words, and I allowed myself to cling to her comfort.
I was free. I was no longer Dante’s captive.
