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It’s commotion in the ballroom. My guards attack Tommaso’s guards, and fists fly as they fight. The innocent guests begin to scream and run from their seats, creating a bottleneck by the door, preventing anyone from leaving the room.
Pia doesn’t head in that direction. No. She goes the opposite way. I chase her down.
I can hear her puffing as she runs. If she really was locked up in a tower her entire life, then she probably hasn’t had much exercise. This will be easy.
But then Lorenzo is beside me, swinging a fist in my direction. I dodge him and shove him out of the way. Pia is mine. I’m not going to let this fucker take her from me.
A gunshot pierces the air, and people scream, chaos running supreme.
I look behind me. My men and Tommaso’s men are really going at it now. One of his guards looks in my direction and aims his gun at me, but I drop to the floor and skid away.
Lorenzo screams behind me. When I look at him, he’s clutching his leg, blood seeping around his hand. One of my guys gives me a nod. He shot the fucker.
I give the nod in return before standing up and going after Pia, but I don’t see her. I stop. Where did she go?
I approach the direction she went and look around. A secret door surely. There are no other ways she can escape. Unless she really is like the myths say—a goddess locked away to preserve her beauty and innocence. Maybe she has magic on her side.
“Stop him!” Tommaso shouts.
My hands splay over the wall, searching for a hidden door. By how Tommaso screams for his guards to come after me, I must be getting close.
When my hand touches a carving in the wall, I know this is it. I press down on it, and a door opens. Leave it to Tommaso to have secret passageways in his mansion. The fucker always loved gothic architecture.
I enter a dark hallway and shut the door behind me. Pia is still nowhere to be seen. I hurry down the hallway, looking left and right. I didn’t plan all this for weeks just for her to disappear into thin air.
I reach the end of the hallway and find myself in a kitchen. An older woman is in there, holding a knife. She must have heard the commotion and come prepared.
“Stay back,” she snarls, thrusting the knife out.
“I’m just looking for Pia. Did you see where she went?”
“Stay back,” she repeats.
I swat her arm, and the knife goes flying, clattering on the ground. The look of worry in her eyes amuses me. I’m a muscular man. With that and my dark eyes, most people are intimidated by me.
“Where did Pia go?”
“I’m not helping Mr. Vitale’s enemy.” She spits on my shoe.
“I could kill you right now. But if you tell me where Pia went, I’ll let you live.”
She wavers. Loyalty isn’t so easily bought when you’re life is on the line. Finally, she sighs and points to a lower cabinet.
“Thank you.” I grab the woman by the arms and shove her aside. She scrambles up and runs out of the room. As I bend down to open the cabinet, I feel a spike of excitement. Normally, I’m very well-collected, but right now, when I’m so close to getting what I want, my heart is pounding.
Pia’s face stares back at me when I open the cabinet. She’s squished herself into a ball to fit in there. Impressive, really. Her self-preservation is strong.
She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. I’ve scared the poor girl so much she can’t even scream.
Pia fights me as I grab her and pull her out of the cabinet, being careful not to hurt her. That’s not my intention. I want her to be my wife. I want Tommaso’s daughter by my side for all of Italy to see. I want all my enemies to know that I’m unafraid to take what I want and fuck the consequences.
She stomps down on my foot, but I don’t loosen my grip. I don’t hurt that easily. When your father trained you to resist torture, you grow accustomed to any and all types of pain. Even though the fucker is dead, my father was good for some things.
Pia rails her tiny fists against my chest. Cute. She actually thinks she stands a chance against me.
“Hello there,” I say, pulling her closer. “You have some fight in you. I like that.”
Her eyes are crazed with fear.
