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***
Later, I didn’t know what time it was, but I must have been in a deep sleep when I heard my name whispered.
I woke up with a start to find a tall man standing over me. His hand was over my mouth.
Panic surged through my body. I tried to fight and pulled at the wrist of the hand clamping down on my mouth. The man was too strong for me.
“Shh. We’re here to rescue you.”
I stilled when I heard his words. As I fought the fogginess of my sleep-fuddled brain and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I found myself looking into a pair of piercing blue eyes. They were eyes that were so similar to mine.
I knew those eyes: it was Jacob.
Thank God—he had come to save me.
As he saw the recognition appear in my eyes, he took his restraining hand away and I leapt into his arms. “Jake, oh Jake,” I sobbed with relief, my initial panic subsiding, although adrenaline was quickly taking its place and electrifying all my nerves.
I noticed behind Jacob was another one of my father’s men, Cornelio. Cornelio had acted as my personal bodyguard for as long as I could remember.
“No one is downstairs,” whispered Jacob. “We just need to keep quiet until we get outside the perimeter gates. My men are waiting for us there. Keep behind me and don’t make a sound.”
I nodded, my heart in my throat. I was finally getting out of here.
Jacob and Cornelio were all dressed in black, camouflaging them in the dark. Mr. Fluffy had been woken by the movements and he pressed his snout affectionately into Jacob, recognizing his familiar scent.
There was no time for me to dress. I was barefoot and only wearing my sleep shorts and tank top.
I felt the cool night air kissing my skin as I hurried with them out of the bedroom, taking Mr. Fluffy by the collar and urging him forward.
We silently made our way down the staircase and kept as close to the wall as possible.
For a second my thoughts turned guiltily to Debi and Danio. I hoped to God that we made it out of here without any gunshots being fired.
The house was dark. I was still unfamiliar with this house and jittery with nerves. I stumbled as we came down the stairs. Cornelio was behind me and quickly righted my step.
Once outside we made our way carefully and silently through the grounds of the estate, and Jacob told me that half a mile beyond the perimeter waited two SUVs with more Società soldiers.
At night the gardens looked completely different—creepy somehow—as if the trees were watching us. It made my skin crawl or perhaps it was nerves prickling at my skin.
We would be at the estate perimeter in a couple more minutes. I was almost free.
Suddenly I was blinded, my hand flying to my squinting eyes.
As I struggled to adjust my eyes to the bright lights that had appeared out of nowhere to flood the outdoor area, I heard Marco’s cold voice ring out. “Going somewhere?”
I whirled around. We were surrounded by Marco and Alessio, as well as a large number of their soldiers.
I froze. I knew this was over.
There would be no escape for me.
Nor for Jacob or Cornelio.
There was nothing the Società soldiers waiting outside the perimeter could do for us now—it would be a suicide mission for them even to attempt to help Jacob, Cornelio, and me, given the sheer number of Fratellanza men surrounding us. The Società would never be able to defeat the Marchianos on their home ground.
As I stood rooted to the spot, Marco slowly approached me as a predator would stalk toward its prey. “And there I was thinking that you would be waiting in bed for me, beautiful.”
Normally that sort of crude comment from him would cause me to blush, but the horror of the situation had rendered me incapable of even that.
