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“OK. I’ll wait here for Eros.” I hung up and wiped my forehead. This was stupid. I was getting worked up over nothing, and now I was probably going to ruin Cian’s surprise and Eros’s night.
I waited in the bushes. Five minutes passed, then ten. I tried dialing Thora again, but she didn’t pick up this time. Great, she’d probably realized that I was being an idiot. After a few more minutes and nobody showing up, I decided that either I was being really stupid, or if something was wrong and Cian was inside, I had just wasted twenty minutes sitting out here for nothing.
My phone dinged with a text. It was from Cian.
Pizza Delivery: Don’t keep me waiting, my love.
Fuck it. I was going in.
I straightened my back and marched up to the house, mace in hand. The light outside had been turned on in the time I had been hiding, which only confirmed that someone was inside, and it was probably just Cian. I knocked once, twice, and when nobody answered I tried the door handle and it swung open with a creak.
“Cian?” I called out.
It was quiet. Too quiet. I flipped the nozzle on my mace and held it out in front of me.Where are you, you little sneak?
“Cian?” Still no answer. I stepped inside and saw a dim light down the hall. I called out his name a third time, but still nothing. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it might explode out of my chest. What the fuck could be going on? I held my mace up, ready to spray anyone who stepped out, and walked as quietly as I could toward the light.
You can do this.The hair on the back of my neck stood, and I hesitated when I got to the door. Did I really want to push this door open and see what was on the other side? But what if Cian was hurt? Or what if he was laid out naked on a plush velvet throw waiting for me?
I swung the door open and stepped in, ready to pepper-spray the fuck out of anyone who was there. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust from the darkness to the dim lighting, but once they did, I had to swallow the scream that threatened to come up.
Cian was tied to a chair in the middle of a nearly bare living room. Three men stood around him, one pointing a gun at his head. He struggled in his restraints, and when he saw me, his eyes widened. “Nova, run!”
But there was nowhere to run. I knew they could catch me, so I held my hands up in front of me to show that I wasn’t a threat, and stepped forward.
“Don’t hurt him,” I whispered, taking another step forward.
A man stepped forward from the shadows. Someone I had hoped I would never have to see face to face.
Kaviathin Voledetti.
“Miss La Roux, nice to finally meet you in person.” He came forward and stopped in front of me. His gaze traveled up and down my body, and I wished I hadn’t worn something so provocative outside. “Stunning.” His voice was low. “I see why Mr. Blackwood is so taken with you. Come.” He held out his hand to me.
I had no choice. What was I going to do? Run, fight? That wasn’t going to help me, and that definitely wasn’t going to help Cian. No, I needed to keep calm so we both got out of this alive. I placed my hand in Kaviathin’s and he walked us over to two metal folding chairs on the other side of the room. He waved his hand at the chair and nodded. “Please, sit.”
“If you fucking touch her, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Cian growled, jerking roughly to the point I thought he might actually be able to get loose. But the man holding the gun cocked it and pressed it to his temple. Cian stopped struggling, his chest heaving.
Kaviathin chuckled and sat down across from me. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed me one, which I took. I wasn’t a smoker, but if I was about to die, then now would be the time to become one. He leaned close and lit my cigarette, then his, blowing smoke up in the air. “Miss La Roux, I’m sure you’re well aware of who I am and what I do.”
It wasn’t a question, more of a statement, and so I nodded.
“Good.” He took a long drag, smoke billowing around us. “Then why have you inserted yourself into my business?”
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Did he know about the FBI? That had to be it. I took a drag from my cigarette, trying to figure out how to answer that question. “What do you mean?”
“You have accused me of kidnapping you, have you not?” he purred. His nonchalant tone wasn’t to be taken lightly, I knew that. Although he was being polite, as far as “I have a gun on your man and will kill him”went, there was a hint of anger in his voice that I didn’t miss.
“But”—I narrowed my eyes at him—“youdidtry to kidnap me.”
“Is that so?” He leaned back and watched me for a moment, his expression unreadable. What the hell was he getting at?
“You’re going to pay for this, Kaviathin.” Cian jerked in his restraints.
“Shut him up.”
The man with the gun hit Cian in the back of his head with the butt of his gun, and Cian’s head lowered. I gasped, my whole body shaking.
“Much better.” Kaviathin smiled and turned his attention back to me. “Ryzen has assured me that he has Covington under control, as well as you.” He glanced at Cian, and then back to me. “But I can see that is not exactly the case. Imagine my surprise when I have you followed, and I find that you are sleeping with Ryzen’s enemy.”
