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Her petite body was easy to manipulate; however, I had to force myself to loosen my hold as I saw her wince in pain at my hard grip on her arm.
She was wearing pajama bottoms and a vest top. I pulled her closer to my body—I needed to keep her warm in the chilly night air. Despite the imminent danger we were in, my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about what I could do to make things easier for her.
One of my soldiers was driving us to the airfield. When we arrived, I swiftly walked her toward the plane, although she was dragging her heels and looking around for anyone who might help her.
But no one would help her here—we paid them too much money for anyone to cross us. We used this airfield because they were happy to accept our large amounts of cash and keep their mouths shut.
Marco, Juliana, and Camillo were already on the plane. The FBI also wanted to arrest Marco and Camillo, and there was no way that Marco would leave Juliana behind. Thankfully, Danio and Debi would be looked after by one of our cousins, with security provided by a dozen of our best soldiers.
Leaving our younger siblings behind felt like a knife twisting inside me, but we would be of no use to them if we stayed and allowed ourselves to get arrested. We would sort this mess out and then return home as soon as possible.
We boarded the private jet, and I led Cate to where we would be sitting and strapped her into her seat as she looked up at me with huge, scared eyes.
“I’ve changed my mind. I want to go home.” She unfastened the seatbelt and suddenly stood, trying to get past me. But her legs were wobbly with panic, and I caught her as she stumbled.
“It’s okay, you just need to sit down and rest, cara,” I said as I pushed her firmly back into her seat and reached across her to fasten her seatbelt again. I wasn’t going to let her get away from me.
“No, I want to go home,” she said more forcefully.
“That’s not possible right now. I’m not leaving you unprotected, and I’m not leaving you behind,” I said with steel in my voice. “Nobody, not even the FBI, is going to take you away from me.”
I saw a tear escape and slide down her pale cheeks. As she tried to wipe it away quickly, I felt guilt seeping into me. I knew she thought my heart was made of ice, but her tears touched it in a way that hadn’t happened to me before.
I spoke more softly. “Look, it’s late and you’re tired and scared. Try to sleep and things will seem better once we’re in a safer place and you’re rested.”
She rubbed her fingertips against her temples. She must have a headache, I thought. “Here, drink some water, it will help with your headache.”
But she was stubborn and refused to take the water and instead turned her body away from me toward the window. She refused to look at me during take-off and ignored anything I said to her.
I pushed the guilt from my mind and let anger take its place. Anger at the whole situation with the FBI and anger at Cate for not wanting to be with me.
It was clear from what she had said earlier in her apartment that she didn’t feel the same way about me as I felt about her, and she had no intention of honoring our arranged marriage.
I had tried to make things easier for her—by letting her live at her apartment and carry on working, but she still kept fighting me every step of the way. If we hadn’t been on a plane on our way out of the United States, I knew she probably would have tried to see a lawyer tomorrow about annulling our marriage.
A while after take-off, Cate said she needed to use the restroom, and I watched her while she walked across the jet. On the way back to her seat, she met me in the aisle. “Can I call Nonna and let her know that I’m alright? She can’t hear about this from someone else—you know she’s been unwell and how stressed she’s been since my father’s death.”
“No.” My anger at her made my response curt.
“Why? Am I your prisoner?” She hurled her words at me. “I thought you wanted to take me away to keep me free, but I think instead you just want to be my jailer.”
“I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“No, you’re not. You’re trying to control my life. I hate you!”
My fury bubbled dangerously close to the surface. I grabbed her arm and pushed her toward her seat. “Sit down and drink the water,” I growled. “You’re tired and dehydrated.”
She winced at my tight grip, and although I thought she was going to refuse, she took heed of the warning note in my voice. Sitting down, she took the water from my outstretched hand.
I watched her intently as she sipped at it slowly.
After she finished the water, I took the empty bottle from her hands.
“You should try to rest. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Italy.”
