Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
I shook the thought away. He wanted to possess me completely, so he clearly didn’t want to see me dead. He had darker plans for me. As long as I was alive, he could use me to torment Luca.
I yanked my hand from his and stalked the last few steps toward the SUV. He opened the door for me without commenting on my sudden prickly demeanor. I only had a few seconds to draw in a deep, calming breath before he’d circled the vehicle to get in on the other side.
He reached over me and buckled my seatbelt, his hands lingering at my waist. I stiffened and turned my face away.
He sighed and secured his own seatbelt when the convoy started moving. I watched the mansion disappear, then looked out at the woods as we wound our way down the long drive. The terrible night when he’d chased me through those woods played through my mind, and a light shiver raced over my skin.
He snagged my hand and squeezed it in what was meant to be a pulse of comfort. But I found no reassurance in the monster’s touch as I recalled the way he’d ruthlessly hunted me down and then bound me cruelly beneath the moonlight.
“Would you like to play the piano when we return home tonight?” he asked, voice rich with warmth, as though he was completely unbothered by my hostility.
I gritted my teeth and didn’t respond. I didn’t feel like making small talk with my captor.
“The piano has been untouched since I lost my mother, but I had it tuned for you,” he continued, rubbing his thumb over my palm. “I’d love to hear you play.”
“I don’t feel like it,” I responded tersely, taking a tiny hit of vindictive pleasure in denying him. I played the piano to calm my mind, not to perform for others. Especially not for him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
I thought of how Luca had commanded me to dance for him when he’d gifted me with the ballet studio at our home. Longing tugged at my heart. Yes, I could’ve made a home with him there. We were meant to be a family.
I straightened my spine. Once we were free and Dante was dead, we would fulfil that dream.
The monster caressed my hand again. “It doesn’t have to be this way between us,” he said for what felt like the dozenth time. He kept trying to tell me that I could make a home with him, not Luca.
He was insane.
“As long as you’re torturing Luca and me, it can’t be any other way,” I shot back.
Some part of me registered that I no longer feared a beating if I spoke out against him. Dante hurt me for his own pleasure, but he didn’t lash out in anger.
His jaw firmed. “I’m only torturing Luca,” he insisted. “I’m giving you what you secretly desire. You just don’t want to accept that. Luca deserves to suffer. He—”
Pain exploded through my skull as something smashed into my head. I reeled to the side, and my seatbelt burned my chest, driving the air from my lungs. The world spun, and I floated a few inches above my seat before the belt caught me, digging deeper between my breasts and crushing down on my sternum.
Metal screeched, and my brain rattled at one final impact.
“Nora!” Dante’s voice was faint beneath the ringing in my ears.
I blinked slowly, my brain struggling to understand what was happening. The side airbag deflated to my right, blocking my view out the window. Dazed, I stared forward, distantly noting the way the front of the SUV had buckled around the tree.
“Nora!” Dante’s shout was clearer this time, closer. His big hands cupped my cheeks, carefully turning my face to look at me.
Something like fear flashed over his shockingly green eyes as he studied me, his intense gaze raking over each of my features.
“Are you hurt?” I could barely hear him over the tinny sound that threaded through my skull.
Before I could gather my thoughts to formulate a reply, a deafening bang resounded through the SUV. Dante cursed and quickly unbuckled my seatbelt, throwing his body atop mine.
“The SUV is bulletproof,” he reassured me, hands roving over me to check for injuries.
He raised his voice to address the driver. “Get us out of here!”
“Can’t,” the man grunted in reply, voice slurred from the disorienting impact. “It won’t move.”
Another bang as a bullet smashed into the armored vehicle, the sound drawing a soft cry from my aching chest. Dante’s body lowered over mine, almost suffocating me with his weight.
Gunshots rang out, rending the quiet country air with sharp reports. They must’ve been waiting for us only a few miles down the road from the estate.
“Russian motherfuckers,” Dante muttered, cursing his enemies.
Ice frosted my skin, and I shuddered.