The Perfect Fit: A stand-alone why choose romance(92)

I raise an eyebrow, needing to maintain some semblance of normalcy and pretend that the world as we know it isn’t about to change forever. “Do they involve me being naked?”

The corners of his mouth turn up. “Always, princess.”

I run my fingers through his thick dark hair. “My favorite kind of plans.”

“You’re going to be late if you keep looking at me like that, Lily.”

I roll my eyes and sigh. “You’re right.” Before I climb out of the car, I kiss him one more time and try not to think about the email that will land in his inbox in a few hours. The same one Xander and Zeke will receive.

The car doesn’t pull away from the curb until I’m safely inside the building, and I stand in the lobby, watching it disappear. I roll back my shoulders, refusing to let fear and anxiety take hold. This is the way it has to be.

I spin around to head to the elevator, but two men in dark suits bar my path. They aren’t familiar to me, but it seems that Carmine didn’t want to waste time sending his best once he learned of my whereabouts.

“Liliana,” the shorter of the two says, sneering.

“No.” I try to push past them, but they block me.

The second one opens his jacket to reveal a pistol. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Liliana. Up to you. But whatever happens, you will be leaving here with us.”

My heart kicks into a gallop. “Is that so?”

The shorter one licks his lips. “He’ll pay us double if we bring you to him alive, but I’d be prepared to take a pay cut to snap your pretty little neck.”

The lobby is already full of people coming to work for the day, and I hope nobody will try to intervene. I need to make sure I don’t draw too much attention while going along with their charade by pretending to be the terrified little girl they’ve been told about. “And you expect me to just come with you? One scream and security will be over here in a heartbeat. You pull that gun out and the cops will be here too. I’m really not sure you’ve thought this plan of yours through.”

The taller one scowls, but the other one merely laughs. “That’s why we have ourselves a little insurance policy.” He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and dials a number.

My stomach rolls violently as we wait for the call to be answered. I know what kind of insurance policy tactics men like Carmine employ. It can’t be West because he just left here. Xander and Zeke are safe at home. Aren’t they? Please God, let them be safe.

“Ah, Sergei,” the goon says, grinning. “Show Liliana what will happen if she doesn’t come home to Vegas to see her Papa.”

He turns the screen and shows me two men tied to chairs, blood streaming down their faces. One has his head held back and a knife at his throat as he struggles against his bindings. “Nico?” I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth. Another face fills the screen, obscuring my view of my brother and his best friend. It’s one of my father’s men, and this one I recognize. He’s been my father’s most trusted soldier for as long as I can remember. “Let them go, Stefano. Please. They’ve done nothing wrong.”

Stefano’s eyes crinkle with amusement. “Come home and they’ll be safe.”

I swallow hard. I always knew this would have to happen one day, didn’t I? And I meant what I said to Ludovica this morning. It’s time to let the world know who Liliana Constantine really is.





Chapter

Sixty-Eight





XANDER


I place my bowl of cereal on my desk and fire up my laptop, ready to work through the hundreds of emails awaiting my attention.

Right as I open my inbox, West calls. “Have you checked your email?”

“Just doing it now. Why?”

“There’s an email from Lily.” The panic in his voice has my hand shaking as I move the mouse to the email that came through six minutes ago. The subject line says I love you.

My finger hovers over the button, but I can’t bring myself to press it. Once I do, it can’t be undone. I can’t unsee whatever she wrote. Anything that makes West sound like he’s been sucker punched in the gut is nothing to joke about. “What does it say?”

“She’s fucking gone, Xander.”

I blink at the screen. “No. What. Where?”

“To see her father, I think. I dropped her at work three hours ago. I watched her walk into the building. She was safe. She was …” He wheezes. “He’ll fucking kill her.”

Fuck, I’ve never heard him like this. “Relax, buddy,” I say as calmly as I can with blood screaming in my ears. “Zeke, get the fuck in here,” I shout. “West, come home. We’ll take the jet and go to her. We can fix this. I promise.”

“Xander, what if he …” He doesn’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t need to.

Being the one to hold him together for a change is completely alien to me, but the fact that he needs me to keep my head calms me. “We’ll get her. Come home.”

Zeke runs into my office. “What is it?”

I nod to my laptop, and he comes to stand beside me. I still haven’t opened her email. “West?”

“I’m on my way.” The line goes dead, and I’m left with a confused-looking Zeke. I turn back to the screen and click on her message.