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.
Hi guys.
Have I ever told you how much I love you? I’m pretty sure I have, but I’ll say it here, in black and white for all eternity, I love you! All of you. Like I could never choose between any of you, and I’m super glad （and lucky） that I don’t have to. You have made me feel a happiness that I never could have dreamed possible for myself. You made me envision a future that I never could before. I had one goal, and that was to be a writer, but now I have so many dreams and goals, and they all involve you.