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.
That is why I can’t allow you to go up against Carmine for me. There are still some things you don’t know. Things that would put you in too much danger if you did. So let me deal with this, and then I can come back home to you all and tell you the whole truth. Every single secret. The ones that I’ve kept for far too long, the reason I’ve been a target for Carmine’s hatred since the day I was born.
Please don’t worry about me. I have more allies than you know, and I have a pretty solid right hook. I’ll be home soon. I need to do this alone, so please don’t come after me. I’ll be back before you even have a chance to miss me. And if I’m not, know that you three are the only men who will ever have my heart. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth, but you’ve always known the most important truth I possess—I love you.
Always and forever, your Lily xxx
My heart drops to the ground.
Zeke lets out an animalistic howl. “She went after him?”
I can only nod. Glancing between him and the email, I wonder what the hell she was thinking. Although I want to be angry with her for doing it, I should have known that she’d never let West and Zeke put themselves at risk for her. She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever met in my life.
Zeke sums up the situation with one succinct sentence. “Goddamn it all to hell.”
Chapter
Sixty-Nine
ZEKE
An indescribable rage, the likes of which I haven’t felt for a very long time, courses through my veins like blood. Every cell in my body simmers with it, making every single move I make feel a thousand times more difficult than it actually is.
Closing my eyes, I grip the edge of the desk. My knuckles turn white. It might just be the only thing holding me up.
“Zeke?” Xander’s voice comes from a distance. I can’t focus on him. All I can think about is how she’s walking into the lion’s den; all I can feel is acute fear that I won’t be able to save her.
His warm hand grips the back of my neck, grounding me.
I focus on his bright blue eyes that are filled with the same anguish I’m sure must be in mine. I swallow down all the emotion desperate to pour out of me. “I’m here.”
“We need to think. Find out where she went and get to her as quickly as possible. West is on his way here.”
I mentally check off the things we need to do. I know people in Vegas, people who can get me access to as many weapons as we need. I’ll blow that motherfucker and his entire empire to pieces if necessary. “Make sure the jet is ready to go as soon as possible.” Xander already has his phone in his hand, and he nods. “Check in with her office too. See what time she left. That will give us an idea of how far ahead she is.” He nods again.
Redirecting his attention to me, I grip his face, if only to stop my hands from shaking. “I’m going to make some calls. As soon as West gets here, we’ll be ready to go.”
By the time West gets to the penthouse, I’ve arranged for a small arsenal of weapons to be at our disposal when we land at LAS. He comes straight to my office with Xander close behind him.