But she hadn’t been given much of a choice.
Ever since her father called Violet to the Gallucci mansion three days prior, he had refused both her and her brother’s requests to leave. It wasn’t often that it happened—a situation where Alberto locked his family in just to be safe, but this was one of those times.
She knew it had to do with the attack, the Russians, and what might come of it.
Alberto had said nothing except, “Just to be careful.”
That was it.
He didn’t offer anything else, and he refused to explain to Violet why she had to miss classes. She couldn’t even have a driver take her off of the Gallucci property.
But if it was a matter of safety, then she chose not to argue.
Almost daily, she did stare at the contact on her phone for Kaz, considering making a call or sending him a message. But given how someone was always around—her father, Carmine, her mother, or even one of Alberto’s men—she didn’t feel safe doing so.
Anyone could pick up her phone and despite it being locked, messages still flashed on the screen. She didn’t want to take the risk.
Standing from the bench, Violet pulled on Olly’s collar to make him turn around and follow her back to the mansion. He refused to budge, still pointed in the other direction.
“Time to go back to the house,” Violet told the dog. “Come on, Olly.”
The dog’s ear flicked.
Carmine had been absent from the mansion for the better part of the morning, and Alberto hadn’t given much of an answer as to why or where her brother was. He’d simply said that Carmine was around, and had business to attend to. Apparently, that business had lasted for most of the day.
Because Violet had been stuck entertaining the asshole’s dog all damn morning and afternoon.
“Olly,” Violet muttered, tugging lightly on his collar again. “Aren’t you hungry?”
At the mention of food, Olly would usually run straight for his bowls, wherever they may be. Violet didn’t even get an ear flick out of him for that one.
Then, the dog’s head picked up higher, like he had heard something farther beyond in the pathways. She supposed he could have, knowing the dog had far better hearing than she did. But Alberto had been clear when she said she was going for a walk.
Stay on the stone walkways. Not beyond.
After a certain point in the woods, the pathways turned to dirt instead of stone. There were a couple of small cabins toward the back of the property that they sometimes used for parties in the summer and things like that, but it was too cold for anyone to be in them now.
Olly lurched forward with a bark, and Violet went with him, her hand slipping out of his collar just at the last second. It saved her from taking a tumble to the ground, but barely.
“Olly!”
Her shout did nothing. The dog was already gone.
Cursing under her breath, Violet righted her jacket and jogged after the dog. She wasn’t going to put up with Carmine’s nonsense if she lost his dog because it wouldn’t listen to her.
Before she knew it, her sneakers crunched on dirt as she called out for the dog again. It would be a good half hour, maybe even a forty-five minute, walk back to the mansion from where she was now.
And she had already gone too far, so there was no point in turning back now.
Violet had just caught a flash of beige fur when she noticed that the lights to one of the cabins were on, making her pause. Normally Alberto would have told her if anyone was staying in them, and since they were supposed to be empty, she didn’t think twice about going up to the door, ready to knock.
But something made her pause … Instead of knocking as she had planned to do, she walked around the side, peeking through the windows there. The furniture was still covered in sheets, the place empty of anyone as far as she could see, but even still, that feeling of unease didn’t fade.
She was almost to the back of the cabin when she finally found Olly standing next to the small, rectangular window that looked into the basement. She hissed a command for him to stay, not raising her voice above a whisper, but it didn’t matter, Olly wasn’t moving. Whatever had made him run off was there in the basement, it seemed.
Getting a firm grip on his collar this time—she didn’t need him running off again—her curiosity got the best of her as she crouched down to see whatever it was that held his attention.
Carmine was in the room, along with two others that Violet couldn’t make out from where she was standing, but what surprised her the most was that Franco was in the room as well. Except, he wasn’t there by choice.