Page 34 of Stolen Union

“What?” Lara asks.

“It’s the truth. And I know you’re going to call them the second we leave. But please, understand I want to be with him.”

“This is Stockholm syndrome,” Caterina mutters.

“No, it’s not,” she says. “I wanted to be with Dante even before he interrupted my wedding to Antonio. Just give us a head start?”

“You know I can’t do that,” Lara says, pulling out her phone.

“We need to go,” she tells me. “You’re not going to hurt them. Let’s just leave.”

I sigh and nod once. “Let’s go.” Together, we hurry out of the restaurant, leaving my sisters-in-law behind.

I want to know what they were doing there. I want to know how they found us. But I know I don’t have time for those questions. If Gabriella and I want to be together, we must leave again. And I’m unsure how often we can leave before Gabriella gets tired of it.

And that terrifies me.

CHAPTER 17

Gabriella

“Where are we going?” I ask Dante as we get in the car and speed off. “Back to the safe house?”

“Yes. Hopefully, they won’t find it. I don’t have any other place lined up, and I need a spot where I can defend myself.”

I stare at him. “You mean in case my brothers find you? You’re preparing for a shootout, aren’t you?”

“If it comes to that, yes.” He grips the wheel so tightly it makes his knuckles whiten. “How did they find us there?”

“I think it was an accident.”

“There are no accidents when your brothers are looking for me, and their wives just happen to show up at the one restaurant we decided to eat at.”

“But why?” I ask while I hold onto the door handle. Dante is driving fast and swerving around cars to get away. “Why send my sisters-in-law? My brothers would do anything to protect them. They wouldn’t send them to confront you.”

He lets out a slow sigh. “You’re right.”

“I know I’m right. It was an accident. Maybe they were taking a vacation out of the city and just happened to be there right at the same time. It was bad luck, but it was an accident. I don’t think my brothers know where you are.”

“They will soon. Your sisters saw us. There’s no way they won’t tell their husbands.”

I slump back into my seat. “I know. You’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” he says, flashing me a small smile, which makes me smile in return.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to go back to the safe house and wait. It’s defensible.”

“I don’t want you to die,” I admit in a soft voice.

Dante looks at me with surprise before returning his eyes back onto the road. “I don’t want to die either.”

After we reach the safe house and hurry inside, Dante barricades the door with the couch. He locks every window, then covers them. Then, he grabs a rifle from the closet and places it on the kitchen table.

“Just in case,” he says when he catches my eyes.

“Well, just in case you don’t survive this, I want you to kiss me again.”

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