Page 8 of Stolen Union

“Well, I just did.”

I lean in until our faces are inches apart. She gulps but doesn’t back away. “You’re playing with fire, Gabriella. Don’t taunt me. You might not like what I take from you.”

“You’re not going to take anything from me.”

“Oh, yeah? How do you know? You think you know what kind of man I am, but you don’t. Not really. I’m dangerous. I just took you away from your wedding in a blaze of gun fire. Don’t mess with me, Gabriella.”

“Is that a warning?”

“It’s a promise.”

Her eyes widen a fraction before her features smooth over into her usual arrogant expression. “Well, I’ll make a promise of my own. You kidnapped the wrong girl, Dante. I’m going to make you wish you never took me in the first place. You’ll be begging my brothers to take me back.”

“I doubt that. But it’s cute you’re trying.”

She huffs. But before she can say anything more, the car stops.

“Oh, look,” I say. “We’re here.”

“Here?”

“Your new home for the foreseeable future. A place your brothers will never find. It will be just you and me, Gabriella. Might as well start getting used to it.” I open the door and jump down. Gabriella is sitting in the van like she’s a princess—her head held back, knees pressed together, and hands clasped in her lap. She’s the picture of vanity.

She thinks she owns the world. I’m going to show her she’s nothing. I’m going to bring the Italian Mafia princess to her knees, and no one can stop me. Not her brothers. Not even Gabriella herself.

She will be mine, and then, I’ll rule this world with her at my side.

CHAPTER 3

Gabriella

Iremain seated in the van. Dante can drag me out if he wants, but I’m not moving just so I can be locked up in some house that will be my prison for however long it takes my brothers to find me. And I know they’ll find me. I’m counting on it.

Dante turns around to look at me. “Are you coming?”

“No. I’m good where I’m at.” I shift in my seat, trying to get more comfortable.

Dante narrows his eyes. “You know I’m just going to drag you out of there if you don’t come.”

“I figured as much. But then I thought about it and realized I have no desire to do what you want me to do, so I’m staying put.”

“Fine.” He shrugs. “Stay in the van for all I care.” He shuts the door, surprising me. I glance at the empty front seat. The driver had already got out. I could make my escape this very second.

I lunge for the driver’s seat, but then I see … the keys are gone. Damn it. Of course, they are. Dante wouldn’t let me stay in here if I could escape. And I have no clue how to hotwire a car. My brothers know, but they never taught me. Rocco didn’t think it would be appropriate for me to learn. Massimo tried teaching me, but then Rocco caught us and scolded us. After that, Rocco kept me even more under lock and key.

I sigh and slump down in the driver’s seat. I take a moment of quiet to look around at my surroundings. We’re in the woods; that’s obvious from all the trees. Glancing to my right, I see a small little cabin. Looking to my left, I see nothing but a long stretch of road. Who knows how many miles that is? There are no other houses in sight. There’s nowhere for me to go.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.

I get out of the van and take off running down the road. Looking back, no one is chasing me, which worries me. How far is this road that Dante isn’t worried about me escaping? We’re clearly nowhere near the city any longer. We’re in the rural areas of New York, which I’m unfamiliar with. I’m a city girl. The concrete jungle is my home. The woods … not so much.

But I’m not going to stop, so I keep running.

And I keep running.

Then, I start walking when I get tired of running.

And then, I eventually give up and sit on the side of the road, if you can even call the stretch of dirt a road. My wedding dress is dirty, which sucks because it was the only part of my wedding I was actually happy about. Now it’s getting dark and colder outside.

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