Page 41 of Wicked Heiress

Asshole.

We still weren’t friends, but I hated him less. He had been good to Grace, so maybe all my worrying about him trying to hurt her was for nothing.

“Why would someone kidnap my cousin’s girlfriend?” Grace asked, her top lip quivering.

“There’s an online auction,” I explained. “Men are bidding on Alex. If we don’t find her in time, she’ll be sold to the highest bidder. These men are dangerous. They’re using her to hurt the Salvatore brothers.”

“Will they come after me, too?” Grace’s voice shook as we exited the bedroom.

“No,” I said in a calm tone. “But we have to take precautions. We can’t be sure who is working with whom. The Sicilians don’t like the Russians, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t joined forces against a common enemy.”

“The Knights,” she whispered.

I nodded.

Grace didn’t know everything about her past life. But she knew Viktor Romanov was a terrorist. She came from a powerful family with money, connections, and no morals. They would do anything to get her back.

We rushed out of the apartment and downstairs to meet Sonny at the curb. He waited in the SUV, tapping his fingers on the leather steering wheel.

I helped Grace into the back seat, and Rhys got in on the other side, clutching her thigh with possession.

“Are the Russians gone?” I asked Sonny as we left the parking lot of the apartment complex.

“We scared them off earlier,” he said with his eyes on the road. “They probably won’t come back again today. But we have other enemies to concern ourselves with.” He shook his head and sighed. “The Sicilians? I can’t believe I’ve been helping those pieces of shit move illegal goods with Mac Corp containers.”

Sonny sped through Beacon Bay and into Devil’s Creek, flooring the gas up the steep incline into the subdivision called The Hills. He nodded at the guard who operated the gate that separated the other residents from Founders Way.

The gate opened for us, and Sonny continued in silence. He greeted the next set of guards at the Salvatore Estate, who carried machine guns and dressed in battle gear.

“Cole,” Grace said as we parked next to the garage with a dozen other cars belonging to Knights. “Should I be afraid?”

I paused briefly, considering whether I should answer diplomatically or truthfully. The truth wouldn’t do her any favors.

“Not as long as I’m alive.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

GRACE

The Salvatore brothers lived on a sprawling compound with an incredible bay view. The main house looked like a medieval castle. They had several guest houses on the property, including an infinity pool, which appeared to be spilling into the bay.

This place was unreal.

A large, covered veranda stretched across the back of the mansion. The sheer size of the house, combined with the stunning view, was impressive. It looked like a resort, not someone’s home.

Cole led me to the helipad, where at least twenty men gathered on the blacktop. They wore suits and stern expressions that made them look even more intimidating. Guards lined the perimeter with machine guns in their hands.

I instantly recognized Drake Battle, Cole’s cousin. He was a hacker and the brains behind the technology at Battle Industries. A real-life Batman and just as handsome.

Drake stood at the center of the circle, an iPad in his hand, with four other men gathered around him. They leaned over his shoulders to watch a video playing on the screen.

“They stole their own container,” Luca Salvatore said.

Luca and Marcello could have been twins with the same black hair and angular jaws. Luca wore his hair spiked in the front, while Marcello’s was longer and messy like he’d been tugging at the ends.

Both tall and well over six feet, Marcello had the build of an athlete, while Luca was lean but muscular. Expensive black suits fit them so well the fabric molded to their bodies.

Two more men stood next to them, one with hair as black as a raven’s feathers and the palest skin I had ever seen. His lips were so red it appeared as if he had drunk blood. The man beside him had dark caramel hair and gray eyes.

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