Page 14 of Savage Heart

Stuffing his hand into my hair, he tugs my head back hard, bringing tears to my eyes. “Not yet. All in good time. Now behave yourself, Sienna, or your brother will be the least of your problems.”

Lucius releases his hold on my hair, but not until he yanks my head back one more time. As he turns to leave the room, I ask, “What did you do to Trent? Where is he?”

Without looking back at me, he answers, “Trent did the job he was hired for, and now he’s enjoying some well-earned time off.”

Job he was hired for? What does that mean?

“What are you saying?”

He chuckles low and deep and spins around to face me. “What it means is he had one job, and he did that job well. Didn’t you ever wonder how he seemed to appear out of nowhere, Sienna? One day Trent Michaels doesn’t exist, and the next, he’s the perfect man who’s madly in love with you? That never set off any alarm bells? Come on, now. You’re a Rossetti. You should have known better than to trust a perfect stranger like that. You had to know we’d be coming to get you. You were never going to live some happily ever after life in America. Trent was there to make sure when the time came that you returned to where you belong. Welcome home, Sienna.”

Home? As in Italy? My brother and this goon of his brought me back here? Why? What good could I serve Matteo now?

I don’t bother to ask Lucius since I highly doubt he’ll give me any straight answers. I’ll wait until I see that son of a bitch of a half-brother of mine to ask my questions. For now, all I want to do is cry at the news that Trent turned out to be as suspicious as Alaric said he was.

But this asshole standing in front of me won’t get the pleasure of seeing my tears. He’s right. I need to keep in mind just who the hell I am.

I’m Sienna Rossetti, and I’ve done this whole kidnapping and tied to a chair thing before. I got out then, and I’ll get out now.

As the door to the room closes, I tilt my head back and take a deep breath. Alaric, wherever you are, come find me and help me fuck these bastards up for thinking they should take me from my happy life.

I can only hope our time together isn’t over yet.

CHAPTER FIVE

Alaric

After a long trip back to the island, I sit on the edge of my bed and roll my shoulders to release the tension. Another job done and now my time is my own. That’s why I like this deal I have with Helix. While his other men are sent out on assignments when he gets a request to take care of someone, I only kill for him.

Thankfully, there aren’t many people in this world he wants to disappear.

I reach into my pants pocket and touch Sienna’s gold cross. Closing my eyes, I try to imagine what she’s doing right now. Late afternoon on a Sunday. She’s probably hanging out with her friends. Maybe heading into town to go shopping.

Or maybe she’s with that asshole boyfriend of hers. Trent. That’s a douchebag name if I’ve ever heard one.

Before last night, it had been months since I last got up there to check on her. Even though Helix has his guys watching her, I like seeing for myself that she’s okay.

She looked different than the woman I knew in Italy. She’s still the same Sienna, though.

The time before last night, she almost caught me following her when she and her friends went to Little Italy in New Haven. I got too close, and I think she caught a glimpse of me before I ducked into a pizza place. I watched through the glass window of that restaurant as she looked around like she knew she was being spied on and wondered if she thought it might be me.

As much as I hated being back in Connecticut, I loved being so close to her. It was sheer torture not being able to talk to her and hear her voice again, but that’s not something I can do.

Or should even want to do. Not with who I am and what my life is like.

Sliding her cross out of my pocket, I place it in the center of my palm and study it. The gold looks duller than usual today. Probably too much rubbing against my thigh since I had to do so much goddamned walking to find that guy last night.

I lift it up and brush it against my shirt right over my heart before studying it again to see if it shines like it should. A glint of light from the late afternoon sun outside hits it, and I smile. As good as when she gave it to me.

The necklace she wore it on broke just a few months after that night in the villa, but I always carry this cross with me. It’s like I get to have part of her with me at all times.

Sentimental and stupid. That’s all it probably is. Still, every morning when I wake up, I look for the gold cross on my dresser as I’m getting dressed.

I slide it into my pocket and lean back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling in my room. I should have made sure I stayed to go to her graduation. I’ve known for months when it will be held.

No, that’s not something I should do. I don’t belong nearby on her big day. She deserves to enjoy her moment without wondering if someone’s watching from the bushes, and as much as I can follow anyone else in the world without having them know, I want to get too close to her. That makes me sloppy.

I smile at the thought of her in her cap and gown looking beautiful and accomplished surrounded by all the other Yale graduates. Congratulations, Sienna. You did it.

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