Page 35 of Savage Heart

Hopelessness fills me, mixing with the sadness I feel about what I just found out about my father. I can't find a way out of this. I burst into tears, covering my face with my hands. I'm going to be trapped in a marriage with this man who’s twice my age.

How am I ever going to do this? The man I love has disappeared, and I'm going to marry Lucius Angeloni. God help me.

I walk back into the room hoping to find any way to escape that fate. There is none. I must accept it. Drying my eyes, I walk over to stand in front of a mirror on the far wall. Jesus, I look like a nightmare in this silver dress. I look like a sad hooker.

And then behind me, I see something move. I spin around and there coming through the door I see Alaric.

I run to him, my ankles threatening to roll in these four-inch heels, thrilled to see him there. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I hold him close to me as I shake in fear that at any moment Lucius will find me standing here with him.

I inhale a deep breath, filling my nose with the smell of his skin. It's musky and sexy and manly, and it makes me smile as my eyes stay closed and he holds me to him.

“Alaric, did you find a way to get me out of here? He's going to come back at any moment. He's talking about me entertaining his guests and being the woman of the house in here, in this bedroom, which looks like some kind of bizarre old man's sex cave. Oh, God. I can't stay here. Did you find a way for us to get out?”

Alaric gently pushes me away from him and nods. “I've got an idea. We're not the only ones who are looking to make sure that Lucius Angeloni doesn't get what he wants tonight.”

I shake my head in confusion. “I don't understand what you mean. We're not the only ones. Are you talking about your cousin Gideon?”

Alaric smiles. “No, there’s someone else here tonight who has plans for Lucius. His name is Alexei Wolfe.”

Quickly, I try to remember if I've ever heard that name before. Alexei Wolfe. No, it doesn't ring any bells.

“Who is he? Is he going to help us?” I ask, searching Alaric’s eyes for any solace from the utter panic that’s settled into every inch of me.

The man I love takes my hands in his and brings them up to his lips to kiss my knuckles. “He's like me,” he explains.

I stare up into his beautiful dark eyes, still confused. “Like you? Do you mean he's like a Rule? He's one of your family?”

Alaric shakes his head again. “No, he's a hitman like me.”

I stare at him, unsure what he's talking about. “A hitman? Is there some kind of union or something you guys all belong to? Are you guys having a meeting here or is this some kind of fraternity you all joined?”

That makes Alaric laugh out loud, and his smile lights up his face. “Not exactly. Our paths cross every so often. Alexei has been in the business a long time, much longer than me. He and his wife live here in Italy, and his daughter was the most recent woman in Lucius Angeloni's life.”

The way he says that makes me concerned that whoever this woman was, she did not fare well in this room and in this house. “Is she dead?” I ask holding back tears. “Did he kill her?”

Sadness fills Alaric’s eyes. “She escaped after he beat her almost to within an inch of her life. Now her father has come back to exact his revenge.”

“So this hitman is here now to kill Lucius tonight?”

Alaric nods. “Yes, so all we need to do is stay out of his way. Someone else can do this job, and I can get you away safe.”

As much as Alaric makes this sound like it's going to be easy, it's not. My brother's going to force me back home if Lucius is dead. “Alaric, there’s no way Matteo will simply be okay with me going back to my life. If he doesn’t marry me off to Lucius tonight, he’ll find someone else. Trust me.”

Alaric wraps his strong arms around me and pulls me to him. “Not if I have anything to say about it. You don't belong here. You belong with me.”

My cheek rests against his chest, and I hear his heartbeat as I think about all that’s happened tonight. Quietly, I tell him what I now know. “Matteo was the one that sent that man to kill me. It wasn't my father. It was my own brother. Lucius just told me that.”

I can't believe my own brother wanted me dead.

Alaric holds me gently in his arms and whispers, “He'll pay for that. I promise Sienna. He'll pay for that.”

Payback and revenge are for another time. Tonight, I just want to escape this terrible place with Alaric and return to my life.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sienna

I slowly walk down the hallway back to the party, dreading the performance I have to give in a few seconds. I don't want to pretend to be the woman of this house. I don't want to pretend that I care about Lucius Angeloni.

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