Page 78 of The Eagle's Vault

He nodded and put out his hand to stop me before we crossed another narrow street. A scooter zipped past us, followed by a white van, which slowed.

I looked around for a traffic sign or to see which building they were approaching.

It stopped directly in front of us, and the side door rolled open. A huge man bolted forward and threw a hood over my head.

I screa— He clamped a hand over my mouth.

Lifted me.

“No!” yelled Isaac.

Followed by the sound of fist meeting flesh. A pained groan.

I crashed against a floor. Grooved. Rubbery. Cold against my hands and through my shirt.

“Go!” ordered a deep voice.

Something thudded into the van next to me, and the door rolled closed. The van rumbled over cobblestones, too fast.

A pair of hands grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me up.

Ripped the hood off.

“Hello, Leigh Barton.” Oh god. It was the man from the photo Scarlett showed Giovanni. The one with the scar. The one behind Edoardo’s wife’s kidnapping.

And now my kidnapping and—I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, but from the sound of the groaning next to me—Isaac’s kidnapping, too.

“My name is Enzo.” He smiled, sending a layer of dread through my soul. “And I have a vault I need you to open.”

Chapter 30

Declan

TheMercedesspeditsway along the Via Appia Antica, toward our target. Rav sat at the wheel, our lookout and getaway driver for the evening. Next to him, Jayce munched away on a bag of chips. The woman never stopped.

Alone in the back, my hand curled into a fist. My mind raced with memories of what I’d been doing just two hours ago with Leigh. A primal surge claimed me, almost as strong as the one I’d claimed her with.

I’d thought she was mine after I’d sank myself inside her, made her scream my name, but no. Her brother stole her away again. Every time she separated from him, another side of her emerged. A strong and confident side. Just my luck she’d stand up for once and defend him, even after we’d had sex.

And then there were my stupid words. Why did I tell her about the Codex’s case? I’d been so frustrated, I couldn’t keep my suspicions inside anymore. But she wouldn’t even listen to that.

What had I accomplished? I’d pushed away a good woman.

For the second time.

Get a grip, Dec. There’s a job to do. You chose to tell her the truth and she did exactly what you knew she would.

Jayce’s chip munching snapped me back to the moment.

It had irritated the shit out of me for the first two years she’d worked with us. At some point, it became comfortable background noise, but tonight? It was pissing me off again. “Are you almost done with that bag?”

Laughter bubbled in my earpiece. Brie’s giggles were one of our most effective mic checks. “You sound like you’re on edge tonight, Dec.”

“I told you,” said Jayce, around a mouthful of food, “we should have brought Leigh.”

As if that would have improved my mood. Although it would have given me a chance to fix things. She would have seen us all in action and been impressed. Would have seen that sometimes we had to live in theends justify the meansworld.

It wasn’t as if we’d stolen anything from Barton, other than information.

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