Page 45 of Wicked Games of Desire

Ricky pushes the button and forcefully guides me into the elevator, while Maddox quickly joins us, banging the close-door button. I stareback at Ricky as he runs in the same direction Alessandro did. A new fear is taking over me. I can’t bear the idea of something happening to him. To either of them.

“We can’t just leave them here,” I utter, panicked. I don’t know why, I’m supposed to hate them, but the mere possibility of something happening to them terrifies me because I know deep down, I don’t hate them at all.

“They will be fine. For once in your life, just do as we say, will you?”

I give a small nod, not wanting to cause any more trouble for him. I know now’s not the time to argue, but I’m frightened. My body is a trembling mess, covered in the blood of some thug who just tried to grab me. My stomach rolls at the thought.

Like Maddox knows exactly what I’m thinking, he pulls me into his side. “You’re safe with me,” he assures me.

“But are you safe with me?” I mutter into his solid chest, letting his scent calm me. “If it’s me they’re after, I don’t want to think about what they might do to you to get to me.”

Despite his tough demeanor on the outside, Maddox’s genuine concern for me is obvious in his hazel eyes. He actually cares about me. “They won’t find us where we’re going,” he assures me as the elevator comes to a stop. When the door pings open he takes my hand in his, pulling me with him through the door.

I freeze when I realize where we are. The underground cave where I got shot. Suddenly, it feels like all the breath is being strangled from my lungs, and my throbbing head spins, making me feel dizzy, the grimy cave walls blurring. He tugs on my hand, but I can’t force my feet to move. This creepy place was right under us all along.

“It’s okay, temptress,” he assures me, but I’m frozen with fear. Not even the use of his nickname for me can pull me out of this trance.

With the haunting memory of what happened to me last time I was here, mixed with the past trauma from the guns going off upstairs and the explosion, I’m not feeling so good. “I feel weird,” I mutter before my legs go from under me.

Maddox doesn’t skip a beat, scooping me up in his arms and pulling me close into his body before taking off through the cave. The darkness of the tunnels rushes past me in a blur, the scent of damp and decay filling my nostrils as he moves quickly. I cling to him desperately, my fingers digging into his bare back, like he’s some sort of superhero here to save my life. Because right now it feels like he is, and I want him to be.

An Army-style Jeep with dark tinted windows appears out of nowhere, parked in the underground and ready for us to escape in. He opens the passenger side door and sits me inside on the cold leather. I tremble all over, my teeth clattering together as they chatter.

The back of his hand lightly presses to my forehead. “Fuck,” he curses under his breath then rushes to the trunk, retrieving an item. Opening the driver’s side door, he hands me a fluffy blanket. “You’re going into shock. You need to get warm.”

He leans over me and buckles my seatbelt, then tucks the blanket under my legs. His hand comes to my face, and he cups my chin, bringing his lips to mine in a hurried kiss. “You’re going to be okay, temptress,” he tells me as he tears out of the cave entrance. “You’re safe with me.”

Chapter 26

I wrap myself inthe blanket, attempting to soothe the trembling. I’m safe, I tell myself on repeat, trying to get my body’s reaction to the scene back there under control. But I keep seeing the lifeless eyes of that man, the one whose blood is still all over me. My stomach rolls again.

Last night, I thought the worst thing that could happen was being trapped with these guys and forced to marry Alessandro, but now I understand why they keep saying they need to protect me. There is an actual threat outside of their fucked-up trio.

Time blurs as I stare out the window of Maddox’s car. My racing heart settling more and more as the overpopulated streets of Ravens Hollow turn into fields and country homes. Maddox is quiet, dealing with his own tumultuous thoughts. Leaving his brothers behind must have been torture for him. I hardly know them, and I’m torn up about it. I need to know they’re okay.

For the last few minutes, we have been traveling down a long, bumpy gravel road, pine trees lining both sides. The silence is heavybetween us. Every so often, he glances my way. I can feel his concern for me after I totally freaked out back at the cave, but I’m okay now. I’m warming up and feeling safer the farther we drive away. It’s the others I’m anxious about. Why hasn’t one of them called us yet? I would never forgive myself if something happened to one of them while they were trying to protect me.

“They will be okay,” Maddox says, glancing in my direction, like he can read my thoughts.

“Shouldn’t they have called by now?”

He reaches for my hand, squeezing it. “They will call when they can.”

Goosebumps rise over my skin. When they can. “What if whoever was after me got to them and they’re dead?” I whisper, a fresh wave of panic taking off through me.

“Don’t let your thoughts derail.”

“How can you remain so calm after someone shot at you and blew up parts of the house right in front of us?”

He shrugs casually, as if it’s a typical Tuesday for him. I’m curious about how often he’s had to handle a situation similar to what occurred at their house today. The existence of a safe house implies the necessity for it. So, I have to assume it’s happened before.

He brings his Jeep to a halt and turns off the engine. In front of us in the middle of the woods, cradled by some of the tallest pine trees I think I’ve ever seen, is a beautiful, inviting cottage, with cedar-clad walls, a high-pitched roof, and a patio that hugs the left side. Ferns grow around the pebble driveway, their feathery fronds leading a path right to the front door, welcoming me. This place is the polar opposite to their mansion, and even without stepping foot inside, I know I’m going to adore it. I sigh in awe.

Maddox hops out of the car and meets me on my side, opening my door for me while I try to untangle myself from the blanket. He helps me out, and I wrap the blanket around my shoulders, still needing the protective warmth it provides. Especially since I’m still only dressed in Alessandro’s button-up from last night. I try not to notice the bloodstains covering my hands and the shirt sleeves from the man who tried to snatch me. What the hell was he thinking, that he could just snatch me up from right under a Moretti’s watch? He must have had a death wish to even attempt it. Either that or the D’Amicos are getting desperate now that the world knows about Alessandro’s and my engagement. Was that why he announced it so publicly? Was he expecting a violent retaliation like this to happen?

Maddox wraps an arm around me and scoops me up. “What are you doing?” I protest.

“You have no shoes on. The pebbles will cut up your feet.” He gives me a glaring look, as if it should have been clear to me. As we arrive at the patio, he assists me in getting back on my feet.

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