Page 24 of Love Without Control

“Evelyn ‘Evie’ Bouvier is the only daughter of Paul Bouvier.”

My blood stopped flowing through my veins so abruptly, my knees went weak. “The fashion guy?”

“That one. He’s a goddamn billionaire, one of the most well-known people in New York. Hell, the whole damn country. They’ve brought in the Feds, and the media is all over it. Have you even turned on the news?”

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see it. “No. I haven’t exactly had time.”

“Luca saw a press conference last night. I was out, but one of the guards called and told me to get back to the suite because our dear father was on a rampage.”

Fucking hell. Press conferences and a famous family shoved this situation directly into a high-profile nightmare, something Luca Cappitani did his best to avoid.

“What happened?”

“I came back to the hotel, and he was losing his shit. Tore the entire room apart. He swore he would do whatever he had to do to keep this from coming back on him.”

“So he was going to get rid of the evidence,” I added flatly.

“Yeah, I overheard him on the phone with Guido this morning, asking if he’d planteditin the chopper and if he had the timing right. He said he wanted it to blow up off the coast. That’s when I figured out what he was planning. Did you find it?”

“Yep, under one of the seats. It’s on a timer.”

“Shit, bro. This is not good. You’re not safe and neither is Evelyn Bouvier. You need to get the fuck away from her because he’ll be coming for her once that chopper explodes while still on the ground and he realizes she’s still alive.”

The thought of leaving her to fend for herself against the most brutal man I knew turned my stomach. “I’ll talk to Rodrigo and let you know the plan.”

“Okay, brother. Stay safe.”

“I’ll try. I wouldn’t be if you weren’t looking out for me.” My voice clogged with emotion. “Thank you.”

“You’d do the same for me.” His own tone was slightly husky. “Later, Dame.”

“Later, Fi.”

My temples throbbed as I replaced my phone in my pocket. This already horrible situation just took a hard right turn onto shitshow road. I’d thought my father would be after me and me alone when I didn’t show up with hisprize. I thought he’d never know who the hell the girl even was. But now he did know.

And Evie Bouvier was in grave danger.

Steeling my spine, I walked over to the car and plastered a fake-ass smile on my face for Evie’s benefit before opening the door. “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” I told her. “Just need to talk to Rodrigo for a second.”

She frowned but bobbed her head in a nod, fingers twisting nervously at the fabric of her shirt. Hell, I didn’t blame her. There was literally a ticking time bomb less than fifty yards away.

“What is it?” Rod asked when he was out of the car and we’d walked out of hearing distance. As I explained who Evie was and my father’s extreme response to it, his haggard face grew more grim by the second. “Fuck. This is bad, Damiano. He’s never going to let up as long as she’s alive.”

“I know.” Not much more I could add to that.

“I’ve been thinking about what to do, and well… it’s pretty fucking extreme, but with what you just told me, I think it’s our only option.”

“Hit me with it.”

“Luca has to believe we’re all dead. That we blew up in the helicopter over the Gulf of Mexico.”

Those words sank like a sack of stones in my gut. “I’m not going to be able to get Evie back to her family, am I?”

“No, son, you’re not. All of us have to go underground.”

I screwed up my face and scruffed a hand through my hair. “How the hell are we going to fake a helicopter explosion?”

Rodrigo’s lips tipped up on one side. “I’m going to fly it out over the Gulf and…”

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