Page 72 of Beautiful Enemy

With a deep sigh, I hurry down the hallway to the guard. Flirting is not something I’m good at but being a helpless damsel in distress is something I have personal experience with. “I need help! A friend of mine collapsed in the bathroom. Please, I need help!”

The guard takes in my disheveled appearance and gives me a grin that is more sexual than it should be for this moment. “Where did you say?”

“The bathroom! Down there.” I point towards the hallway opposite Dante. Hopefully there really is a bathroom down there.

The guard takes off running, then motions for me to follow. “You need to show me.”

Uneasily, I glance towards the hallway Dante is hiding in, before nodding and following the guard.

We turn down the opposite hallway and I notice Dante sneaks out from the other one, heading towards the back exit.

When the guard’s back is to me, I quickly run after Dante.

He slumps against the door and tries to open it but he’s too weak. “I need help,” he admits.

“It’s going to set off an alarm if we open it.”

“We don’t have time, Nadia. That guard will realize you’re not behind him in a matter of seconds.”

Dante’s right. There’s no more time to waste.

I shove open the door, setting off an alarm, and alerting the guard to us. He comes running back down the hallway, yelling at us to stop but Dante and I are already outside.

“He’s following us,” I say, looking over my shoulder.

“Then we keep moving.” But Dante is getting slower and slower by the moment. His skin has become ashen and is no longer its beautiful tan color.

“Where?”

“To my car.”

“Your car is on the other side of the museum.”

He shakes his head. “I always have a backup car. Matteo will be waiting around here somewhere. I always have a backup plan just in case.”

“You knew Erik would spot you. You knew he’d tried to keep you there.”

“I did. I just happened to luck out.” He stumbles to a stop. “There.” A car is nestled between two alleyways. Matteo is in the driver’s seat.

I start to run for the car but Dante doesn’t. Instead, he ends up falling right to the ground, face first.

“Dante.” I rush to his side. The guard is running right towards us. “If you don’t want to get caught, then you need to get up right now.”

He tries to push himself up but slumps right back to the ground.

“You’re Dante Moretti. You’re fearsome. People are terrified of you. You can’t give up now.”

“This is your chance to run,” he grunts. “Why aren’t you taking it?”

I could let the guard catch us. He would deliver Dante to Erik and Erik would kill him and I’ll be reunited with Anya. I would be safe.

Until my father tries to get me back. He’ll always be breathing down my neck.

And after what I’ve experienced with Dante, I’m not sure I could handle being with Viktor. Dante has changed me whether I like it or not.

I make my decision.

“Matteo!” I wave my arms around, trying to get his attention. “Matteo!”

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