Page 92 of Savage Prince

“You’ve already said that, and you’ve been overruled.” Serena shoots a scathing glare in my direction. “What other choice do we have? I, for one, refuse to spend the night under the stars at Parco Sempione as you suggested. We can’t use your credit cards, and I don’t have mine. You made me dump my burner phone so I can’t exactly call my family, and I need to find out if Alessandro is okay. We need cash, and I can get that from Santi.”

“Fine,” I hiss as I follow Serena toward the wooden double doors of the courtyard entrance. “But we make it quick, and you don’t give him any details we can avoid.”

“Deal.” She presses her finger to the buzzer, and a moment later a voice crackles across the speaker.

“Hello?”

“Santi, it’s me, Serena.”

“Serena! Girl, where have you been?”

She glances across the quiet street along the outskirts of downtown. “Open up and I’ll tell you.”

A sharp buzz rings out, and the lock clicks open. I reach for the handle but don’t open it all the way. I drop my gaze to meet hers. “You’re sure about this?”

“Yes. Santi was my first friend in Milano. I trust him with my life. And besides, I’m not going to start spilling all your dirty little secrets.” She throws me a wink, andDio, that flirty look has my dick twitching. “I’ll just ask him for a loan, and we’ll be out of here in under an hour.”

I dip my head, knowing I lost this battle long ago. Serena needs to know what happened to her cousin, and she’s right—we need some sort of connection to the outside world. Again, my hand reaches for hers as I tow her inside the walls of the courtyard apartment. Despite the dismal state of our current situation, the fact that she allows me to take her hand brings me a ridiculous amount of satisfaction.

Andmerda, I cannot wait to be alone with her. Which only proves what abastardoI am because I should be more concerned with her cousin’s wellbeing. If he’s dead, she’ll be devastated. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Serena Valentino, it’s that her family means everything to her.

The door to her friend’s apartment swings open, and a tall male fills the doorway. I bristle at the sight of the attractive young man who reaches for Serena, her eyes lighting up at his appearance. She never mentioned how good looking he was…

“Eeek!” he squeals, jerking her into his arms.

But I keep a firm grip on Serena’s hand, keeping their bodies far from flush. Her head spins at me as she tries to shake free of my hold. “Um, let go, please,” she hisses as she struggles to hug her friend with one arm.

“No,” I snarl through clenched teeth.

“What do you think is going to happen if you let go of my hand?” she bites back, keeping a forced smile firmly in place.

Santiago glances between the two of us, his brows nearly reaching his hairline as he watches the show. “Oh, my, goddess, this is where you disappeared to? You’ve been shacking up with a hot Italian daddy?”

“Excuse me?” I growl. I’m not that much fucking older than she is.

“Relax, daddy.” Serena throws me a shit-eating grin, her palm resting on my chest before she turns back to her friend. “Yes, I’ve been with Toni for the past few weeks.” She cups my cheek, staring into my eyes like she means it. “It all happened really fast, and it’s been super intense.”

“Well, come in, come in, and tell me all about it.”

Serena squeezes my hand, and I follow her through the entryway. Unease flickers in my gut, but I ignore it, reminding myself we’re not walking into the home of a rival family, but rather simply a friend of Serena’s. It’s been so long since I’ve lived beyond the chaos of our dark world, it’s easy to forget how to behave with a civilian.

“We don’t have much time, Santi,” Serena rattles on as he leads us to the sitting room. “We’re kind of in a rush to catch a train.”

“A train to where?”

“The Amalfi coast, of course.” She grins at me adoringly. “It’s a long story, butPapàturned off all my credit cards. He doesn’t approve of the measly age gap between Toni and me. And this poor guy had his identity stolen so all of his cards are blocked. It’s just been a nightmare.”

I watch in absolute awe as she spouts out a story with incredible details that has me buying into our tragic Romeo and Juliet tale.

“So basically, if you could just lend me a few hundred bucks to get down there, I’ll owe you big time and I promise to pay you back by next week the latest. Toni’s got family down south that will fund the rest of our trip. He’s just too proud to ask for help…”

Santiago watches her wide eyed, mirroring my own expression.

“I’m good for the money, you know that. I just don’t want my father harassing you if I schedule a transfer from my trust. He’s desperate to find us, and I want him to sweat it out a little longer.”

“You are a devious little thing.” Santiago smirks. “Of course I’ll lend you the money. You just have to promise you won’t ghost me like that again.”

“Never. I’ll get a new phone, and I promise to text you.” She runs her finger across her chest in the sign of the cross.

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