Page 12 of His to Claim

If my brothers can somehow figure out where I am then maybe they’ll see my mask laying on the sidewalk. It’s probably a longshot, but there’s always the possibility. And right now, I need some luck on my side and to remain positive.

The house is dark and dirty-looking with several boarded-up windows. It’s clearly abandoned, maybe even a drug house, and I squint against the gloominess, my eyes slowly adjusting. We walk inside and a musty smell hangs in the air and I wrinkle my nose. I also catch the unpleasant scent of something that’s been decaying for a while. Probably a mouse or rat lost in the walls or under the slanted floorboards.

The thugs cart me into a side room on the first floor and Ghost shoves me down into a wooden chair. Jester binds my hands to the chair’s arms with zip ties and I try not to let panic consume me. Forcing myself to remain cool and in control, ready to seize any opportunity to escape that might prevent itself, I focus on calming and slowing my breathing.

“I’ll let Gallo know we’re here,” Ghostface says and walks out.

My heart falls. I should’ve known Carmine Gallo was behind this, but I didn’t connect the dots. Miceli and my brothers had warned us all about Gallo, and after Angelo and Blake’s dealings with the man and his mansion burning down, I should’ve been more alert. More careful.

But, no, I was too consumed by lust for a man whose name I don’t even know and will never see again.

So stupid, Lottie,I scold myself, pulling against the zip ties. I was so eager to fall in love that I wasn’t paying enough attention to my surroundings. To be fair, though, I hardly expected to be abducted from the hotel when there were so many people around.

Not outside, though, I remind myself. For the briefest moment, I wonder if the masked stranger was a part of my abduction. Did he purposely lure me outside and away from the rest of the guests? I suppose it’s a possibility, bt=ut one that I don’t want to think about too hard. Because I briefly allowed myself to trust a man again—and if he is the reason for my current situation, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust anyone ever again.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Carlotta Rossi,” Gallo says, walking into the room. He looks so damn smug that I want to punch him.

“Are you crazy? You can’t just kidnap me!” I exclaim.

“Really? Because I think I just did,” he states arrogantly.

He comes right up to me, grabs my chin and snaps it up, forcing me to look into his fleshy face, twisted in anger. Gritting my teeth, I return his stare with all of the defiance I can muster, but cold fear trickles through my veins. He has a crazed, wide-eyed look that makes me shiver.

“You better shake, Carlotta, because I have plans for you. Plans you will not like, but things that must be done to teach your family a lesson.”

“My family didn’t do anything to you,” I tell him.

“So naive. You have no idea what you’re talking about. They’re the reason I haven’t been invited to join the other mafia families, they’re the reason I was put on the Kill List and hunted down by crazed bounty hunters and they’re the reason my mansion burned to the ground. I will have my revenge,” he seethes.

I squirm in the chair and he snaps my face to the side.

“I’m going to destroy your family…starting with you.”

Oh, God.I do my best not to show fear, but it’s getting harder and harder. Miceli knows I’m in trouble, but how will he find me? That asshole tossed my phone out the car window.

Gallo is deranged. I need to escape fast and I know time is of the essence.

But how?

You’re on your own, Lottie. Time to figure it out.

6

ARCHER

The water flows softly in the fountain beside me and I look down at the two glasses of champagne I’m holding and frown.God, I’m a sucker.Setting them down on a nearby side table a little too hard, the glass clinks.

I’m annoyed as I turn around and look back toward the party. Is she still in there? Maybe out on the dance floor with a new partner? Clearly, making it out here to meet me wasn’t a priority for her. I certainly arrived in a timely fashion and more eager than a fucking schoolboy.

So pathetic.

Is she with someone else?

A strange wave of possessiveness washes over me and I’m not used to feeling like this. In fact, I don’t like it at all. The urge to storm back inside and hunt her down fills me and I take a step toward the door when a sound snags my attention. Almost like a scuffling sound.

“No! Please!” a woman cries out.

Spinning around, I squint through the trees and see a flash of red and white. Without a doubt, I know it’s my Queen of Hearts…and I have a sinking feeling she’s in trouble. I take off running, yanking my mask off and tossing it as I race toward the back of the property. After pushing through the rear gate, I wind up in the alley just in time to see the object of my desire get roughly shoved into a black SUV.

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