Page 142 of Kissing the Villain

He turned his head toward the door. “You shouldn’t keep your friend waiting.”

I tugged on his silky tie, forcing him to look at me. His hand fell to my waist, and silence passed between us.

“Marcello, please. This is driving me crazy. Why is he ignoring me?”

He dropped his hand and sighed. “Stop asking questions. You don’t want the answers to them.”

Then, he walked out of my office, shattering my heart into pieces.

Lunch with Kaliwas my only indulgence since I’d arrived in Devil’s Creek. The one thing none of the Salvatores denied me. We went to Blue Moon Cafe, a high-end restaurant in town. Kali chose a private booth in the corner, right by the window, where I could see Marcello sitting in his car.

“Are you ready to meet the Devil’s Creek Belles?” Kali asked. “It’s your birthright to be our leader.”

I rolled my eyes. “The thought of spending time with Blair makes being drugged and locked in my bedroom sound like fun.”

Kali sipped from a straw, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Who drugged you?”

“Marcello did my second night in Devil’s Creek.”

She set her drink on the table and gasped. “Oh, my God. What an asshole! Why did he do that?”

“I thought I told you about that.”

Kali shook her head.

“I tried to run from Wellington Manor and didn’t know Marcello was waiting for me across the street.”

Her mouth widened. “Girl, you have some balls on you.”

“I wanted out of here so bad. I still do. But I’m not going anywhere until I find out what happened to my brother.”

“I wish I knew.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward on her elbows. “The Salvatores guard their secrets.”

“Someone is always with me. I’m not even allowed to paint alone. And Luca… He hasn’t been around for days. I have no way to leave. My phone only allows me to dial programmed numbers without Internet access. I’m completely at their mercy.”

Kali pressed her lips together and glanced over her shoulder and around the crowded restaurant. “I wouldn’t bother trying to run from their estate. It’s more guarded than Fort Knox.”

“How did you get past them when you ran away?”

“You need to get into town,” she said in a hushed tone. “Founders Way has too many cameras. Even The Hills is heavily guarded.”

“How did you hide for so long?”

“Drake hadn’t developed his artificial intelligence technology back then. I’m also not from one of the founding families. No one missed me.”

“Damian and Bastian must have missed you to send Marcello.”

She rolled her shoulders against the booth. “I wish Marcello had left me in France. I was happy there. I begged him to tell his brothers he couldn’t find me, but he’s loyal to his family.”

“I have to tell you something. You might not like it.” Biting my bottom lip, I looked across the table at her. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

A crooked grin tugged at her mouth. “Damian told me about you and Marcello outside of his bedroom.”

I covered my face with my hands and laughed. “I didn’t know.”

She chuckled, not the least bit embarrassed. “You thought Luca was with another woman.”

“At first, yeah. Damian barely looks at me, let alone speaks. No one told me his bedroom is on the same floor as mine.”

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