Page 53 of Knot Letting Go

We exited into the hall. I mentally screamed for Talis and Levi to look our way, to notice that it was me in the bulky jacket and sunglasses. Because I knew if we left the building, if the kidnapper took us someplace else, we were screwed. Lorenzo wouldn’t kill his own granddaughter, but her life would be miserable. I couldn’t let him have her.

And me, I was inconsequential. I was dead.

Or worse, merchandise to be sold off to the highest bidder.

The brunette poked my side with the muzzle of the gun hidden now in her jacket pocket. My tears came faster as we walked to the other end of the hall and then down a curving ramp which led to the front entrance. No one looked twice at us.

We went out the front doors and walked down the ramp to the parking lot. My gaze darted desperately around for a security guard or anyone that I might try to give a subtle sign that I needed help. All I saw were tired parents and grandparents with energized kids.

“Keep moving.” The kidnapper poked me again, hard enough it would leave a bruise. “Go to the far end of the lot.”

A large family group came toward us. If I pushed Lillianna into them, there was a chance she’d get away. I’d be shot, but Lillianna… Would then be alone. The stranger could still grab Lillianna and run off with her. Wherever we were going, I had to be there for Lillianna. She was terrified of being abandoned, and she needed me now more than ever.

I had to be strong. I couldn’t let anyone see me freaking out, especially not Lillianna. But inside, oh God, I was screaming with terror.

A black Sedan with blacked out windows pulled slowly into the far corner of the lot. The kidnapper gave me a shove. “Get the girl out and get into the car with her.”

I said nothing to her, didn’t even look her way. Bending over, I removed the blankets from Lillianna who stared at me with teary eyes. I picked her up and let her wrap her arms and legs around me before turning to open the car door.

When I sat inside with her, the stranger immediately shut the door behind us. The sound of the locks triggering sent a wave of fear through me. But not as much as the sight of Lorenzo sitting on the seat opposite of us.

Lorenzo was dressed more casually than he had been on the beach, but he still held himself like the master of all Alphas. Danger rolled off him, even when his thin lips curled up in a smile. He didn’t reach for Lillianna, thankfully, but tapped the glass separating the back of the car with the front, and the vehicle glided forward to the parking lot’s exit.

“Now, now,mia piccola tesoro, you needn’t hide from me. There’s nothing for you to fear here.”

I didn’t want him scaring Lillianna, but I didn’t want him pretending to be a kindly grandfather either. I rubbed her back as she peeked out at him. “Nonno?”

“Si, cara mia. You’re safe with me.” Lorenzo opened his arms as if expecting a hug, but it was as if I could see the devil’s horns on his head and the red gleam in his eyes. I wanted to tell Lillianna she would never be safe with him, but he already knew I understood that. His act wasn’t so good that he was trying to convince me of anything.

Lillianna didn’t leave my lap, but straightened a little and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t understand. Did you save us from the lady with the gun and run her over? She was mean.”

“Of course. You never have to worry about her again, especially since we’re going far away from here. We’re going home.” Lorenzo leaned back, unbothered by the fact that he wasn’t hugged by his granddaughter.

“Good. I want Daddy.” Lillianna rested her head on my shoulder with her little hand still clutching the front of my jacket.

“Ah, my sweet, I don’t mean the house here in America. I mean your true home in Italy.”

As if my heart wasn’t racing already, now it was thundering in my chest. He was going to take us across the ocean. There would be no way for anyone to find us then. I held Lillianna more firmly and glanced at the doors.

I could jump out with her in my arms and protect her from a fall, but the doors were locked. Or maybe, at the airport, I could… No. I couldn’t risk Lillianna’s safety. But surely Lorenzo couldn’t take us out of the country. We didn’t have passports, and there was a law that a child couldn’t travel without their parents unless they had a document with their permission. While I’m sure that paper could be faked, the passports…

Lorenzo smiled again. It was as if the monster knew what I was thinking. He probably already had fake passports for Lillianna and I.

“I want Daddy.” Lillianna repeated with a sniffle.

“We’ll see him soon,” I whispered. If Konstantin ever got his hands on Lorenzo, it would be murder. And hell, I wanted him to do it. I never wished violence on anyone, but this man sitting across from me… He was pure evil.

Would I ever see Konstantin or Quill again? I had only started to dream of a life with them, and now that was ripped to shreds. If they somehow managed to save Lillianna, and I would do everything in my power to make sure she got out of this with as little trauma as possible, I was nothing to the Pacettis. I would be lucky if I was even in the plan to fly overseas to Italy. I could be shot and left in a ditch.

My stomach roiled, and I bent my head to breathe in the floral smell of Lillianna’s hair. Soft and sweet. I would do anything for this child.

“Please take off your sunglasses, Miss Smyth. You have no need to worry about the sun in here.” Lorenzo’s accented baritone was lazy and yet commanding. He lightly drummed his fingers on his leg.

My hand shook as I lifted it and removed the glasses. There had been a small sense of safety behind them, but now I felt totally bare in front of him.

“That’s better. Now I can see your pretty eyes. They match your pretty scent.” His smile turned into that of a predator’s. No, no, no. He couldn’t… He was an Alpha. Of course he could. A pair of tears trickled down my cheeks. My only saving grace was that nothing in me responded to him and he didn’t seem to be at all interested in me in that way. “Yes, I know you’re… in the middle of your cycle. Quite the predicament for you. But not to worry. I have Alphas who will be happy to help you. You’ll be very well taken care of.”

Bile rose in my throat. This was every Omega’s nightmare. It scared me even more that I wouldn’t be able to fight it if my body needed to be knotted. If only I’d listened to Quill and Konstantin and stayed home. But I’d been so confident that I could handle an afternoon with my best friend.

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