Page 4 of Captive in His Castle
Her mouth had dropped open, the heat that had abandoned her body filling her brain, dizzying her.
Dante Coscarelli.
The name echoed in her roaring head.
Now she knew why he looked so familiar – she’d found pictures of him on the Internet when she’d been searching Niccolo’s name. He was close friends with the bastard and every bit as wealthy and as powerful as him. She hadn’t put two and two together because it had never entered her head that the taxi driver was anything other than who and what he purported to be.
“Niccolo has tasked me with keeping you hidden away until after the wedding,” he explained before giving a sympathetic smile at her expression. “Yes, I am afraid he knows you intend to sabotage it. Your sister warned him.”
Betrayal slapped her hard, its sting strong enough to pull Callie out of her shock and into the reality of the situation she found herself in.
Dante didn’t have to tell her that getting into the helicopter wasn’t optional.
Withescapeflashing like a neon sign in her head, she yanked at the handle and flung the door open.
Two men appeared before her feet even hit the ground, not close enough to touch but close enough to catch her if she ran.
And then Dante was at her side, hands up, palms facing her, taller and broader than she’d realised when he’d thrown her suitcase in the boot of his car. “You have nothing to fear, Callie – you are in no danger.”
The casual way he uttered her name added a spark of anger to the melting pot of emotions raging through her. “Those men have guns,” she spluttered.
“For my protection, not to use on you.” He turned to themand spoke in rapid Italian. A moment later, they walked to the helicopter, leaving the two of them alone.
His attention back on Callie, Dante said in perfect, albeit heavily accented, English, “No one is going to hurt you, but you have to come with me.”
“Anything that comes before abutis negated by its use.”
“Not in this instance. For the avoidance of doubt, if you attempt to run, I will carry you onto the helicopter myself, and I will hold you secure until we are in the air, but I will not leave a single mark on your body.”
“Lay a single finger on me, and I’ll scream.” She should be screaming already, but she was reeling too much at her sister’s betrayal.
She would never forgive Georgia for this.
“If you go, I’ll tell Niccolo,” her sister had screamed when she’d walked back into their flat and found Callie’s carry-on case by the front door.
“That’s what I’ve been beggingyouto do!” Callie had shouted back. “He needs to know!”
“No! Stop trying to run my life for me – this is my business, not yours.”
“Of course it’s my business too!” Callie had disputed, close to despair.
“You have no idea what you’re messing with. If you leave this flat, then I swear to God I’ll warn him you’re coming and tell him you’re deranged and want to destroy the wedding. He’ll have you arrested on some trumped-up charge before you’ve landed and deported straight back to England with a restraining order. You won’t be allowed anywhere near him.”
“I’ll take my chances.” Callie hadn’t believed for a second that her twin would do such a thing.
But she had. Georgia had betrayed her to that pig of a man, but instead of calling the police, that pig of a man had got his best friend to do his dirty work.
That best friend shrugged. “Scream if you want. No one who cares will hear you. Everyone at this hangar works for me, and I pay them too well to ask questions. You have my word that no harm will come to you. You will be treated as an honoured guest in my home, and then on Sunday, you will be returned to England with a first-class flight to compensate you for your troubles. Now get in the helicopter.Per favore.” He added the please as an afterthought.
“You realise that you’re attempting to kidnap me, right?”
“Kidnapping involves a ransom demand,” he disputed blithely. “For the sake of accuracy, I am not ‘attempting’ anything. I am temporarily abducting you, that is all.”
That wasall? “Kidnapping, abduction, whatever you want to call it, you can’t do this.”
“Says who?”
“The law!” Another thought struck her. “How do I know you won’t kill me to stop me reporting you to the police?”
