Page 5 of His to Keep
Nobody in this room will help me, so I have no choice but to walk with Jasmine to the door. Ryan, one of Jason’s newer recruits, falls in behind us. It’s almost insulting that they don’t put moreguards on me. I guess I’m not considered a threat. One day, that will be their downfall.
As we exit the ballroom and make our way along the corridor, I see what I’m sure is the kitchen door ahead of us. The escape route I imagined taking is within reach and it’s too much to resist. Instinct takes over. I turn and shove Jasmine so hard she stumbles into Ryan, knocking him off balance.
Heart pounding, I run for the kitchen. When I push through the door, my stomach lurches. I am not where I thought I would be. This is some sort of garden room. It’s filled with plants and there are pairs of armchairs dotted here and there, with low wooden tables placed between them. Shit. Now I don’t know where to go.
Scanning the room, I spot a glass door on the far side of the room. Though it’s dark outside, I can make out the shapes of trees. Realizing I’m looking at the woodland at the back of the hotel, I rush toward the door. I’m desperately twisting the handle, trying to get it open, when someone grabs me and spins me around. A scream dies in my throat as fear is overtaken by surprise. It’s not Ryan, as I expected, but the American from the ballroom.
I don’t have time to register what’s happening before Gianni, or whatever his name is, sweeps me up over his shoulder. He pushes through the door and hurries to the parking lot at the side of the building.
He drops me, none too gently, onto the back seat of a Range Rover, its engine already running. As he gets in beside me, I see the bloody knife in his hand for the first time. Fuck! Did he kill Ryan and Jasmine? The thought triggers a violent flashback. Horrific images of my brother’s death flood my mind. I banish them before they overwhelm me.
“Drive!” The American’s curt instruction to the large, dark-haired man behind the wheel is immediately obeyed. My pulse races and my head spins as we take off down the long, winding driveway at speed. I grip the seat tightly as I’m shunted from side to side.
“Who are you?” I hate that there’s a quiver in my voice. “What do you want with me?”
“I’m Gio Volante.” He reaches out and cups my cheek with his palm. It’s the first tenderness I’ve experienced in a long time, and I can’t help leaning into his touch. “And as soon as we get to safety, I’m going to make you my wife.”
For several seconds, I don’t take a breath. I forget how to. My mind freezes as my body trembles. It’s like I’ve finally been tipped over the edge. My eyes roll back, and I slide into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER 3
Gio
When I announce to Eilidh that I intend to marry her, I’m braced to deal with fear, anger, disbelief perhaps. If I’m honest, I only drop the news on her so abruptly because I’m hoping to provoke a reaction that will tell me something about the type of woman she is.
Although I’m onboard with marrying Eilidh, I know almost nothing about her. The union is part of a deal my oldest brother, Antonio, made with members of a European organization he’s hoping to develop ties to. I’m not involved enough in our family business to know all the details, but I agreed to take Eilidh as my bride. As soon as I heard how she’d been held captive for four years after her family was murdered, I wanted to rescue her. She’s an innocent who got caught up in mob politics and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure she’s safe.
As I wait for her response, the last thing I expect her to do is faint. It shocks the hell out of me when her eyes roll back and she slumps sideways onto the seat, banging her head on the door.
“Fuck!”
“What the hell was that?” Danny demands as he drives us out onto the main road and steps on the gas. The imposing Scot was assigned to help me if I ran into trouble. He works for Niamh Donnelly, who oversees one of the largest criminal networks in the UK. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know.”
It isn’t easy to maneuver in such a cramped space, but I roll Eilidh onto her back and quickly check her over. The last thing I should be thinking about right now is how gorgeous my bride-to-be is, but I can’t help it. She is stunning. I was shown pictures of Eilidh, but they didn’t prepare me for how beautiful she is in the flesh.
Though her face is pale, her bow lips are a deep red. Her caramel-colored hair complements her dark brown eyes. I was struck by the intensity of her stare when I first saw her in the ballroom. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I lay a hand on her forehead to make sure she doesn’t have a fever. Her skin is cool, so I guess it was shock and not sickness that made her pass out.
I shake her gently, but she doesn’t respond. The steady rise and fall of her chest is reassuring, though.
“She’ll be fine,” I say with more confidence than I feel. Until a doctor examines her to determine if she has any health issues, I won’t be able to relax.
“This wasn’t the plan,” Danny grumbles. He’s regarded me with nothing but disapproval since we met. He sees me as too young, too inexperienced for the responsibility I’ve been handed.Getting Eilidh out of Jason Henry’s reach is paramount, and he doubts my ability to do it.
This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered skepticism about my abilities. It’s the curse of having four older brothers who have already built solid reputations. Antonio, the oldest, is admired for his ruthless leadership of our family. Leo is known for unflinching brutality, while Alessandro has enviable business acumen. My fourth brother, Matteo, could charm the panties off a nun, and he’s also capable of extracting information from the toughest of opponents. Even Olivia, our younger sister, has a special place in the family, simply because she’s a woman. Her recent marriage to the new head of the Reznov Bratva is proof of her worth. It’s an alliance that benefits us all.
What I bring to the table, I have no clue. For years, I’ve been adrift. I existed somewhere on the fringes of the family, running the occasional errand for Antonio or protecting one of the women when nobody else was available. Then I got shot and almost died. That’s when I decided to take some time for myself so I could figure out what I want from life. I came to Scotland to explore the countryside and enjoy the simpler things for a while.
Being here has helped focus my mind. As much as I love it, I now realize how much I want to be a part of my family business, to prove myself worthy of the Volante name. It felt like fate when Antonio called, asking me to meet with Niamh Donnelly. When she told me what happened to Eilidh’s family, close allies of hers, my purpose became apparent. I had to help free Eilidh and make her mine.
“I know that wasn’t the plan,” I reply. Tonight was supposed to be about gathering information. I was meant to find a way into Jason Henry’s inner circle, to earn his trust. My task was to look for weaknesses in security and report back to Niamh so we couldwork out how to get Eilidh out of there safely. Grabbing her and running was not what I was there to do.
“So why did it go to shit?”
“Our information was wrong. They weren’t there to show her off to potentially interested parties. They were going to hand her over to Barevsky tonight.”
“Fuck!” Danny hits the steering wheel so hard he blasts the horn. “Those motherfuckers!”
