Page 149 of SINS & Riley
She laughs. And it’s not a normal laugh—it’s an unhinged, disturbing-as-fuck kind of laugh. The kind normally relegated to the psych wards and creepy clowns.
Her fingers toy with a strand of hair, twisting it around and around before she pulls it back and bares her scars.
So fucking many of them.
I watch in horror as she digs a nail into one.
Then, she peels them back.
Then another.
One by one, the scars come off in strips, smeared makeup and latex giving way to smooth skin beneath.
“I told them if I looked pathetic enough—slapped on enough painted on bruises and fake scars—you idiots would bite.”
“What do you mean, bite?”
“Try to rescue me. Lead me right to your precious hiding place. We knew it was in Tuscany, we just didn’t know where.” She smirks, sunken eyes wild with delight. “And I was right.”
My stomach free-falls. “What?”
“You know,” she purrs, “I was really hoping for a windfall from handing over Zver’s head on a platter. But this? Oh, fuck—handing over you when you’re knocked up with his baby?” Her eyes glitter, fever-bright. “This is so much better. I can’t wait to hand your ass over.”
I choke on the word. “Over? To who?”
Her grin sharpens, razor-thin. “Andre.”
46
ZVER
Sabine’s word ripples in my ear.
Tuscany.
Tuscany was supposed to be untouchable.
That was the whole goddamned point. Thirty thousand acres dug into the hills like a fortress carved out of God’s own fist.
More surveillance than a Pentagon war room.
More armed men than a standing battalion.
If the world ended tomorrow, Tuscany was meant to be the last place standing.
Until now.
A million questions flood my brain. Only one claws its way out.
“How?”
Sabine’s still pale, her voice raw. “I don’t know. Emilio died before I could get more.”
My feet start moving. “Dominic, get the jet.”
“No.” Even rattled, Sabine is titanium. Unbreakable. “I’m going to Tuscany. My op. My rules. And you—” her gaze locks on me, sharp enough to draw blood—“you’re staying here.” Her eyes soften, guilt bleeding through steel. “Plan B.”
I stare at her. “What the fuck is Plan B?”
