Page 148 of A New Dawn

“On it. Thank you.”

“Get home safe. Call me if you need anything.”

Hanging up, I step out of the elevator and go straight to reception to check out. As I wait to be served, movement to my right catches my attention. A smartly dressed Italian hulk strides purposefully towards the bank of elevators. It’s not De Marco; I would recognize him from the pictures I’ve seen, but I’d bet my Maserati that he works for him and is intending to go up to our floor.

My hands clench into fists as my body tenses.

You’re not getting anywhere near Ella. Not on my watch, asshole.

I crack my knuckles as I walk toward him, my eyes searching for any signs he might be armed or that he has backup. He’s waiting by the elevator, and when he notices me, he abruptly turns and vanishes through a door marked for employees only.

I run towards it, hesitating a moment before opening it. This could very well be a trap. But this guy will have the information I want.

With a quick glance around to ensure I’m alone, I pull the gun from my back and carefully open the door. The guy is at the end of the corridor now and disappears through a glass door leading outside.

Oh, no. You won’t get away.

I sprint down the length of the corridor, but stop when I reach the door, carefully glancing through the glass. The guy is running towards a small nature reserve with a lake that’s backing onto the hotel grounds. Weapon raised, I step outside and find myself at the back of the hotel. As it’s midday, no one is around. I’d much rather stay inside too; the heat is oppressive.

Without hesitation, I chase after the Italian, but soon lose sight of him when he disappears behind a line of trees. I stop my pursuit when I reach it, taking cover behind a tree to study my surroundings.

Click.

It’s the safety switch on a gun being flipped. A gun that’s pointed at my head.

Fuck!

How did I not noticed someone hiding in the shadows? What an amateur mistake. I’m better than that.

My reaction is immediate. I point my gun at my opponent, taking a few steps back to put distance between us.

Heat rushes through me. The hairs on my neck stand to attention.

De Marco.

Fuck me! He’s really here.

Adrenaline pumps hard through my body.

I have to keep him away from Ella. He will not put a hand on her again. Over my dead body!

“You took something that belongs to me.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Aiden

“Shedoesn’tbelongtoanybody. Least of all you,” I reply coldly, though, I’m anything but cold. Anger is boiling in my blood, but there is something else too. Something strange I can’t place.

“That’s where you are wrong. Ella is mine, and always will be,” De Marco says, his voice calm and controlled. If it wasn’t for the throbbing pulse I can see in his neck, he’d have me fooled.

Fucking asshole. Guys like him will never understand that women are not a possession.

We’re sizing each other up for long seconds. Given he found us at our hotel, De Marco has to know by now who I am and what I’m capable of.

If it was just the two of us, this would be an equal fight, perhaps slightly stacked in my favor. But I doubt he’ll fight clean. There are men amongst the trees, their shadows giving them away. De Marco wants to create the illusion this is just between him and me, wants me lulled into a false sense of security. But the moment things go wrong for him, his men will step in.

Fucking coward.

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