Page 65 of Savage Roses

“Some guy named De Trolio showed up at Garden House. He took me as I was coming out of the bathroom, without Arturo and Bernie even knowing it. I tried to fight him off, but he threw me in the back of his car.”

I clench my teeth. “You’re away from him now?”

“Jon, he was taking me to your father. He kept saying I was a bargaining chip. I tried to escape two more times, but we were driving too fast. Then cop cars started following us, flashing their lights.”

“Cop cars?”

“Yes, real ones. Medjine saw them kidnap me!” she says, distress in her voice. “She was walking up to Garden House right as De Trolio shoved me into the car. She called 911 and then hopped in a cab to follow us. When the cops pulled him over, they found me bound in the trunk.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m with Medjine at the police station on Bromwell. Please hurry. Jon, I think your father’s already placed some calls to bail De Trolio out. He’s being questioned now.”

“Stay there, Phi. Stay with Medjine and the cop who rescued you. I have some guys a few minutes away. They’ll be there in five.”

Delphine mutters a shaky ‘I love you’ that sends a pang of guilt through me—not because of the words themselves, but because of the shake in her voice and how close we’ve come to a tragic ending. I say the three words back and swear to her I’ll be with her as soon as possible.

“She’s okay?” Stitches asks from the driver’s seat up front.

My nod is slight, my heart heavy, and chest tight. “As okay as can be given what happened. De Trolio tried to kidnap her. Lucius was going to use her as a bargaining chip.”

“It was a matter of time.”

“You were right,” I sigh. “What you said last week. It’s a weak spot for me. He knows it and will exploit it. This is only the beginning.”

Stitches’ expression in the rear-view mirror looks as heavy as mine. “We’ve got to figure out how we’ll combat that.”

“It’s time,” I say, an ache starting up inside. “There’s no other option. I’m going to have to send her away.”

salvatore

“Where are we going?”Delphine smiles, the satin blindfold covering her eyes.

“It’s a surprise,” I say. “I figured we’d do something special for the holiday weekend.”

Her brows push together. “You hate surprises.”

“But you don’t. You love them. So I wanted to surprise the surpriser. Payback for all the times you pulled a fast one on me.” I drop a kiss on her cheek and take her hand.

Our first chance to stretch our legs in over four hours.

We’ve been cooped up in the backseat of a car the entire afternoon.

Several times Delphine attempted to cheat and sneak a few peeks out the tinted windows. I wouldn’t let her, reminding her our excursion was supposed to be a surprise.

A couple’s weekend in Asbury, a quaint, peaceful, obscure sister town of the larger, overshadowing Lunsbury.

It’s just the kind of break Delphine would love. Even better that we’re mostly alone except for security.

I’ve booked our own villa overlooking Asbury’s famed purple ash trees and the lake that sits in the center of the small town, like a compass.

Quiet, private, scenic, and relaxing. All things that’ll be needed.

She’ll like it here.

I walk her up the front steps with her hand clinging to my forearm. On the fourth step up, she misjudges how high to lift her boot and sways.

“Almost there,” I say, hiding my amusement. “Three more steps.”

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