Page 75 of Captured Innocence

I only hoped I wasn’t acting like a fool.

She took several deep breaths, the reflection of her face highlighting her return to anxiety.

“Who were those people, the men who abducted me? Russians? French? Italians?”

“All of the above, it would seem.”

“How is that possible?”

“That’s a very good question. I need you to be honest with me. What did the man say before he took you?”

“Nothing. He did call me by name and said my family would get what was coming to them, but that was it. Then I never saw him again.”

There was no way of telling at this point if she was lying other than my gut was screaming that she didn’t feel she could trust me. While I couldn’t blame her, at some point she’d need to come completely clean with me. However, this wasn’t the time or the place to try to grill her.

“You were there for a specific reason, Sophia. Until we determine what that was, both our families could be in danger.”

She pushed me back enough to turn around. “What about Lucia and little Michelangelo?”

“They are safe. You know Dar wouldn’t allow anything to happen to them.”

“And Joy?”

In my eyes, both women were targets. That was if the attacks were all about destroying the empire and not something more personal. With the seemingly mixed nationalities of the soldiers, the reasoning behind their attacks could be based on a number of things. All three of the men in power of the DeLuca–Lazarro Empire had made additional enemies along the way. I had a half dozen of my own.

The people behind this were clever, organized, and had patience. That made them the most dangerous set of enemies to date. We’d need to undermine their entire operation, or we wouldn’t be successful in uncovering their identities, let alone defeating them.

I brushed my knuckles down the side of her face. “You need to learn to trust me, Sophia.”

“You’re not an easy man to trust, Mattia. You must know that. You’ve acted like I belong to you for years, yet you kept your distance, keeping tabs on me like you were hunting me. That’s not the best way to get a girl to fall hopelessly in love with you.” She laughed, the sound something I’d missed almost as much as seeing her lovely face.

I refused to tell her about the contract on this godforsaken train. That wasn’t going to happen.

“We will have time to learn from each other. First, we ensure we’re on safe ground.” I gave her another stern look, waiting until she nodded in response.

The knock on the door brought a moment of anger. She glanced toward the door, trying to keep from laughing given our state of undress. Then she skirted around me, snatching up her clothes and moving into the small bathroom.

Sighing, I glanced at my reflection before yanking my pants from the floor, struggling into them just as another knock became more of a pounding.

When I opened the door, Vincenzo opened his eyes wide. “Boss.”

“What is it?” I glanced over him into the corridor then ushered him inside.

“Luis will recover. The doctor was very helpful, but I don’t trust him.”

Nodding, I raked my hand through my hair. I’d been forced to use an old connection, something I never did without going through several checks. People could turn sides under the best of circumstances. “I’ll handle it before we leave. Any other communication?”

“I checked with our people in Switzerland. The house is secure.”

“Good. We have another two hours before arrival. I don’t want any hiccups.” Soon we’d be out of range for any normal communication services, although I had a high frequency radio that could be used in case of an emergency. At this point, I didn’t mind radio silence. There was always a chance we could be tracked. If we were, there would be little chance of survival.

He glanced around the small compartment and grinned. “Your history with Ms. Lazarro is fascinating.”

He was making a statement, not asking a question. The man knew me too well. The fact I considered him a friend was the only reason I didn’t react badly. I wasn’t the kind of man who allowed being questioned by anyone under any circumstances.

“Yes, very complicated.”

“She’s the one you’ve been pining away for?”

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