Page 58 of Wicked Knight

Over his dead body.

Donata was mine.

“Maybe I am.” He laughed and jammed the barrel of his gun deeper into my flank. “Don’t push me, Luca. Remember your place.”

“How could I forget?”

“Get rid of the whore you have upstairs.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “Until the wedding, Donata is your only priority. Girls like that, they’re only out to catch a rich man.”

“How would you know what she’s out to catch?” I always got the feeling he was watching me all the time. But if that were the case, he would know Donata was upstairs, and he didn’t.

“The girl Esther?” He chuckled pointing upstairs again. “They’re a dime a dozen. I see them go through the club all the time. Fuck them all you want. But they need to stay where you found them. Understood?”

“Are you following me?”

“Of course not. You’re family. I trust you. Why would I do that?” He furrowed his brows. “A friend from the club called last night about my guest. That’s you. I was told you and your other pal paid for her to leave. And ruined everyone’s fun in the process.”

“She was scared.” I clenched my jaw. Of course he was aware of Hunting Season. No wonder he was so eager to give me access when I asked. He thought I wanted to go there to fuck unsuspecting women. Just when I thought he couldn’t sink any lower as a human being. He always managed to prove me wrong. “What kind of place does this to people? She wanted to leave.”

“Then why did she sign up for it in the first place?” He released his breath slowly. He couldn’t be bothered to care. “It’s all in good fun. Everyone involved wins something.”

“It’s not good fun when the rules keep changing.”

“When you have power and money, you make the rules.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Next time, walk away. Yeah?”

“Is that all?” I met his gaze.

“Yes.” He glanced down at his hand. When he realized he’d been waving his gun around this whole time, he holstered it. “I’ll be in touch.”

I stood there frozen, as he calmly moved around the room, collecting his coat and hat. He ambled out as if he hadn’t just turned my entire life upside down with the news of Donata and my impending wedding. I had already come to terms with the idea of marrying Donata. Though I hadn’t considered it would be this fast. The truth seemed so inconsequential now. What good would it do if I told her everything? It would only put her in danger. By now I knew she was more than capable of putting herself in harm’s way all on her own.

For fuck’s sake, she followed me to a club for the deranged. And now even my uncle knew about this Esther, who managed to escape the hunt. Wait what? I rushed to the door and swung it open. As slow as he moved, Uncle Jimmy hadn’t reached the curb when I caught up to him.

“How did you know Esther came here?”

Since the beginning, he wanted Donata followed. Caz, the guy he put on her detail, reported to me, unless Uncle Jimmy asked him for an update. Now that I thought about it, after Caz called me to tell me Donata was at the club, I forgot to ask him not to say anything to Uncle Jimmy. As long as Donata married me, Uncle Jimmy didn’t care how she spent her time. Either way, I wanted him away from her as much as possible.

Anything he touched turned to shit.

“Hunting season hasn’t ended.” He smirked at me. “Don’t waste your time with her. Go find Donata. Don’t leave her side until Friday.”

“How did you know Esther was here? Is she being followed?”

“Like I said, you ruined everyone’s fun. The game ends when they say. If you’re still playing the game, why can’t they?” His gaze swept down my body for a second, as if to point out that I was still in my sweats past midday, which could only mean I had spent most of my night and morning fucking the woman from the club. “Throw her back in the pen, Luca. That’s an order.” He climbed in the back seat of his black sedan and drove off.

Yeah, Donata was a magnet for trouble. Except this time, she’d gone too far. This game she was caught up in was dangerous. The rules were bullshit. They were only meant to keep the prey inside the mansion. But the hunters had free range to do as they pleased. It seemed that included hunting past sunrise and outside the club.

Whoever told Uncle Jimmy about Esther didn’t know Esther’s real identity. Until it was well understood who Donata Salvatore was, they would keep coming for her. I strode back into the house. In the back of my mind, I kept going back to Ava’s murder board in my office.

“Luca, we have a problem.” Alfred rushed toward me as soon as I walked into the foyer.

“You’re telling me.” I rubbed the lines on my forehead. “The fuckers from the club are still after Donata.”

“Yes, that might be a bigger problem.” He raised both eyebrows.

“What? What happened?” I headed upstairs. Whatever it was, I was sure it had to do with Donata. My heart raced at the thought of Donata leaving the house on her own. She had no idea what kind of trouble waited for her outside these walls. “Where is she?” I barged into my suite. “How did she get out?”

“She’s in the upstairs office.” Alfred stood by the door, while I stared at the empty room.

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