Page 73 of Lies like Rubies, Part Two (Savage Jewels)

Outside of the classroom, the hall was eerily quiet, the man Tommaso promised would be here was nowhere in sight. Nor was Lorenzo. What the hell? My heart sped up as adrenaline surged through me. Scanning left and right, I debated my options, then grabbed my phone.

Dante didn’t pick up.

Lorenzo did. “How’d it go?”

“There’s nobody in the hallway to meet me,” I whispered. Should I go back into the classroom? No, that’d bring danger to my classmates. I needed to get the fuck out of here and somewhere safe.

He swore quietly, then said, “Stay on the line with me, all right? How far are you from the exit, from being around people?”

My heels clacked over the tile floors as I quickly walked down the stairs of the century-old building, my efforts at remaining calm failing.

“Who has eyes on Lizzie?” I asked, panic rushing through me.

“I can see her playing through the video feed, all right? She’s fine. I’m texting Dante now. Just stay with me, all right, sunshine?”

Just as I was about to push through the doors onto the ground floor, strong arms reached around me, knocking my phone out of my hands.

Fuck this.

I screamed, shoving my elbow back into my assailant, then slamming my heel down onto his instep. When his grip slackened, I jerked out of his arms, leaping toward the double doors that would lead me to the ground floor.

“Fucking bitch,” he swore, snatching me by the wrist and yanking me backward until I fell into him. I struggled,bringing my knee up to smash into his groin, but he was too big for me, too fast, too strong.

No.

Surging upward, I smashed my head into his nose. He howled in pain, blood pouring out of it.

Fuck yes.

Scrambling backward, I fell through the double doors and onto the tile floor. A few more students had finished their exams and watched in horror as this man grabbed my foot, trying to pull me back toward him.

Fucking no!

I kicked at him, losing my shoes, then leapt to my feet and hurtled myself out the door of the building. When I was finally in the middle of the quad, surrounded by students, I slowed my madcap dash and looked over my shoulder. The man hadn’t followed me.

I was alive. I was free. I wasn’t in Sergio’s hands.

Panic began to set in as I realized I didn’t have my phone or my gun or my wallet, or any way to get hold of my men. I’d trusted them, trusted their security, trusted them to take care of me. And they didn’t. Again. When would I learn?

For now, I sat quietly on a bench on the quad, taking deep breaths to calm myself down while I kept an eye out to make sure there were people around, well aware that my men would be out of their minds with worry and on their way.

I didn’t have to wait long.

Lorenzo sprinted toward me while men in suits surrounded us. He dragged me into a tight hug, running his hands up my back, down my arms, as if to reassure himself I was okay.

“I’m fine,” I whispered into his chest as the adrenaline rushed out of me leaving exhaustion in its wake. “Lizzie?”

“She’s fine. Dante upped the security on her as soon as he got off the phone with you earlier.” He walked me to the SUV, illegally parked, surrounded by campus police, as I trembled and shook, fear finally catching up with me. I winced when we hit the pavement, hot and rough under my bare feet.

Without breaking his stride, Lorenzo scooped me up into his arms. One of his men opened the back door, and he set me down gently, as if I were made of glass and could break at any moment. “I’ll be right back.”

Lorenzo and the campus police chief argued quietly as I looked on, but after a few minutes, the police turned off the lights on their cars and drove away quietly.

Offering me his suit jacket, Lorenzo slid in beside me and tucked me into his shoulder. “Do you want to wait for Dante?”

I shook my head. “I have another final in a couple of hours.”

“You’ll be able to take it online, and the others.” Lorenzo answered. “The campus police think it’ll be safer for you. And they don’t want you back on campus.”

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