“Liar. I don’t trust you, Gio. I love you, but I don’t trust you. Go away.”
Savage yanks at his shirt. “Get up and out of the way. We’re leaving. Now.” He motions to Kace. “Let’s go.”
Kace strokes my hair. “Here we go, baby.” He scoops me up and stands, my hero, who I have never needed more than right this minute. He’s the reason everyone protecting me is protecting me. He’s the reason I’m alive right now.
Gio is on his feet now in front of us. “Aria. Please. I didn’t do this. I love you.”
“Go away, Gio. Go find Sofia.” Tears stream down my cheeks again, the pain of his betrayal too much.
His lashes lower and when Savage yanks him out of the way, Gio growls. “What hospital is she going to?”
“Fuck you all the way to hell,” Savage snaps, and Adrian motions Kace forward.
“Hang on, Aria. We’re getting out of here right now,” Kace warns and then he starts moving. I turn into his body and hold on, shutting my eyes, and my head spins, dizziness overwhelming me before the world spins and I go blank.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I blink awake to a dimly lit room—correction: a chilly, dark room—and fatigue in my body. I shift slightly and then Kace is leaning over me, smelling like man and miracles. “Hey,” he says, his voice a rough raspy tone, that I feel in my belly. “You’re finally awake.”
“Hey,” I say and lift my hand, stroking the thick dark stubble on his jaw, and noting the fatigue in his face as well. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“About four hours.” He leans in and nuzzles my neck, inhaling deeply, his hair tickling my cheek, his big body a welcome press against mine. “God, woman,” he murmurs, his hand is on my face, as he inches back and fixes me in a stare that is no less potent for the darkness of the room. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I did?” I ask.
“You did,” he assures me. “How do you feel?”
“Groggy.” Memories pierce my mind and I’m back in the bar, in that hallway, living the moment when I’d fallen to my knees. And then Kace was there, catching me, holding me up. He is always there right before I fall, always my rock, my hero. “Thank you for catching me before I face-planted. I was drugged, right?”
“Yes. You were drugged, and while we believe they just meant to knock you out, they gave you too much. Your lungs shut down. Thank God for Savage, who actually carries a reversal agent with him.”
My brows dip. “Because people frequently get drugged when he’s around?”
“Seems that way.”
“Savage,” I murmur, my mind chasing memories. “Did I dream that he’s a doctor? Because he’s not a doctor, right? That just doesn’t compute.”
His lips curve. “Not a dream. He’s a surgeon who apparently has done open-heart surgery in the middle of enemy fire. Do you feel like you can sit up?”
“Yes. Please.” He shifts and straightens, flipping on an overhead light, while I scoot up the mattress. “I’m still trying to get my head around Savage being a surgeon.” I scan the ceiling and the area around me and my lips part in shock. “Am I in a bed on a plane?”
“You are, in fact, in bed on a plane. There was a general consensus that Sofia and her people have become a little too desperate to get to both of us for comfort. We made the call that we needed to be in the air and out of the city.”
A million thoughts charge at me, questions with them, but for now I just need to get my bearings. “Are we going to Germany?”
“Italy. We’re going to stay in Kayden Wilkens’ castle.”
“The man from The Underground operation,” I say.
“Yes, exactly. Blake assures me that we’ll be safe there until we make the announcement and seal the formula in the museum.”
“Safe? Are we sure? Rome is just four hours from Cremona. And yes, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands these past seventeen years. I know everything there is to know about Italy. We’re going to be very close to where this all started.”
“It’s the last place they’ll expect you to go is Italy and my understanding is that The Underground is a worldwide operation and Kayden is one of its most respected leaders. The Blue Owls do not want to screw around with him.”
“Sara did say we can trust Kayden and Ella, and you trust her and Chris.”
He arches a brow. “You don’t?”
“I do,” I say. “I really do. My instincts have been trusting them from the beginning, but I just haven’t known them long. And really, truly, I knew we were doing this, I knew I was going back to Italy, but waking up on a plane is a shock, necessary, I know, but I didn’t have time to steel myself for this. How long have we been in the air?”
“Only a couple of hours. A good five more to go. Savage wanted to be sure you were stable before we lifted off.”
I’m back to the battle of memories beating at my mind, things I resist, things I don’t think I want to remember, and so, I just keep working on my feet finding some semblance of solid ground. “Who’s traveling with us?”
“Adrian and Savage for now. Once we get to Italy, Savage is headed to Paris to meet his wife and prepare for our Louvre reveal. Adam will join us once we get to Italy and replace Savage.”
“What about our clothes?”
“Blake and his wife grabbed everything they possibly could for us, but we’ll have to go shopping in Italy.”
I sit up a little straighter. “What about your violins? You were able to bring them to practice, right?”
“Yeah, baby,” he says, his expression softening. “And I don’t know how you’re worrying about my violins right now.”
“Because they’re a part of you. Because you need to practice.”
“Afraid I’ll forget how to play?”
“You know you need your violins.”
He squeezes my leg. “And you are one of the only people who truly understand why.”
He’s right. I do. Because it’s not just about his craft. It’s about his sanity. Every moment he’s ever been stressed, he reaches for his violin.
“Maybe it’s for me, too. When you play, I’m where I belong.”
“With me, Aria. You belong with me.”
“I know,” I say, but even as I do, I am remembering the gun in Sofia’s hand. I’m remembering her declaration about me being the way to get to Kace. “They wanted to take me to get to you. They said you’d give them what they want in exchange for me.”
His hand settles on my knee. “And they failed. They won’t get that close to you again.”
The gun isn’t my only memory. Gio saying, “I think he might just love you as well,” now feels like the bullet in that gun. “Was Gio involved?”
His lips thin. “None of us can figure your brother out.”
“We convinced him that you love me. We convinced him you’d do anything for me. And in turn, he told me there weren’t stairs by the bathroom.” My voice lifts. “He convinced me to drink the drink.”
“You think he set us up,” Kace assumes.
I can almost feel a blade cutting my heart, which is why all I can manage to say is, “I don’t want to even speak what I think about Gio right now out loud.”
“There she is,” Savage says appearing behind me, and leaving over the seat, as he adds, “our little turtle dove. How do you feel?”
I twist around to place my back to the wall, and both men in my sights. “Like I’m in an alternate universe where you’re a surgeon and I was punched in the heart by my brother, not literally, of course. And I need to pee.”
Kace’s lips quirk and Savage gives a chuckle. “Sounds like you’re pretty damn peachy to me. I checked your vitals an hour ago. You’re all good. Pee and eat. I can look you over again afterward.” He starts to leave.
“Wait,” I say, and he leans back on the seat as I ask, “Do I need more treatment?”
“Nah. You had two juicy doses of reversal drugs by IV and you�
��ve been breathing fine for hours.”
“What did they give me?”
“Most likely diazepam,” Savage says. “It’s easy to get and a common favorite of assholes of this variety.”
I blink. “Most likely? We don’t know for sure? Those words together are not comforting.”
“You’re good,” he says. “I hit you with two types of reversal agents and you responded well. We drew blood before we took off. Since that was the middle of the night, we’ll get the results shortly after we land. Eat. You’ll feel better. We have a fridge full in the back.” He winks and disappears.
I focus on Kace. “How do I know I won’t have long term side effects?”
“Savage assures me you’re fine, but he still arranged to have Kayden’s staff doctor look you over in Italy.”
“What if I’m pregnant?” The question pops into my head and out of my mouth before I can stop it.
Kace goes still, his eyes sharp on my face. “Aria, baby,” he says slowly. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“No.” I grab his arm for emphasis. “No,” I repeat. “But I’m due to start my period any day and what if I don’t? We had sex way before we should have once I started on birth control pills. What if I am and the drugs caused damage to the baby?”
He covers my hands with his. “You’re going down a rabbit hole that leads no place good. You haven’t even missed your period.”
“I should take a test. I know it’s illogical to worry about this right now, but for some reason I am, and I don’t do things randomly. I mean, if I were pregnant and then something happened, I just couldn’t take it. Which is probably why I can’t be a mother. I’d be paranoid and worried all the time.”
“Everyone needs a mother who worries. You’d be a wonderful mother.”
“Oh God,” I murmur, touching his face. “I didn’t mean to take you down memory lane.”
“You didn’t. Not at all. This isn’t about memory lane. I’m simply speaking the truth. And we’ll take a test if you’re worried, but I need you to try to relax.”
“We?” I ask.
“We, baby. We’re in this together. You know that.”
“Yes, well, my father sure made sure of that. He really left a mark on you, hasn’t he?”
“In the best of ways. Go to the bathroom. I’ll grab you some food.” He stands up and offers me his hand.
The minute I press my palm to his, the chill I didn’t even realize I‘d felt until this moment fades—the fear of the unknown, a return to my home country, a new future, the familiar left behind, all dust in the dark night. The uncertainty of when, where, why, and who is no longer a question. Every answer to every question in my life is me with this man.
He pulls me to my feet, and I sway, slightly unsteady. As if he’s trying to prove that yes, he is the answer to every question in my life, Kace reacts instantly. He wraps his arm around my waist and fits me snugly to his body. “You okay?”
He is a perfect contradiction. A man who is both tender and caring, demanding and fierce, damaged but never broken, and most of all, my warrior in a time of need.
“Now I am,” I say softly. “Now, I absolutely am.”
***
The airplane bathroom is a decent size and with my toiletry bag, I wash up, re-do my make-up, and brush my teeth. Somehow I’m lucky enough to find my birth control pills in the bag. Obviously, Blake’s wife knew they were important. I open them and have one hormone pill left. In other words, I should start my period in a few days. I have no idea why pregnancy is on my mind, but then unprotected sex, which is essentially what Kace and I had, has a way of doing that to do a girl. I don’t know what time it is, but it has to be close to morning back home, so I pop it in the back of my mouth and swallow it.
Done. Pill taken.
I’m not pregnant. End of story.
Forcing that silly idea from my head, I quickly change into leggings, a long-sleeved tee, and sneakers. Unbidden, just as I’m about to exit the bathroom, I once again flash back to that hallway in the bar. I squeeze my eyes shut and I see what I didn’t during the attack. Sofia was holding the gun on Gio, her lovely face transformed into ugly anger. She wasn’t going to let me go even if she had to shoot Gio. I don’t know if Gio backed out of the plan they had set or what, but he meant to save me and almost died for his efforts.
Almost.
Where is he now?
I open the bathroom door and rush down the aisle to find Kace, Adrian, and Savage sitting in a lounge area. “Where is Gio?”
Kace stands, his powerful body crowding mine, his hands on my waist as he stares down at me. “Aria—”
“Where is my brother?”
His expression tightens with his words. “We don’t know.”
I blanch. “What do you mean, we don’t know?”
I twist out of his arms and look between Savage and Adrian. “You’re the best of the best. How do you not know?”
Kace turns me back around to him, his hands on my shoulders. “When he left us outside the club, the Walker team followed him. He turned a corner in an alleyway and then just—disappeared.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“What happened to being the best?” I demand again, scowling at Savage and Adrian, my fear for Gio driving me and the surge of adrenaline in my body right now. “What happened? I thought no one could get past you?” I press my hands to my face and drop them. “Sorry. Sorry.” I hold up my hands in surrender. “You saved his life, Adrian. I saw you take the gun from Sofia. And you saved me, Savage.” I turn to Kace. “And I’d be alone without you, Kace. I just—I just have a bad feeling about Gio. A really bad feeling.”
Kace’s hands, those warm, strong, talented hands, skilled in a way that made my father call him the one true daisy in the wind, settle on my waist. “You’re underestimating your brother. No one made him disappear. He chose to disappear.”
“Except a gun can turn the invincible dead,” I say. “What about Sofia and Lorenzo?” I ask, and when the plane jumps, Kace pulls me into the lounge and down on a seat across from Adrian, while he settles in beside me across from Savage. “What about—”
“They’re gone,” Adrian states. “All three are gone.”
“How is this possible?” I ask, calmer now, but not by much.
“A blackout for a two-block radius around the club,” Adrian says, “that lasted exactly five minutes to the second. People rushed from the club in a crush and the street cameras were out.”
“In other words,” Savage says, “someone on Sofia’s team has skills. We have no way of knowing if Gio was with Sofia when she disappeared.”
“I want to believe he wasn’t,” I say. “I believe, I really do believe, at the very least, he backed out of whatever plan they had and helped me escape.” I change gears for a moment. “What about Angelena? I know that’s who called me. Maybe she knows where they are.”
Kace’s hand covers mine. “You won’t like this answer.”
I twist to face him. “What does that mean?”
“She was found in a hotel room by the cleaning lady,” he says, “dead from what appears to be an overdose. We’re well-connected with the NYPD and were pinged.”
“Let me guess,” I say, my gaze sweeping the three of them. “The same drug I was drugged with.”
Savage gives a nod. “You guessed it, sister.”
“And the journal?” I ask. “Or copies of the journal at least?”
“Nothing,” Adrian replies, “and she’d only been in the hotel for three days. Blake’s working to track her steps.”
“What else don’t I know?”
Savage takes that prod. “You want to believe Gio is innocent. I don’t. We have every reason to suspect your brother was involved with what happened last night.”
“Except that he saved me,” I snap. “And Adrian saved him. He didn’t need saving because he was on their side.”
“He’s the
one who sent you to the bathroom by the stairs,” Kace reminds me. “He’s the one who bought your drink.”
I angle toward him. “But now I remember the look on Sofia’s face when she held that gun on him. She was angry. I really think she would have shot him.”
“I don’t,” Adrian says. “You were drugged and you’re not trained. I was not and I am. She wasn’t aiming at him. She was aiming beyond him. She wanted to make sure that if Kace rounded that corner he’d stay back.”
“I saw the look on her face,” I argue.
“She was pissed at Gio, but she’s not stupid enough to shoot in a public place,” Adrian says. “She wants to leave the country with the formula, not a most wanted poster. She knows a bullet fired doesn’t make that happen. Gio was not in danger.”
“Then why take her gun?” I challenge.
Adrian doesn’t miss a beat. “You never leave an enemy with a weapon, if you can take it.”
“Amen to that,” Savage murmurs.
“She had to have killed her own mother,” I argue. “Angelena was her mother. I don’t believe for a minute she wouldn’t kill my brother.”
“Hard truths, sweetheart,” Savage says. “We don’t know what happened to Angelena but we’re also not telling you Sonia, or Sofia, or whatever the fuck she calls herself, wouldn’t kill Gio. We’re telling you she wouldn’t do it in public.”
“In other words, they could have grabbed him and killed him,” I say, but I don’t wait for a reply. I pull my hand from Kace’s and stand up, walking back toward the area where I woke up, but I don’t sit down. I step into a galley way where there’s a fridge and microwave, and collapse against the wall, out of sight, out of my own mind. Kace steps in front of me, his legs framing my lips, hips molded to mine. “We’ll get through this. We’re doing all the right things.”
“I can’t lose Gio, Kace. I need to know he’s on this earth breathing for me to keep breathing. He doesn’t even know how to find me.”
“Call him when we land. And even if you can’t reach him, he’ll find you when you tell the world you’re Aria Stradivari.”
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