by Donna Grant
It sparkled, just as she did—and always would.
He ran his fingers over it, recalling how stunning she’d looked, how free. And her smile. It had dazzled.
Sebastian dropped his hand and closed the cabinet door, shutting away the masks and the memories. As he walked back into the bedroom, he opened the mental link all dragons had and called Con’s name.
The King of Kings answered a short time later. “Aye.”
“I have proof.”
Con sighed. “Definitive?”
“I saw Mikkel. And I saw Ulrik.”
“Together?” Con asked brusquely.
Sebastian sank into a chair near the fireplace. “Nay. It was Mikkel’s ball. He’s using the name Oscar Cox here in Venice. But Ulrik was there in full masquerade costume.”
“Then how did you know it was Ulrik?”
“The same way you would’ve. It’s his eyes. And...he spoke to me.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me that I put Gianna’s life at risk. He told me to leave Venice before it was too late.”
“Do you believe he was threatening her or you?” Con asked.
“I think he was warning me.”
There was a moment of silence, then Con said, “Did you see Mikkel’s face?”
“He had on a half mask, but I saw enough. He looks almost identical to Ulrik. The only difference is the gray at his temples. Just like the photo Ryder found.”
“Come home. It’s time we decide how to proceed.”
“Since I can no’ return in dragon form, I must wait for my flight that departs in the morning.”
“Hurry,” Con said before severing the link.
Sebastian stalked from the bedroom. He’d sleep in the boat below the palazzo. It was the only way he’d get any sort of peace.
If any existed for him beyond that point now that Gianna was gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Memories were a way to relive a certain time. And Gianna was holding onto hers with both hands. It was those memories that would remind her of who she was, of who Sebastian helped her become.
Her heart was broken, shattered. Crushed. Yet there were no tears. The pain was too raw, too visceral. All of it was so new, but it would wear off, and when it did, that’s when the tears would hit her.
It was inevitable after coming in contact with such a vibrant, masculine man who evoked images of primal, untamed warriors who conquered all in their path. And he had conquered her. Easily and smoothly. Not even knowing that the pain of his departure was going to destroy her did she regret any of it.
With Sebastian she discovered a great passion, the kind she had long believed would never be hers. She felt what it was to be adored and her body worshipped. So no matter the pain—and it was going to strike deep—she embraced what had happened.
When she’d returned home to find his message, she had listened to it over a dozen times. And she would never delete it. Because that voice of his was a slice of heaven she’d turn to when the times got tough.
Even though she didn’t expect to ever call him, she programmed his number simply with the letter S. Having his number was a cruel sort of torture that she planned to carry around with her always, but then again, she couldn’t seem to help herself when it came to Sebastian.
The morning began with a long shower before she stood in front of her open closet. It wasn’t that she had a difficult time finding something to wear. It was that she didn’t see any of her clothes. Her mind kept drifting back to the day before when Sebastian had made love to her multiple ways with his tender touch and hot mouth.
Finally, she chose a cream sweater dress with a V-neck that hugged her curves and came down just below her kneecaps. She added a belt in saddle brown and nude heels.
When it came time for her hair, she was going to leave it down, but she changed her mind and pulled it back into her traditional bun. She skipped breakfast and grabbed her cream trench coat and purse on the way out the door.
As she stood in front of the office building, she had to make herself go inside and up to her office. She didn’t know if Oscar Cox was Mikkel or not, but she no longer wanted any part of him or his business.
Once she was in her office, she found a list of things she had to take care of. Phone calls to return and emails to answer. She sat down and immediately got to work. It was a small reprieve for her mind away from Sebastian and the mystery surrounding Mikkel and Ulrik.
Sometime during the night, she had stopped thinking of her employer as Oscar and began calling him Mikkel. It was something she would have to watch whenever she spoke to him, but she didn’t foresee that being a problem, since she intended to quit.
She finished responding to the majority of the emails and was on a phone call when her cell phone buzzed. After she completed jotting down notes, she reached for her cell as she was ending the call.
As soon as Gianna saw it was from Oscar, her stomach dropped to her feet. She hung up the phone and stared at the message for a long time. It wasn’t as if it were odd for Mikkel to call her to the palazzo if they were discussing plans for a party, but since one had just occurred, it wasn’t like him to already plan another in the same location. That could only mean he wanted to talk about other things.
Besides, he was supposed to have left Venice last night.
Well, he was going to be sorely disappointed, because she wasn’t going to be there.
She checked the clock to see it was another two hours before their meeting. Gianna quickly wrote up her resignation letter, printed and signed it before she rose and walked to put it on his desk.
Whoever Mikkel might be, he had no right to pry into her personal life. Just because she worked for him didn’t give him those kinds of privileges.
She grabbed her cream trench coat and belted it in place before she picked up her purse and left the office without a backward glance. There would be enough time for her to get into Mikkel’s palazzo and have a look around before her resignation went into effect thirty minutes before their meeting. She’d dated and added the time specifically for that reason.
Not that any of it would matter. She would have come and gone from the palazzo, changed her cell number, and been in the middle of looking for another apartment all before Mikkel even knew what happened.
If she were really lucky, she’d find some evidence to help Sebastian. Though in the back of her mind, she knew she was looking for an excuse to see him again.
On the boat ride to the palazzo, there was a voice in her head urging her not to go, to head straight for her house. That voice was so loud and insistent that when they docked at the palazzo, she hesitated in getting off.
Then she thought of Sebastian and how much he wanted to bring his brother back to the family. He hadn’t gotten anything on his trip, and this was her chance to give him what he’d set out for.
She paid the driver and stepped from the boat. The palazzo was quiet as she unlocked the door and entered. Without the glittering lights, brightly dressed guests, and loud music, it seemed as if she stepped into another world.
Everything had been returned to order the day before, making her doubt she had even been there for the masquerade. She softly closed the door and walked farther inside. Her first destination was the back room that Mikkel used for his office. It had a magnificent view of the Grand Canal.
Her shoes were quiet on the rugs as she approached the office. She tested the handle on the door to find it unlocked, then she pushed open the door. Once inside she looked at the bookshelves, where priceless works of art sold by Venetian families during restorations or financial hardships now sat. She was looking at things with a different perspective now, and she wasn’t sure what to think.
Nor did she know what she needed to look for as she walked to the desk and began opening drawers. There was something there that would help Sebastian, she was sure of it.
“Now this is something I didn’t expect to see.”
She froze at Mikkel�
�s voice and lifted her head to find him leaning casually against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. Various responses ran through her head, but she remained quiet as she closed the drawer she’d been searching and straightened.
“Nothing to say?” Mikkel asked. He gave a shake of his head and glanced at the floor before pushing away from the door. “Our meeting isn’t for a while yet. What are you doing here?”
He appeared to be alone, but she knew that he wasn’t. Mikkel never went anywhere by himself. She calculated the odds of her getting out alive, and they were falling rapidly.
“Come, Gianna,” he urged. “It’s not like you to be so silent.”
She raised her chin. He would know if she was lying, so she immediately shoved aside all the falsehoods that came to mind. Instead, she opted for the truth. “I was looking for something.”
His brows rose as he gave her a look of approval and slowly came toward her. “The truth. How novel.”
She began to back away, moving around the other side of the desk. Once cleared of it, she would have a direct path from the office to the front door.
Mikkel reached his desk and ran his fingers along the top. “I trusted you.”
“And I trusted you.”
“When did he get to you?”
The time for truth was over. There was no way she was going to tell him anything about Sebastian. “Who?”
“Don’t play dumb,” he admonished. “It doesn’t suit you.”
She squared her shoulders. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The man at my ball.” Mikkel steepled his fingers on his desk and looked at her. “He’s the reason you’re here.”
“You think you know the answers, when in fact you don’t.”
He straightened in mock surprise. “Then, please, by all means, enlighten me.”
If only she had an answer. Her mind was completely blank. There wasn’t anything plausible she could come up with. Not one single response. Of all the times for her mind to be empty, now was extremely inconvenient.
“That’s what I thought,” Mikkel said.
“I choose not to answer because you wouldn’t believe anything I said.”
He shrugged one shoulder indifferently. “As much as this game intrigues me, I find myself impatient.”
“For?” she asked when he grew silent.
The smile that formed was one of pure evil, filled with malice and brutality that made her blood turn to ice. That voice from earlier that had warned her away from the palazzo was saying “I told you so.” Very loudly.
“Call him,” Mikkel demanded.
She frowned and glanced behind her to find the doorway still empty. “Who?”
“You know who. There’s no telling what name he used. He changes them often enough. I’m talking about the man you were seen with at the masquerade. Call him.” His smile vanished, replaced with a sneer of malevolence. “Now!”
She jumped at his barked order. The unspoken threat of bodily harm hung in the air, making her shake. Her heart slammed against her rib cage.
It took her two tries before she found her voice. Even then, it came out shaky. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
His smile was tight as he came around the desk. She backed up a step and spun around, ready to run. Only to come to a halt when she saw the two men at the door.
Gianna turned to face Mikkel. He halted two feet from her and shook his head slowly as he looked her up and down. She didn’t know what was going on in his mind, but she knew that if she got out of this situation, she was going to get as far from Venice as she could.
“I learned early on that humanity couldn’t be trusted,” Mikkel said. “How easily you are swayed. It’s true that everyone has their price. It’s surprising how low some of those are.”
She shifted so she could keep an eye on Mikkel and his two goons at the door. “I don’t have a price.”
“Sure you do,” he stated. “For the majority, I offer them money and they take it, agreeing to do whatever it is I want. There are the few who hold out. That is, until I threaten their lives. Those fold pretty quickly. Then there are the rare ones, the ones like you, Gianna. The ones who make me threaten their families.”
She might not get along with her father, but that didn’t mean she wanted him killed. Damn. He knew just how to get to her.
Mikkel watched her. “You see, I learn people. Because, inevitably, I have to intimidate them. I thought you might be the exception, but I was wrong. I always knew if this moment ever came that I had only one play—your father.”
She swallowed, the sound loud in the silence. Without even realizing how, she’d found herself between a rock and a hard place—with no escape in sight.
“You need to understand that I’m not bluffing,” Mikkel said. He took a step closer. “One of my men is in New York right now with a gun aimed through the window of your father’s apartment, waiting for me to give the order. The decision is yours. Will you kill your father?”
“You’re a bastard.”
He shrugged, twisting his lips. “I see the defiance in your gaze. I’ll give you a warning I don’t normally share with others. I always win. Always. There’s nothing you can do or say that will surprise me. That’s because I’ve thought of every angle.” He closed the space between them so that she leaned back to get away from him. “Now call my nephew.”
Gianna searched for a lie in his words, something that would tell her that she could get out of this, that she and Sebastian could beat him.
But there was nothing.
She pulled her phone out of her purse and found Sebastian’s contact. Then she pressed the button to call him. She was shaking uncontrollably as she brought the phone to her ear, her gaze locked with Mikkel’s.
Sebastian answered in the middle of the second ring. “Gianna?”
“Hi,” she said, her chest heaving.
There was a slight pause. Then he asked, “What happened? Tell me what’s wrong.”
Mikkel smiled in triumph. “Tell him to come here.”
She wished she had the courage to tell Mikkel no, to destroy her cell phone and hit him hard enough to knock him out. But she didn’t. She was terrified and anxious, her fear knotting tightly in her gut.
“Gianna?” Sebastian said through the phone.
She fought back tears of dread and panic, her throat tightening as the feelings welled higher. “I need you to come to the palazzo.”
“I see,” Sebastian replied in a soft, calm voice.
The line disconnected. As she lowered the cell phone, Mikkel knocked it out of her hand and backed her against the wall.
“You’re in for quite a show, my dear.”
Chapter Fifteen
Sebastian hung up the phone and set it on the bed as dread and anger began to churn inside him. He’d heard the fear in Gianna’s words. The way her voice wobbled was enough to send him into a rage. He didn’t need to ask her to know that Mikkel had gotten to her. Or was it Ulrik? Or worse—both?
Even though he’d told Con he had proof about Mikkel, since he’d seen Ulrik at the ball, Sebastian couldn’t stop thinking that maybe Con was right. Maybe Ulrik was a part of all of it. That could be why Ulrik wouldn’t talk to him at the ball.
Not that it mattered. Gianna was being used to get to him. And Sebastian didn’t like to disappoint. Not to mention, he was ready for a fight.
He rose, thinking of the Dark Fae he’d seen at the party. They would be waiting for him. Quite frankly, he was more than ready to kill some Dark. The fuckers seemed to find their way into every nook and cranny.
Con needed to know what was happening, but Sebastian knew if he spoke with Con that the King of Kings would ask him to wait until another King could arrive. That was time Sebastian couldn’t give him.
He looked down at the mobile phone on the bed. Since Sebastian couldn’t call Con on the mobile or use their mental link, he sent a text instead. Then dropped the phone on the bed before
he walked out to find Gianna.
He strode down the street to the palazzo. People were everywhere, but he paid them no mind. His thoughts were on Gianna and what awaited him. The hope that she would be kept in the dark about his secrets was shot. Mikkel would likely tell her everything. After all Sebastian had done to keep the truth from her, and she was going to find out anyway. It infuriated him.
And saddened him.
By the time he reached the palazzo, he was ready for battle. He watched the door for a few minutes before he walked to it. Not bothering to knock, he threw it open and waited for an attack.
But none came.
Something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but someone should’ve been at the entrance. No doubt Mikkel had a surprise waiting for him somewhere else.
Sebastian entered the house with slow steps. He used his enhanced hearing and eyesight to his advantage, but there was nothing to see in the shadows where the sunlight didn’t reach. More troubling was that the house was as quiet as a tomb.
When he entered the main foyer, he turned his head to the side and saw a female Dark who was filing her nails. She looked up, spearing him with blood red eyes. She sighed with boredom and flipped her long length of black and silver hair over her shoulder.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were coming,” she said in an Irish accent.
He glanced around, waiting for more Dark to attack. “Where is the girl?”
The Dark rolled her eyes as she dropped her hands to her side. “Follow the trail.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
She issued another loud sigh. “I was told to give you that message. No one said anything about fighting, and I’m not stupid enough to challenge a Dragon King.”
And with that, she teleported away.
Sebastian wanted to take that as a good sign, but he knew better. “Follow the trail,” he mumbled.