“Uncle Callum, I—”
“Oh, hold your tongue, girl. I know why you’re here. I’ll deal with you in a moment.” He looked past Felicity to me. “Mr. Romero? I’m sure you remember your associates, Mr. Alfonsi and Mr. Ricci. This worked out nicely, if I do say so myself. After that French idiot screwed everything up last night, I thought it was going to have to get messy. Especially after the way she ran from these two at that hotel. But here you are, delivering her right to my doorstep. Well done, sir. I’m in your debt.”
My adrenaline surged. Felicity turned wide and shocked eyes toward me, but before she even opened her mouth, I warned, “Don’t.”
“Fuck you, and fuck your ‘don’t’.” Her eyes hardened. “You lied to me.”
My first instinct was to deny, but I knew if I did, things would quickly escalate. The two men with her uncle weren’t high up in my House, they were muscle. I’d seen them at a recent gathering, providing security. I knew they were armed, and all I had was the one Sig holstered at my spine. If they were here, it meant Callum Merrick had obtained backing from House Salvatici for his little coup. And if that was the case, it explained why my House had sent me to warn her to back off.
Callum clearly knew Felicity well. And now that I knew her, I could easily see that warning her would just fire her up to do the exact opposite. He’d bet on the fact my warning her would drive her harder to get that file.
Which meant my only hope to save her was to play along and hope like hell her uncle didn’t catch on to the fact I wasn’t in on the whole thing.
“Does she have the file on her?”
“No,” I said carefully, not looking her way. “I think she lost it when she ran last night. That’s why I brought her here.”
“Pity, but no matter. We have plenty of copies. Gentlemen, take my troublesome niece downstairs, would you? I need to call the heads of the other Houses and get the ball rolling.”
The two men behind her uncle stepped forward, and it was all I could do to stand still as they grabbed her. She struggled, kicked out, tried to scream, but they slapped a hand over her mouth and easily picked her up off the floor, heading for the door.
She managed to pry the hand off her mouth and yelled, “You son of a bitch. You won’t get away with this!”
“Oh, my dear.” Her uncle turned her way. “I already have.” Looking at me as if she were already gone, he said, “Now, Mr. Romero. Once she and my sniveling nephew are out of the way, and I’m in charge, our Houses will have to work together again.”
“Sure,” I said as I stepped back from his desk. “Why not.”
The two men disappeared around the corner with Felicity. Their footsteps faded, but I could still hear her screams. My heart raced, and my fingers grew damp as her portly uncle waddled toward the desk.
“I bet you’re more than ready to be done with her. She is far too spirited for a woman. A woman should know her place, don’t you agree?”
As he reached out to open his laptop, I debated my options. I could shoot the fucker, but I wanted him to pay. And I didn’t want to do anything to alert the other two men to what was going on in here.
“I completely agree.” I grabbed the paperweight from the corner of the desk and swung out, nailing Callum Merrick in the side of the head.
The blow took him by complete surprise. He grunted, sailed out of the chair, and hit the ground with a thud.
Moving quickly, I yanked the computer cord from the wall outlet and pushed him over to his belly, using the cord as a rope and tying his hands behind his back. Then I rummaged through his desk and found a handkerchief, which I rolled up, shoved between his lips, and tied at the back of his head, in case he came to and started screaming.
Heart in my throat, I dragged him toward the door. Finding the hallway clear, I pulled him two doors down and into what looked like a guest suite across the hall. The guy weighed easily over two hundred pounds, and by the time I had him sprawled on the adjoining bathroom floor, I was sweating, but I figured this was far enough. If those goons came back and walked into his office, they’d figure he’d gone somewhere else.
Tugging the phone from my back pocket, I quickly messaged Patrick at Interpol, then I reached for my Sig and hoped I could find Felicity before it was too late.
And that when I did, she’d listen to reason.
Chapter Eight
Felicity
They’d dragged me down a dank stairwell into a dingy basement I’d never been in before. The scents of mildew and dirt filled my senses. I continued to struggle against the man holding me at my back and the one fighting to keep control of my feet. If they thought I was going down without a fight, they were sorely mistaken.
They spoke to each other in Italian. Words I couldn’t make out. Words that only fired me up more because they reminded me what an idiot I’d been to trust Marco. He’d been in on it the whole time. He hadn’t even denied it! He’d been good, I had to give him that. He’d even made me think coming here tonight to get the original file had been my idea.
They dragged me toward a wooden door. The man struggling with my feet let go long enough to pull it open. Inside, I saw nothing but darkness, and I fought harder, refusing to be thrown in there.
The two men started yelling at each other, but they were stronger than me, and before I realized it, they pitched me forward and sent me sailing into the darkness.
I hit the ground on my stomach and grunted. Dirt sprayed up into my face. Before I could push up on my hands, a heavy clank echoed at my back, then footsteps receded into nothing.
My heart rate jackknifed. I jerked to my feet and shot back until my spine hit a solid wall made of stone. I couldn’t see a single thing in the dark. Had no idea where I was or what was about to happen. But I knew if I didn’t find a way out fast, I wouldn’t last long.
Fighting to keep the panic at bay, I felt my way along the wall until my fingers slipped from stone to wood. The door. I’d found the door. I felt up and down, searching for the handle. Something round and metal filled my grip. I twisted it, only to find it locked.
“No. Come on.” I jiggled it harder. Kicked my foot against the base of the door. “Goddamn motherfucker, let me out of here!” I slapped my hand against the wood and kicked harder.
The door whooshed open, and before I could stop myself, I flew forward, right into a hard male body.
He grunted and fell back onto the ground. I landed on top of him. Pulse racing, I scrambled to climb off him and drew my fist back to protect myself, when I realized the man beneath me wasn’t one of the two who’d dragged me down here. It was Marco. “What the—”
He slapped a hand over my mouth and quickly sat up. “Don’t yell or they’ll come back. I’m not in on it with them, I promise.”
I jerked back from him and shot to my feet. “You expect me to believe that?” I hissed. “It’s a little convenient considering you’ve been in the right place at the right time the last two days.”
“You came to me last night at the hotel, remember? I walked away from you at the party.”
I faltered, trying to make sense of that. “You knew I’d go after you.”
“How? How would I even think you’d know how to find me?”
I wasn’t sure. I shook my head. “That doesn’t change the fact your House is trying to overthrow my father.”
“I’m not. I’ve had no part in this. I swear to you. I was as blindsided by what happened up there as you were. You have to believe me about that.”
I didn’t know what to believe. I only knew that I’d been stupid, and I wasn’t about to be stupid again. I brushed past him and moved to the stairs. “None of you are getting away with this.”
“Felicity, wait.” He grasped me by the arm and whipped me back to face him. “I’m not lying to you.”
Footsteps pounded close. I turned toward the sound, but Marco jerked me behind him before I could see who was there. Pulling a weapon from his lower back, he pointed it toward the staircase a
nd yelled, “Get down!”
“Freeze!” voices echoed around us as the room suddenly flooded with officers. “You’re surrounded. Drop your weapons!”
Things happened so fast I barely knew what was going on. One second I was standing, then the next I was sprawled on the ground, with someone in a uniform at my back shouting orders. The dark hallway quickly filled with several people, and I heard Marco talking rapidly as he was yanked up the staircases, trying to explain that neither of us were a threat, but no one seemed to be listening. And then I was being hauled up from the ground, my hands cuffed behind my back, and shoved into the stairwell too.
“What’s going on?” I tried to ask.
No one answered.
“I have a right to know what’s happening,” I yelled. “Someone say something!”
Then I heard Marco’s voice from somewhere ahead say, “Just do as they say and answer all their questions. Everything’s going to be okay, Felicity. Trust me.”
My heart raced all over again.
I wanted to trust him. I just wasn’t sure if I could anymore.
* * * *
“So let me get this straight,” I said, looking across the table at the Interpol agent in the Brooks Brothers suit. “He was telling the truth? He knew nothing about the deal my uncle made with House Salvatici?”
“Yep.” The agent, a good-looking, dark-haired thirty-something Englishman named Patrick Delaney, studied me in the stark white interrogation room. “They used Marco as a pawn to push you into action.”
“So when he suggested we get the original tape, he didn’t do it knowing I would take him to Callum?”
“No. It was a coincidence. Your uncle wasn’t expecting you. At least not so soon. I think he figured you’d show up at some point, considering he was the one who sent you after that file in the first place, but he assumed it would take a few days.”
And my uncle would have been right. I’d have figured it out and gone over on my own. And if that had happened, I’d likely be dead now.
I stared at my hand on the table, then looked up at Agent Delaney. “Is my father safe?”
“Completely. And already handling things on his end, don’t worry.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant and didn’t want to ask. “And what about Marco? What happens with his House?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? If they were working with my uncle, and they find out Marco freed me—”
“They won’t find out. We have your uncle. We have Alfonsi and Ricci from House Salvatici who were working with your uncle and who grabbed you. We even picked up Bastian Gautier.”
“Who’s that?”
“The Frenchman who was instructed to pass you the file at the masquerade party.”
I was almost afraid to breathe easier. “So Marco’s safe? They can’t punish or hurt him for this?”
“He’s safe.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled.
Delaney’s chair scraped the floor, and I opened my eyes to see him close the file folder where he’d been jotting notes from our conversation and push to his feet. “I’m assuming that means you’re up for seeing him? He’s been pacing out in the hall for the last ten minutes.”
“He’s here?” My heart stuttered, and I quickly rose.
Delaney smirked. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He pulled the door open and motioned to someone in the hall. With a smile my way, he said, “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Merrick. Hopefully we won’t have to cross paths again.”
“Yeah. You too.”
He moved out into the hallway and disappeared, and seconds later, Marco filled the space where he’d just been.
“Hey,” he said quietly, looking completely unsure as he tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “You okay?”
I’d been relieved when I’d realized we’d been rescued by Interpol, not arrested. But that relief paled in comparison to what I felt now. I crossed the room in two strides and threw my arms around his neck, holding on tight.
He caught me around the waist, and I saw the surprise in his eyes a split second before I lifted my mouth to his, but it didn’t stop me. I kissed him and pressed my body against his and lost myself in him all over again. In something I’d been too afraid to believe could possibly be real.
Breathless, I finally drew back and whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It looked bad. Even I can see that.”
“Yes, but I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I know you’re different. We’re different.” I lifted my lips back to his and kissed him all over again, loving the way he sighed and held me close, as if he didn’t want to let me go.
“This is crazy,” I whispered. “It’s not supposed to happen like this.”
“I know.”
“You were right, though. I felt it. The lightning. It hit me too. I was just...afraid of it.”
“I know you were.”
I eased back and looked up at him. “I don’t want to be afraid of it. I want to take a chance. With you. Let’s forget about Houses and Ententes and rebellions and just be. Can we do that? Can we just be us and see where it goes? Like you said?”
Something dark passed over his eyes. Something that gave me pause.
“What?” I asked.
“Felicity, I can’t leave my House.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I had a sudden feeling he was about to tell me, and that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Before all this,” he went on, his voice soft and dripping with regret, “I think we could have given it a go. And I think it could have been something great. But now...” He shook his head. “They were working with your uncle. It’s not safe for you to come to Italy with me.”
“Okay, so you come here. House Merrick will protect you after what you just did for us.”
“It’s not that easy. I can’t leave.”
“Marco, your House is evil.”
“Not everyone in my House is. Just a few select leaders. That’s why I have to stay. If House Salvatici is going to change, it has to change from the inside out. I’ve been working behind the scenes for a long time to make that happen. If I go now, it could all fall apart. Felicity, you know Luciano Salvatici, right?”
“Luc?” He and I had gone to Oxford together. Our fathers had tried to arrange a marriage between us at one point because we were both of noble blood and the elites were all about preserving the bloodlines, but neither of us had been interested. We’d been friends back in school, nothing more, and I hadn’t heard from him in ages. “What’s this got to do with Luc? He’s been missing for years.”
“Not missing. Figuring things out. He’s going to come back one day, and when his father passes, he’s going to become the head of House Salvatici. He’s the heir, and he’s not like his father. You know that. When he’s installed as the Grand Duke, he’ll need men like me who can help him make the changes that need to be made. And I promised him a long time ago I’d be there when that happened.”
“You know that’s what I’m working for too. Change in the Entente. You can do that here.”
“I wish I could, but... I can’t. House Merrick is years ahead of House Salvatici in its progressiveness. Our movement’s just starting. And I believe in it. I have to, otherwise the whole world is doomed if people don’t stand up and fight. My parents did that. It’s why they were killed. Their accident wasn’t random. And I promised myself a long time ago, I’d make their deaths matter.”
My chest squeezed so tight it was hard to draw air. I couldn’t fault him for that. For believing in something so strongly, especially when it was the same thing I believed it. Which meant asking him to stay, to give up the one thing that made him him... There was no way I could do it.
“Wow.” I stared at his sweater, realizing just what he was saying. “There’s really no way this is going to work, is there?”
“No.
I want it to, but if I come back here and start visiting you, if they see us together, they’ll know. They’ll know I was involved in what happened here, and then—”
“And then you won’t be any help to Luc or the movement because they’ll get rid of you.”
“Yeah,” he said softly.
Tears filled my eyes. Tears I didn’t expect. My heart was breaking, after only knowing this man for a few short hours. And there was nothing I could do to stop it from shattering.
He pulled me against him and held me. And long minutes later, he whispered, “For what it’s worth, I know it would have worked. It would have been the fairytale, happily-ever after kind of love you deserve. And it would have been absolutely amazing, amore.”
Epilogue
Marco
December was not my favorite month. My parents had died in December when I was ten. I’d lost a dog in December when I was a teenager. And my university girlfriend had broken up with me in December, right before the holiday break during my second year away at school.
I’d learned long ago not to get my hopes up just because it was a festive time of year, but this year as I built a fire in the farmhouse on my new property after work—well, old property, since it had been my parents’ originally and I’d finally decided to start living here—I couldn’t stop thinking about Felicity. About where she was, what she was doing, and if she was thinking of me. I also couldn’t stop wishing I could see her one more time. Even though I knew it was useless to do so.
She’d left the UK not long after I’d returned to Italy. I had no idea where she’d gone. No one seemed to know where she’d gone, to be honest. When I first realized she’d disappeared, I‘d been worried, until Patrick Delaney had reassured me she was safe. I wasn’t sure how he knew that, but I trusted him. And when he told me not to go digging too deep, I decided to follow his advice. I didn’t want to give my House any reason to put her life in any more danger.
A knock sounded at my door. I stirred the coals one last time, pushed up from the floorboards, and leaned the poker against the hearth. “Un momento,” I called.
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