Chapter 76
Aurora POV
Inside the bathroom, I twist the shower handle and let the water thunder against the tile. It’s hot and loud but that’s the point. I slide the lock into place even though it won’t do much against a bratva soldier if they decide to barge in with force. At least it’ll give me time to hide the phone before they manage to get past the door frame.
My fingers move fast, digging under my shirt for the burner phone.
When I switch it on, it lights up without protest. Thank fuck. There’s no password, just a clean screen that allows me to swipe up with a single flick of my thumb before the home screen is displayed with one bar of service and a text messaging app.
That’s it.
I hesitate for only a second before typing in Stefano’s number from memory. I was never supposed to memorize it since I’ve never been in a position to need to contact him like this but when you grow up in a world like mine, you commit every lifeline to memory without realizing it just in case.
And today is that “just in case” moment I’ve long since dreaded.
Hey, Stefano. It’s Aurora. Gianna and I were taken by a Bratva leader named Alek Volkov. We’re at a private rental house in Mexico. I think near Cancun. Please help us.
I hit send before I can second guess myself.
The message hangs there, suspended in digital purgatory, and I can do nothing but wait. Every second feels like an eternity. I pace the bathroom, chewing on the skin around my thumb while trying not to panic.
What if it doesn’t go through? What if the enforcers already knew about this phone and planted it to see if I would behave and keep my head down like I was told to? What if this is some kind of setup to see who I would contact and use it against me?
My heart thunders.
Fuck, this was stupid. Stupid and desperate.
The screen vibrates in my hand with his reply: Are you safe? Can you call me?
Relief floods me like a dam breaking, making me nearly drop the phone.
Safe for now. Gianna is with Alek. I’m alone but I can’t talk. Just text.
The typing bubble appears instantly: I’ll handle it. Don’t let them know you reached out. Keep your head down and don’t do anything reckless.
The worst part is I’ve already done something reckless. Coming here with Gianna, letting Camilla send us on this wild plan to disappear… it was all reckless. And now we’re caught in something bigger than we imagined.
That I could’ve imagined.
Now Gianna is in real danger and there’s nothing I can do about it. All there’s left to do is hope, by some miracle, that Stefano can get us out of here.
As soon as I stuff the phone back into my bra, someone’s fist pounds on the door. I yank the shower curtain back in order to dunk my head under the spray and wet my hair quickly. “Almost done!”
The phone is warm against my skin, and I swear I can feel it like a hot coal, burning guilt into my chest while I grab a towel and quickly pat the ends of my damp hair dry. If I’m caught and they end up finding the phone, I don’t know what Alek will do. But I’ve seen enough men like him to have a pretty good imagination.
The guard’s eyes scan me top to bottom when I open the door. “You were taking a long time.”
“Sorry,” I mutter.
He grunts, steps aside before leading me back to my room. He doesn’t say a word once I step past the doorway, only grabs a hold of the handle before snapping the door shut, sealing me back inside
The walls in here are too sterile for my liking… a place like this feels so suffocating with nothing but a bed, a dresser and my bag of personal belongings dumped all over the mattress. I end up stashing the phone back into the little compartment Camilla stuffed it into and pull at the thread to seal the seam up again.
A small piece dangles but it’s hardly noticeable to someone doing a cursory sweep of the inside of the bag.
After what feels like hours, Gianna finally returns.
She looks pale and shaken, wearing makeup she hadn’t had on before she left. Her lipstick is slightly smudged but other than that, she looks completely put together. Fit for a fancy meal out with a Russian mobster.
I rush forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. “What happened? Are you okay?”
She nods, eyes a little wide. “Yeah. He was… weirdly polite. We had a nice meal and wine while he talked about Russia like it was a damn fairytale. Said he’s going to build me some villa in the Italian countryside for when I get tired of the snow and want a vacation. I don’t know. It puts on a nice act but I can tell there’s something sinister underneath.”
A breath escapes me. Well, at least he didn’t try to push her to be intimate with him or something else as equally terrifying. Alek strikes me as the type to be patient for what he wants—biding his time until the perfect moment. And then he strikes when least expected.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s making sure to plan a spectacular honeymoon in order to woo Gianna into letting her guard down around him. Long enough for him to take her to bed and do whatever he wants with her.
He’s the same type of man that Leonardo was. Only, a little more covert about his intentions. If Gianna ends up pregnant after the honeymoon, she’ll never be able to break away from him. He’ll have his claim over her for life.
“I contacted Stefano,” I tell her. “He said he’s going to figure out a way to get us out of this.”
Her eyes widen. “What? Are you serious? How? How did you—”
“Camilla,” I say. “She slipped a phone into my bag. I found it earlier and contacted him on it.”
Gianna slumps onto the bed, stunned. “I never thought I’d say this, but… damn we really owe her.”
“I know. I told him that Alek’s got us. Hopefully he moves fast before we’re taken out of the country. Or you, rather.”
Gianna’s face goes pale. “Do you think he can get to us in time?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. But if anyone can, it’s your father.”
She nods slowly, then looks at me again. “I’ll have to keep distracting Alek until then. It’s the only way we’re going to have a fighting chance at being rescued.”
Nodding, I ask, “What are you going to do?”
She shrugs at me. “Whatever the hell I can. If I have to fake a seizure and put myself in the hospital, then so be it. Whatever it takes.”
I’m with her on that one, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
That last thing I want is for Gianna to be forced into a vulnerable position and taken advantage of. There are plenty of scenarios I can think of that would end in Alek putting her into some kind of drugged state in order to make it easier for him to take her back to Russia.
All he would have to do is claim she’s his wife, or threaten the staff into abiding by his wishes.
“For now, just keep him company. Tease him just enough to distract him from whatever business he’s dealing with here. That way it takes him longer to finish.” I suggest.
She nods. “Good idea. When he calls for me in the morning, I’ll do it.”
I blow out a breath. “Let me know how it goes.”
I just hope Stefano can actually convince my father to rescue us. Because if not, then we might as well kiss our lives goodbye.
Dominic POV
As soon as Dominic’s boots hit the tarmac in Mexico, he didn’t waste a second. He brushed past airport officials with single-minded determination, Romero’s words echoing like a warning bell in the back of his mind.
Choosing Aurora meant walking away from everything, from his plan, from the empire he was so close to claiming. To what he and Romero had been fighting tirelessly for.
None of it mattered now.
He slid into the back seat of the black SUV waiting at the curb, barking at the driver before the man could even greet him. “Hotel Gran Vista. Now.”
The man nodded and took off with a jerk of the wheel, weaving through Mexico City traffic like a man with a death wish. Dominic didn’t mind, the faster they went, the better. Anything to get him there before all but imploded from the stress.
The GPS glared back at him from the dashboard, ticking down the minutes far too slowly. Twenty, then fifteen, then ten.
He didn’t even realize his jaw was clenched until his teeth started to ache.
The hotel loomed up ahead, a faux-luxury building with arched windows and polished stone, palm trees fluttering lazily in the humid breeze. As soon as the car rolled to a stop, Dominic threw open the door and hit the pavement hard, ignoring the startled doorman as he strode toward the front entrance.
The moment the automatic doors parted, cool, perfumed air rushed over him. It did nothing to cut the heat in his veins.
He stormed across the marble floor and slammed his fists down on the front desk.
The young woman behind the counter jumped, nearly knocking over the small stack of pamphlets beside her keyboard. Her fingers scrambled toward the mouse, her eyes wide and alarmed.
“Two women checked in under the names Julieta and Sofia Lombardi. Where are they?” Dominic growled out.
The clerk blinked at him. “U-Uh, I can… let me look them up.”
There was the quick clacking of the keys as her fingers flew over her keyboard, a slight pinch to her brow while she pulled up the details of Aurora and Gianna’s reservation.
“I-it looks like they already checked out.”
Dominic narrowed his eyes. “When? By who?”
Luca nor Marco mentioned them checking out at all on his flight over. It had to have been recent. At least within the last few hours. There was no way they would’ve missed something that like that.
“Uh…” The clerk typed rapidly again. “Two men came and said they were picking up their things… Checked out for them. They said they were their husbands? It happened a few days ago.”
A lead weight sank into Dominic’s gut.
He backed away from the desk and pulled out his phone, swiping to the call log. The missed call from Alek was the first thing his eye caught sight over, timestamped a few days prior, probably around the time the girls allegedly checked out.
He’d ignored it. Assumed it was more of the Russian’s usual posturing—empty threats and provocations about Gianna and the broken deal.
But it wasn’t about Gianna.
It was about Aurora.
Fuck.
He hit the contact and held the phone up to his ear, his footsteps echoing against the marbled floors while he stormed out into the hot, humid air.
Alek picked up after two rings, his voice gratingly cheerful. “Ah, Dominic. I was starting to think you did not want to be friends anymore.”
“Cut the bullshit. Where are they?”
Alek let out a slow, mocking laugh. “That’s quite an accusation to throw out. Perhaps I just called to reminisce about your time in Russia. You had a good time with my family, no?”
“Alek.”
The the Russian laughed again. “You are no fun. But then, that is what I appreciate you most. Cutting right to the chase. Yes, yes. Fine. They are with me. Alive and well, I assure you.”
Dominic’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”
“True,” Alek said mildly. “But you see, you declined my offer. And I am not a man who enjoys being told no. Nor do I care about waiting. I see what I want and I take it.”
“You said Gianna. You never said anything about Aurora.”
“Collateral,” Alek replied simply. “She was there. I couldn’t have her running around a foreign city by herself.”
Dominic was already pacing the parking lot, trying to keep from throwing the phone against the nearest wall. “Don't touch her. If you do, I’ll—”
“You will what?” Alek cut in, amused. “Kill me? You could try. But we both know how that would end.”
A thick silence stretched between them.
Then Alek’s tone shifted. He sounded almost… curious. “Do you love her?”
Dominic’s throat closed.
Alek hummed in satisfaction at his none response. “I thought so. That would explain your sudden recklessness.”
Dominic didn’t bite the obvious bait being dangled in front of him. “Where are they?”
“I didn’t call to chat logistics. I called to offer you another deal.”
Dominic shut his eyes. “Of course you did.”
“You didn’t like my original terms. That’s fine. Let’s try something new. A deal that gives everyone what they want. How does that sound?”
As if he had the choice in the matter. “Spit it out.”
