Chapter 4

Sienna POV

Before a job, I always think through every possible outcome. This one was no different.

I had imagined what Luca would do the moment he saw me. Maybe he would recognize me on the spot and lose his temper. Maybe he would have somebody drag me out. I had even thought through the worst of it--if he hated me that deeply, I might never walk out of Aurelius alive.

The one thing I hadn't prepared for was no reaction at all. That frightened me worse than revenge would have. And what I couldn't understand was this: he genuinely looked like he didn't know me. How was that possible?

Before I could be sure of anything, Luca had crossed to the center of the sofas and sat down. I had no choice but to withdraw to the corner, keep playing the dutiful waitress.

The mood changed the second he settled in. Every man who had been pawing at the women beside him and trading filthy jokes straightened up. One set his glass down. Somebody actually nudged the girl next to him away. The room that had been raucous a minute before went quiet.

Alex let up too. He gave me one look, snorted, and went back to his seat.

For most of the night Luca only listened while the others reported, speaking up only when he had something to say. But every time he opened his mouth, everyone else stopped to hear him finish. Nobody cut in. Nobody argued back. He never had to raise his voice to make everyone listen.

I was still working out a new approach when his ringtone cut across my thoughts. He answered, and his tone was lighter than it had been all night.

"...I'm at Aurelius. With Alex and the others."

A few seconds passed.

"Understood."

He hung up and ground out his cigarette. "Something's come up. I'm leaving. Whatever you drink tonight is on me."

"You really don't have to--" One of the men scrambled to his feet. "Go ahead, we'll stay on."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," another added quickly.

Luca only waved them off and took his coat off the arm of the sofa.

Alex leaned in with a grin. "Fiancée checking up on you? Bring her next time. None of us have met her properly."

The words came through clearly enough.

"Next time, then."

Luca turned and left without another word. He didn't pause. He didn't look in my direction once.

I stared after him, panic rising in my chest. If I let him walk out of here tonight, I might never find another reasonable excuse to get near him. This was the only opening I had.

I didn't let myself think. I went after him.

The corridor was long. His shoes struck the floor as he walked away, each step taking him farther from me.

"Mr. Hawthorne, wait!"

His step hitched--half a beat, so small I nearly believed I had imagined it. But he didn't stop.

Out on the driveway in front of the club, a black sedan waited with its hazards flashing.

"Luca!"

I ran down the steps in heels and reached the car a second before the door could shut, my palm hitting flat against the glass.

"Five minutes. Give me five minutes and let me explain."

I couldn't read his face through the window. All I could see was my own distorted reflection.

The car began to roll forward.

I clamped my hand around the door handle and was dragged along with it, stumbling several steps before my knees hit concrete and pain shot up my leg where the skin tore open. I gritted my teeth and held on.

The car stopped abruptly. The door opened, Luca's shoes hit the pavement, and he stood over me where I knelt on the ground.

"Are you trying to die?"

I raised my head. Blood was seeping from the graze on my knee and I couldn't afford to feel it.

"I don't want to die. I just want you to listen to me." I tipped my head back to look up at him. "Five years ago I had no choice. I'm back now. Let me make it up to you. Anything you want..."

"No choice?"

He said the words as though the phrase didn't exist in any language he spoke.

I bit down on my lip, ready to keep going, when he cut straight across me.

"Anything you want," he repeated, and leaned down until I could smell him. His voice dropped. "Including sleeping with other men?"

Every muscle in my body locked. My eyes filled up. I swallowed hard and nodded, my voice broken halfway toward a sob.

"Including that."

"Good. You said it yourself."

Luca jerked his chin at the man standing beside the car.

The next second, an iron grip closed around my wrist. My body went tight on pure instinct. If I wanted to, I could have taken that grip, turned his wrist against him, and used his own stumble to put him on his back. Three seconds and I'd be free. And if Luca saw what I could really do, everything I had planned tonight would collapse.

"You--what are you doing?" I widened my eyes.

The man didn't answer. My other wrist went the same way. My arms were forced behind my back, and my wrists were bound. I struggled just enough to make it look real.

"Luca?"

I lifted my face to him, putting on my best look of confusion.

"What is this?"

He only looked at me. Somehow, his calm was more frightening than anger would have been.

The man shoved me toward the open door. I staggered once, and then I was thrown across the back seat.

"Wait--" I pushed myself up, starting to speak, and the door slammed shut in my face.

I was trapped in the car, my wrists bound behind me, my knee burning from the fall, loose strands of hair sticking to my face. I lifted my head and looked at Luca as he got in. He took his time straightening his cuffs, as though he wasn't the man who had just had a woman bound and thrown into his car.

I pushed my unease aside and kept the mask in place.

"Luca, where are you taking me?"

He turned his face at last.

"I gave you your chance."

I froze. He settled back into the seat, his eyes cold on me.

"At Aurelius I didn't touch you. You could have walked out. I never stopped you."

His voice was calm, and it chilled me anyway.

"Didn't you say it yourself? Anything you want."