Page 103 of Dominance

And a giant man is running across the courtyard of the lodge toward us at full speed.

20

GLORIA

“Dammit!” I curse, slumping back in my seat.

I lost them.

All this time, being so careful not to be seen, careful to keep up, and they vanish right out from under my nose. That’s what I get for dosing off on a stakeout.

To be fair, I haven’t been sleeping much at all since I made the knee-jerk decision to chase Adriano to Italy. I just thought he’d be doing some sort of secret deal.

Boy was I right in the worst way.

The beauty of the country is nearly lost on me for the stress I’ve had following Adriano. Mom and I drove through it on one of our detours, before we settled down in Paris. I barely remember the trip.

This time has been just as fleeting, a rush to keep my head down, trying to keep up with Adriano and not be seen.

All while my fiancé engages in…

Pure. Insanity.

His shady rendezvous with some contact of my dad’s has me standing out like a sore thumb in a really horrible part of town in Rome, leading to another meeting near some town that I’ve never heard of, followed by losing him for miles at a time on the drive to his destination.

Stupid rental car.

Stupid Adriano. Of course, he has a super car to rocket all over Europe in.

The only upside is that it stands out, so every time he stops for something, I’ve been able to spot the car.

Like outside of a ratty bar in a village called Orvieto where he stayed for several hours.

Before getting into a fight, a car chase, and a gun battle underground ending in an explosion. I kept my distance but saw enough to know that the Diamante brothers are so much more than I bargained for.

After that I tried to hang back, but they switched cars, and I had to risk being spotted rushing to catch up to them. The rest of that leg of the journey was tame.

They drove. They stopped for a little break.

When they left the rest stop, they were in new clothes.

A few hours later they stopped again in a little village by a breathtaking lake. Where the twins let Adriano out at what looked like a retirement community and sped off.

And where I promptly and very soundly fell asleep.

Two hours, a lot of backtracking, angry ranting at the windshield, and a minor meltdown later, I had no choice but to give up.

They could be anywhere by now.

So, I started to leave. To turn around and head back to the nearest major town and hope that they would make their way back through eventually, when the curiosity of who Adriano went to see got the better of me.

Being close to dark, I decided to wait until morning.

Old folks home, and all.

After a night tossing and turning at one of the town’s luxurious lakeside hotels, I wake feeling better than I have in a few days.

Cost. Worth it.

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