Page 66 of Forbidden Sins

22

ESTELLA

Iblink at him, confused. “Home? But you live at the mansion?—”

Sebastian glances at me in the rearview mirror. “I have a place in the city, too. Somewhere to keep the things I own that I didn’t have space for in my room at the mansion, or if I wanted a little privacy now and then.”

Jealousy shoots through me like an arrow. I don’t need him to spell out the kind of thing he might have wantedprivacyfor. My stomach twists at the thought of him with another woman, kissing and touching someone else the way he kissed and held me. And more…

I don’t even fully know what thatmoreentails. I have an idea, but no real knowledge. But Sebastian knows. I’m sure there have been plenty of women in his bed. That jealousy burns through me, and I look away from the glimpse of his eyes in the rearview mirror, dark and determined as we speed away from the only home I’ve ever known.

“We need to get there, grab some things, and keep moving.” Sebastian looks out toward the road, taking a hard right turn. “We can’t stay long.”

My heart hammers against my ribs as I try to process what’s happening. It all happened so fast. It feels as if the space of time between Vito grabbing me at the rose lattices and Sebastian and me speeding away from the mansion has been a blink of an eye. Less than half an hour ago, I was at my engagement party, smiling emptily at guests while Vito held my hand like a vise. I look down at that same hand, the oval solitaire stubbornly sparkling in the dim light.

Now I’m in the backseat of a stolen car, driving away from everything I’ve ever known with my bodyguard.

He’s not even my bodyguard anymore, I suppose. He certainly isn’t employed by my father anymore. He’s my…

I don’t have a word for what he is to me. And that makes all of this somehow even more terrifying.

“Sebastian, what have we done?” I whisper. I look down at my dress—some of the embroidery was torn off as we ran through the garden, the dress itself snagged from having caught on branches. I don’t care about the dress itself; it was bought for an event that I never wanted to have happened, and I can’t wait to get it off my body. But looking down at the wreckage of a dress that cost probably a year’s worth of Sebastian’s salary is a shocking reminder of just what a massive leap we’ve taken, right off a cliff with no parachute in sight.

“We’re saving you from Vito Bianchi.” Sebastian yanks the car into another hard turn, his voice tight. “From a life of abuse and rape and having to give a man you hate a family and smile at his side while he shows you off on his arm like the perfect trophy wife you are, and you stand there and smile and quietly buy more makeup when you get home to cover up the bruises.” His gaze flicks to mine in the rearview again. “I couldn’t leave you there with him,” he says, more quietly this time. “I just couldn’t, little dove.”

I blink, startled at the nickname. My gaze meets his, and a shiver runs down my spine at the look in his eyes. It’s so different from the look I saw in Vito’s, warm instead of ice-cold, full of emotion and longing instead of lust and possessiveness.

I’ve seen moments of possessiveness in Sebastian too—but it was different. Itfeltdifferent.

He’s the only man I’ve ever wanted to belong to.

“Stay down,” Sebastian murmurs as he pulls onto a main street. “They might already be looking for this car. We’re going to have to be quick about all of this.”

I nod, lowering myself into the backseat, listening to the sounds of traffic and watching the streetlights go by as Sebastian speeds up again.

“It will be worse if he catches you after you’ve tried to take me away,” I whisper. I truly don’t know whichheI’m referring to—my father, Vito, or both. “Why are you risking this, Sebastian?”

I see his jaw tighten, and his eyes meet mine in the rearview again for just a moment, a brief flash of something raw and unguarded in them. “You know why, princess.”

The air between us feels charged suddenly, snapping taut with a familiar tension. I swallow hard, feeling my pulse flutter in my throat as I look at Sebastian’s hands gripping the wheel—long-fingered, strong, veined hands, hands that I’ve felt on my body for a painfully brief amount of time. The still-healing wounds on his wrists from the cuffs the night my father had him beaten are visible, and I wince, knowing he must still be in pain from it all. I wish I could take that pain away from him.

Sebastian clears his throat, breaking the tension. “We’ll be there soon. Just a few more minutes, and then we’ll need to move quickly. Just listen to me and follow my lead.” He glances back, and I nod.

I used to love coming into the city. The lights are bright as we drive down side streets, illuminating all the people out andabout tonight, living their lives without any idea of the turmoil churning inside the car passing them by. I watch them with no small amount of envy; I know their lives aren’t as rarefied as mine has been, that there’s stress and bills and struggles that I’ve never known… but I can’t help but feel that I’d take those struggles over everything I’ve had to fear so far. That I’d rather face those things than the terror chasing Sebastian and me right now.

I’d rather live a difficult life that’s my own than a life that belongs to someone else.

Sebastian takes a series of turns, likely trying to ensure that we’re not being followed, before pulling into an underground parking garage beneath a nondescript apartment building in a middle-class neighborhood. It’s all gray on the exterior, made to look crisp and modern, I think, but it actually looks fairly boring. He parks in a far corner spot on the opposite side from the entrance, and a good distance from the security cameras that I see spaced out throughout the garage.

“Stay close to me,” he says, turning to look at me directly. The bruises on his face look darker in the shadows, and I can see that his mouth still isn’t completely healed, although the split looks less raw and angry than before. “Keep your head down while we go to the door. We need to be quick.”

I nod, biting my lip as I look down at my evening gown. It stands out, that’s for sure, and Vito will recognize it if someone were to review the security cameras and see me walking past. Sebastian’s gaze sweeps over me, and he frowns.

“Just stay to my other side,” he says. “We’ll go as fast as possible.”

We move quickly through the garage to a service elevator, Sebastian keeping me on his side that faces away from the cameras. He keeps one hand on the small of my back, the other hovering near where I know he stashed the gun, though I haveno idea if it has any bullets left. He’s tense for the entire elevator ride up, his body angled protectively in front of me, every inch of him on high alert.

When we reach his floor, he steps out first, checking the hallway before ushering me out and quickly down the hall. We head down six doors before Sebastian stops and unlocks the door that we pause at, guiding me inside before quickly locking and bolting the door behind us.

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