Page 5 of Stolen Vows

"I can’t climb down that!” she argues. "I’m not—I'll fall!”

I let out a growl of irritation, and swing my other leg out onto the balcony. The drop to the ground below isn’t far, but the way she’s talking you’d think I’m asking her to throw herself off a damn cliff.

"You go first," she tells me, crossing her arms over her chest. "I’m not going to jump down there until I see that it’s safe."

I let out a snort of derision, and move a little closer to her. Her blue eyes are wide with terror, but she stands her ground, her mouth slightly parted as she waits for me to respond.

"You think I’m going to climb out there and leave you to run off and get your father’s men?” I snap back at her. "No. You’re going. Now."

I shoot another look over my shoulder. I can almost hear the clock ticking, and I know we’re running short on time. I don’t have a scout on the scene to keep me updated with what’s going on down there; too much risk that they might get caught. I only have myself to rely on, and if this girl thinks I am going to let her call the shots, she has another thing coming.

She crosses her arms over her chest and stares me down. Fuck it. If she wants to play it this way, so be it. I don’t care what state she’s in when we get her to the cabin, as long as she’s alive enough for us to barter with her father.

I whip out the gun, and press it into her side. It nestles into the voluminous fabric of her dress, almost swallowed entirely, but I know she can feel it. Her breath catches in her throat, and she glances down in horror, the reality of the situation finally starting to settle in for her.

"You have ten seconds to get out on that ledge," I warn her. "Or that dress is going to have some serious stains."

She swallows hard. I can see her throat rising and falling as she peers through the window once more. Grabbing her arm, I pull her out, her feet kicking in the air for a moment before they make contact with the sturdy cement below.

"Oh, my God!” she cries out, and I grab her, pulling her against me, clamping my hand tight over her mouth to keep her from alerting anyone. The guests are in the main hall, waiting for her to arrive, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some staff wandering around who might catch me in the act.

"Down," I order her. "Now."

I begin to loosen my grip on her, and, at last, she turns to scramble off the edge of the ledge. She is still hanging on to my arms tight, probably hoping that if she falls, she’ll at least take me with her. I watch as her feet kick in the air for a moment, before they finally find their footing on the lattice that climbs up the side of the building. In the sunshine, her hair glows an almost beacon-blonde, and I grimace. As if I’m not attracting enough attention already...

As soon as she is on the lattice, I jump down to join her, moving to the ground as fast as I can and urging her to hurry.

"Jump, now!” I demand, as she dangles there for a moment, a few yards off the ground, her white skirt billowing out around her.

"I can’t! It’s too far..."

"I’ll catch you. Come the fuck on!”

I shoot another look around. My car is tucked in the parking lot, hidden amongst all the other sleek vehicles driven by her guests. Maya tried to insist on coming as my getaway driver, but there’s no way in fucking hell that I am risking my sister getting caught up in all of this. I know, in far too much detail, what that bastard Lucio Leone will do to a woman once he gets his hands on her, and I refuse to risk subjecting my sister to that.

Cara hangs there for another few seconds. I can tell that her arms are already starting to give, judging by how hard they’re trembling. She probably hasn’t had to lift so much as a grocery bag in all the time that she’s been alive, pampered under the care of Lucio’s blood money. For once, she’s going to have to find out what life is like without that. I can’t help but smirk at the thought. Making the Leones pay for what they’ve done feels good after all this time, even if I know that a woman like her is going to be a royal pain in my ass.

At last, she drops. I lunge forward, holding out my arms to catch her before she hits the ground. Not that I’m worried about her well-being or the state of that ridiculous dress, but because the noise could attract more attention that I don’t need. I reach up to cover her mouth again as soon as I have her, planting her back on her feet, but, to my surprise, she doesn’t even try to cry out. Probably too shocked to even think about it. She’s been so used to living under her daddy’s care for so long, she doesn’t even know how to handle shit like this.

"This way. Try anything, and I’ll shoot," I mutter to her as I pull her towards the parking lot. She stumbles slightly, her heels catching in the soft earth, and she crashes into me. The scent of rose and vanilla drifts from her skin, some floral perfume still clinging to her, like the last memories of what she was meant to do today.

We make it to my car, and I throw open the back door and push her inside. I have to grab handfuls of the dress and shove it in behind her to keep it from getting caught in the door. She is staring up at me from the back seat, her blue eyes so wide it looks as though someone could drown in them, searching my face for some kind of explanation, something that will allow her to make sense of all of this.

I snatch the blanket from the trunk of the car, and stand over her.

"Lay down. Tuck your arms in. Try to move this thing, and I’ll kick you out on the highway, you hear me?”

She nods, her breath stuttering in her lungs. For a brief moment, I pause. I'm not sure what I expected from her, but there’s something about the way she’s looking at me right now that doesn’t feel right to me. As though... as though there is something going on here that I can’t see, a detail I haven’t accounted for.

I shove the thought aside swiftly. Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it when I have to—ifI have to. I toss the heavy blanket over her, covering her completely, and slam the door, double-checking that the lock has clicked into place before I climb into the front seat. The blanket will disguise her from any CCTV that happens to catch us on the way out of the city. The last thing we need is anyone tracking us. The cabin might be in the middle of nowhere, but that means we don’t have much in the way of security out there, either.

I slam my foot down on the accelerator, and pull us out of the parking lot, cutting around the hotel and towards the back gate where the staff come and go. It might raise some red flags that someone is leaving just as the event is kicking off, but I don’thave any other choice. The front gate is watched by security at all times, and no doubt they’d have some serious questions about the bride-shaped bump in my back seat.

Keeping my head low and sliding on a pair of shades, I pass by the back entrance and out onto the road beyond. It hits me that I have actually done it. After all this planning, all these months, I have her. Cara Leone, in the back of my car, trapped. It might just be stage one of my plan, but it’s a start.

And I know that, soon, Lucio Leone is going to pay for everything he has done.

Whether he’s ready for his karma or not.

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