Page 102 of Auctioned Innocence
My hands close around a piece of broken glass, the edges cutting into my palm as I slash at the nearest attacker.
He shouts, stumbling backward with blood streaming down his face.
But it’s not enough.
A taser hits me in my chest, electricity locking every muscle in my body.
I convulse, unable to control my movements as they swarm over me.
“No!” Sofia’s scream is pure anguish as they drag her toward the destroyed window. “Let him go! I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt him!”
I try to speak, to tell her not to bargain for my life, but the electricity has stolen my voice.
All I can do is watch as they manhandle the woman I love, her face streaked with tears and blood.
A masked man crouches beside me as his men secure my restraints. “Nothing personal, Mr. Moretti. Just business.”
“I’ll kill you,” I manage to rasp out through gritted teeth. “All of you.”
His laugh is muffled by the disguise. “You’ll try.”
They haul me to my feet, and I get one last look at Sofia.
Her wild eyes find mine across the chaos, and I see the same thing I felt in that moment before I first kissed her—absolute trust.
Even now, even terrified and bound, she believes I’ll find a way to save us both.
“Dante!” she calls out as they force her through the window. “Don’t you dare give up on me!”
“Never,” I shout back, struggling against the hands holding me. “I’ll find you! I’ll?—”
Something hard crashes into the base of my skull.
The world tilts sideways, Sofia’s scream echoing in my ears as darkness rushes up to claim me.
The last thing I see is her face, streaked with tears before everything goes black.
19
SOFIA
Iwake up to the rumble of an engine and the taste of blood in my mouth.
My head pounds where they hit me, and my hands are zip-tied behind my back. The van lurches over a pothole, and I bite back a groan.
Stay calm. Assess. Plan.
The panic wants to claw its way up my throat—memories of another kidnapping, waking up in that mansion.
But this is different.
I’m different.
I’m Sofia Renaldi, and I’ve killed men who underestimated me.
I crack my eyes open just enough to observe my captors.
Three men in the back with me, driver up front.
