Page 35 of Devil's Embrace
"Rest now."I rose to check the suite's security."We'll have time to figure out the rest."
As I moved through my quarters, securing locks and checking surveillance feeds, I was acutely aware of the sleeping child and the watchful mother in my space.Someone had violated my home tonight, spilling blood across its marble floors and dealing death in its elegant hallways.Yet somehow, it felt more like home now than it ever had before.
Outside my window, my men carried out the grim work of cleaning up the aftermath.They loaded bodies into unmarked vans, scrubbed blood from the marble floors, hauled away broken furniture, and marked damaged walls for repair.By nightfall, little visible evidence of the violence remained.
But everything had changed.Mateo was gone, and with him, the last ties to my past.The empire he had built would now be fully mine to command, to reshape as I saw fit.And for the first time, I had something—someone—to shape it for.
I returned to find Emory had succumbed to exhaustion, her head tilted back against the sofa, one arm still protectively circling Mina.In sleep, the wariness left her face, revealing the young woman beneath the fierce protector.I carefully draped a blanket over them both, my fingers lingering briefly on the soft fabric.
"Sleep well," I whispered, though neither could hear me."You're safe now."
As dawn broke fully over the blood-soaked compound, I settled into my chair to watch over them, my pistol within reach, my gaze on the door.The Devil had found something worth protecting.And God help anyone who tried to take it from me.
Chapter Twelve
Emory
I paced the perimeter of my gilded cage, fingers trailing along damask wallpaper that probably cost more than my yearly salary.Three days had passed since Luca had killed his uncle in the foyer downstairs, three days of careful politeness and watchful eyes.The room was beautiful—all cream and gold with a bed so soft it felt like sleeping on a cloud—but the locked door reminded me we were still prisoners, just in prettier surroundings.
Mina sat cross-legged on the massive bed, coloring in a book one of Luca's staff had brought her.Her blonde head bent in concentration, tongue peeking out between her lips as she carefully filled in a unicorn's mane with every shade of marker she owned.She'd been remarkably resilient, all things considered.Children adapted.It was their superpower and their curse.
"Mama, look!I made his horn rainbow!"She held up her masterpiece, beaming with pride.
"It's beautiful, sweet pea."I forced a smile, crossing the room to kiss the top of her head."The prettiest unicorn I've ever seen."
My fingers itched with the need to do something, anything, to get us out of here.The violence three nights ago had shaken me to my core, but not nearly as much as my reaction to it.I'd watched Luca kill his uncle without flinching.Worse, I'd helped him do it.It wasn’t something I’d ever thought myself capable of, but in that moment, I’d reacted instinctively.
Voices in the hallway drew my attention.I tiptoed to the door, pressing my ear against the ornate wood panel.
"—already here.Six of them at the north perimeter."A man's voice, tight with urgency.
"Mateo's lieutenant?"A second voice, lower, harder to catch.
"Yeah.Russo.He's saying the old man had contingencies.Something about using the kid as leverage if anything happened to him."
My blood turned to ice.Mina.They were talking about Mina.
"Moretti won't let them near her," the second voice replied, confident.
"Depends which Moretti you mean.Some of the inner circle are saying Luca's gone soft, that he should've seen Mateo's move coming.They're not sure where their loyalties lie."
The voices faded as they moved down the hallway.I stepped back from the door, my heart hammering so hard I feared Mina would hear it.
"Mama?Are you okay?"Her little voice cut through my panic.
"Just fine, baby."I smiled again, this smile so tight it felt like my face might crack."Keep coloring, okay?I'm going to check something."
I moved to the window and tested its latch for the hundredth time since they had brought us here.It stayed remained shut.The glass was probably bulletproof, given everything else in this fortress.Three stories up anyway—no escape there without breaking something vital.
The main door to the hallway was the only exit, and I'd already heard the tell-tale click of the lock engaging after Maria had brought our breakfast earlier.
Trapped.With Mateo's men coming for my daughter.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, forcing back tears of frustration.I wouldn't cry.Crying wouldn't save Mina.Thinking would.Planning would.
A soft knock at the door made me jump.
"Miss Scott?"Maria's gentle voice called."I've brought fresh towels."
