Page 92 of His Savage Ruin
The question comes out rough, and I watch Enzo look up from his phone with an expression that tells me he's just realized where I'm going with this and the answer is going to be bad.
"Most of our forces are at the clubs. Maybe ten men covering the main house, not counting the ones you just assigned to Alessia."
So twelve men. Twelve fucking men to protect the entire estate, to guard Isabella and Alessia and everyone else who lives under my roof.
The blood drains from my face, and I can feel my pulse hammering in my wrists, in my throat, everywhere all at once because I've made a tactical error. I've been so focused on finding the traitor inside our organization that I've left us vulnerable from the outside, and if Emilio is watching our movements—and he definitely is because he's not stupid and neither are his intelligence people—he'll exploit that weakness the second he realizes it exists.
And I just gave him the perfect opportunity by pulling everyone to the clubs, by leaving the mansion exposed.
"Matteo?" Luca's voice cuts through the roaring in my ears. "What's wrong?"
But I'm already moving, already heading for the door because staying here planning security measures feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic when the ship is already sinking. Alessia is in the estate with minimal protection and anything could happen in the time it takes me to have this conversation.
"Where are you going?" Rafael calls after me, but I don't answer because I can't waste breath on explanations when every second, I spend talking is another second something could go wrong.
I need to get to her now, before my worst fears become reality.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Alessia
Isabella is laughing at something Dante said to one of the maids yesterday, her hands moving while she talks, and I'm trying to pay attention but my mind keeps drifting back to last night.
I told Matteo everything. Every detail about that night and Matteo didn't flinch. Didn't look at me with disgust or horror or any of the reactions I'd been bracing myself for since the moment the confession started spilling out.
He looked at me like I was worth protecting.
The thought makes something warm curl in my chest, and I reach for my coffee cup to hide whatever expression is probably showing on my face right now. The warmth seeps into my palms, and I take a sip, letting the familiar taste ground me. Single shot of espresso with just a dash of milk, exactly how I like it.
"You're not listening to me at all, are you?" Isabella asks, but there's amusement in her voice instead of offense.
"I'm listening," I lie, and she laughs like she knows exactly what I'm thinking about.
I reach for the smoothie, pale purple and thick with berries and whatever else the kitchen puts in these things. Sweet but not too sweet, cold enough to make my teeth ache slightly.I love smoothies and I have no idea why I didn’t ask for one earlier.
The first sip goes down easy, just as her phone buzzes on the table, and she glances at the screen before her expression shifts to something more serious. "I need to take this. Work thing with the foundation." She stands, smoothing down her dress. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Don't eat all the pastries."
"I promise to focus on my smoothie," I say, and she's already walking out with her phone pressed to her ear.
The room feels bigger when she leaves, quieter in a way that makes me notice the guards stationed by the door. Romeo stands closest to me, his posture relaxed but alert, and Marco is near the entrance looking as rigid and unfriendly as always. I still haven't forgiven him for what he said at the casino, but Matteo needs every man he has right now so I keep my mouth shut and my distance.
I take the glass again but the more I drink, the more I feel that something is off.
Not the taste exactly, but something underneath the sweetness makes my tongue feel thick in my mouth. I set the glass down and press my fingers to my temples because suddenly the sunlight pouring through the windows seems too bright, too harsh, like someone turned up the intensity without warning.
My vision swims at the edges, and I blink hard trying to clear it, but that just makes everything worse. The room tilts sideways, or maybe I'm the one tilting, and I grab the edge of the table to steady myself because the floor suddenly feels very far away.
I know this feeling. I know this dizzy, floating sensation from the handful of times I’ve had painkillers which is exactly why I avoid them, especially in big doses. The same heavy fog that wraps around my thoughts and makes my limbs stop responding properly, the same sensation of being trapped inside a body that doesn’t do what I tell it to.
Oh God. Oh God no…
"Signora" Romeo's voice sounds like it's coming from underwater. "Are you alright?"
I try to answer, try to tell him something's wrong, but my tongue won't form the words correctly. They come out slurred and broken, meaningless sounds instead of language.
Stand up! Get help! My brain is screaming commands but my body isn't listening, my legs have gone completely useless, and I'm falling before I can stop it.
Romeo catches me before I hit the ground, his hands under my arms holding me up even though my body has gone completely limp and useless.
