Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
As badly as I wanted to, I didn’t close my eyes. They burned and stung as I forced my eyelids to remain open. If he was going to shoot me in cold blood, I would at least make him look me in the eye while he did it.
My breath slipped past my lips in a rush when he pulled out a slim, gold business card holder. As he flipped it open, I saw the unmistakable family crest engraved on the top.
It was a rearing medieval dragon and unicorn protecting a large diamond and a scroll with a Latin phrase.
Crede nullis. Vince omnes.
Trust none. Conquer all.
The Diamantis.
Porca miseria. The freaking Diamantis!
Which meant this must be… uh oh.
The man pulled out a card and handed it to me. “My card.”
It was heavy, black card stock with the same family crest embossed in gold and ice blue. On the other side it had only his name and a six-digit code under it, no email or phone number. As if you needed to be a member of some ultra-secret society to be able to contact him.
Sebastian Diamanti
13 7 23 3
I should have recognized him. Most people outside of Italy knew him as the CEO and heir to the House of Diamanti, a diamond and jewelry empire dating back over a hundred years.
But Italians knew better.
Sebastian Diamanti was one of the most dangerous men—and the eldest son of one of the most powerful families—in all of Italy.
Certain people might fear the influence of the Sicilian mob, but they were terrified of the Diamantis. Legitimacy gave them way more power. It was the same reason Fino was showing so much interest in the Cavalieris. They were equally wealthy and influential, although their reputation wasn't quite as ruthless. Only because they were tucked away in Abruzzo as opposed to Rome, where the Diamantis lived.
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
In the tense silence, I glanced down at my phone as my eyes filled with tears.
His hand covered the screen. “No more of that. You’re a Cavalieri now."
I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand. “No I’m not.” I sounded like a petulant child but didn’t care.
Sebastian chuckled. “Fair enough. You soon will be a Cavalieri. They protect their own. And they have the full support of my family in doing so. No matter what is required.”
The weight of his words hung heavy between us.
I sniffed. “But my sister.”
He buttoned his suit jacket. “Matteo was right. You are adorably sweet and very loyal. Almost too loyal. Don’t worry, piccolo piantagrane. Your man is aware there is no happiness with you, without first securing the well-being of that sister of yours.”
That sister of mine. So it seemed he was aware of Antonia’s reputation for trouble. If anything she was the little troublemaker not me. Although I guessed I now shared in that after the last few days.
But wait. Matteo had talked about me to him?
It was silly but it definitely gave me a warm, fluttery feeling to know he had spoken about me.
Me.
Not my sister or me pretending to be my sister, but me.
He touched my cheek. “No more tears. Now, I must go meet with your man to discuss how we are going to deal with the both of you without causing a nasty little war.”
I stepped forward. “I should go with you.”
His back was already turned to me. He barely bothered to turn around, only casting a quick glance over his shoulder. “Absolutely not. Matteo will handle this for you. It’s his duty as your future husband.”
And with that he was gone.
I looked around the room, half expecting to see a puff of smoke. I knew I wasn’t imagining that the room seemed warmer without him in it.
I shivered.
Just then my mobile rang.
It was Antonia.
“Toni? Are you okay?”
“Ella?”
“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay?”
“Help me, Ella. Help me,” she rasped before the line once more went dead.
No matter how many times I tried to call her back, she didn’t answer.
I stared at the empty doorway where Sebastian had just been. He had said the men were planning something, but he had also called Antonia that sister of yours.
Could I trust them to prioritize saving her? They didn’t even know she was pregnant. Would that make her chances better or worse?
My hand tightened around my phone.
I couldn’t risk that chance.
Family was family.
Sicily was at least ten hours’ drive from Abruzzo not counting the ferry.
If I left now, I would be there before midnight.
My decision made, I ran upstairs and grabbed my purse before sneaking out of the villa to the stables, where I knew Matteo’s Alfa Romeo would be… with the keys in the ignition.
CHAPTER 43
SEBASTIAN
“We should just send in an extraction team for the sister and be done with it. Let Dante sort out the rest of the bloody mess,” argued Benedict as I opened the heavy oak door to the carved-out cave that passed for the formal office of the Cavalieri headquarters.