FOUR.

I pull the hoodie of my jersey lower, concealing my face as much as possible, as I patiently wait in the lobby for the signal to make my move.

Twisting the straps of my backpack in my hands, I nibble on my lower lip, trying not to draw attention to myself. 

My phone dings,

UNKNOWN: Room 332. Your time starts now. 

I jump out of my seat and head down the corridor to the children's clinic, and I press my body flush against the wall as Don Valentinos’ men rush towards the exit. 

“Mrs. DeLuca said there was an intruder in the Villa. We must inform Don Valentino straight away.” A lanky, dark-headed man mutters as they run past me.

I slip through the door to room 332, removing my cap, and I turn around to see Savannah sitting in the dentist's chair with dark glasses on her small face. 

I reach her side. “Savannah, honey,” I whisper. 

Slowly, she sits up, removing the glasses that conceal her eyes, and she stares at me quizzically.

“Do you remember me?” I ask her in a soft voice.

She nods her head as the corners of her mouth pull back into a large smile.

After my confrontation with Don Valentino and being escorted off the premises to his Villa, I was surprised when I received an anonymous message early this morning. 

It had Savannahs’ morning timetable attached to it with the words, ‘family is forever and this is your one shot.’

“So, I was wondering if you would like to go on a ferry ride?”

Savannah’s little brows pinch together as her smile fades, “what about Uncle Alessandro?”

I remove the glasses from her small hands and place them on the table beside the chair, helping her to her feet. 

“Your Uncle said we can spend the day together, alone.” I lie, crouching down to her eye level, and I straighten the bow in her hair. “Would you like that?”  

Her smile returns and she nods her head with excitement, “Well, come on then cupcake. Let’s get this little adventure of ours started.” I grab her jacket off the hook behind the door, quickly sliding it over her shoulders, and I pick her up. 

I open the door, popping my head out, looking both ways before I yank it wide open and blend into the crowd of people walking up and down the corridor. 

Taking the staircase because it’s too risky to take the elevator, I exit through the emergency department of the clinic and jump into the taxi I've paid handsomely to wait for me. 

“Straight to the waterfront, please,” I demand as I pull Savannahs’ seatbelt over her shoulder, and buckle her in tightly.

Leaning back in my seat, I place my hand over my racing heart, willing it to slow down. That was a lucky escape, I’ve never been so scared in my life, and I think I know who the anonymous message came from. 

Sofia DeLuca.

I start to wonder why she is helping me.

Does she truly believe that Savannah would be better off with me and far away from Don Valentinos’ cold heart that brings nothing but trouble to his front door?

Whatever the reason, I'm just thankful for her help. I was at my wit’s end last night after I had cried myself to sleep. I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I was going to prove to the court that Savannah would be safer living with me and my father. 

Away from all the danger, Don Valentino ignites, creating a path of devastation in his wake.

Unexpectedly, the taxi comes to a screeching halt when a black SUV cuts us off. I gulp, watching with wide eyes as my heart begins to race faster, and I reach for Savannah, crushing her to me.

The taxi driver throws his hands up in the air, slamming them back down on his steering wheel as he curses out loud.  

He has no idea why the black SUV has cut him off or who they belong to.

The doors to the SUV open and I Inhale a shaky breath when I see Don Valentino exiting it.

He doesn't have his usual pissed-off expression staining his complexion. It's been replaced with a very fucked off expression and with each stride, he takes towards the taxi, his eyes cloud over with the devil dancing in them.

Swallowing thickly, I suppress the torrent of tears that threaten to spill down my face.

As he reaches Savannahs’ door, the taxi driver attempts to exit the vehicle to escape as he starts to mutter incoherently. 

But, when a gun is leveled at his head, he suddenly ceases, and places his hands back on the steering wheel, staring straight ahead.

Terror devours me, and my famished lungs scream as I desperately try to fill them with oxygen. 

Don Valentino yanks the door wide open and looks down at Savannah, he scans her face before straightening back up. Nodding his head, he takes a step to the side.

One of his men enters the car, he reaches over Savannahs’ shoulder and unclasps her seatbelt, pulling on her little arm as he tries to drag Savannah out of the vehicle.

“No, stop! Please, don't take her from me.” I cry, crushing her to me more tightly. “She’s all I have, all Rose left behind.”

“Aunty,” She whimpers with a petrified look on her face. 

I kiss her on the head, “Go, go to your Uncle.” I whisper, loosening my grip. 

What am I doing?

I’m just traumatizing the poor girl!

As I watch Savannah being dragged away, I violently wipe the tears from my flushed cheeks while my heart feels like it is breaking in two.

My door jerks open, and I feel myself being ripped out of the car and dragged toward the SUV, where Don Valentino is now standing with his small army of goons and Savannah by his side. 

“We were going on a ferry ride,” Savannah says innocently. “Are you going to come too?” She asks, peering up at Don Valentino with a hopeful smile on her face.

A growl leaves Don Valentinos’ lips. He glances at Savannah, then me, and back at Savannah. “No.” He finally says, nodding his head.  

One of his big and burly goons takes Savannah by the hand, and he puts her inside the SUV. 

I keep my eyes glued to the ground, unwilling to give Don Valentino the satisfaction of seeing the sheer terror that fills my eyes. He may have won this time, but there will be a next and I promise to plan my every step more carefully.

Don Valentino takes two steps forward, his expensive Oxford dress shoes come into my line of vision and I can feel the rage consuming him like an inferno about to explode from all the heat it is taking on. 

“Look at me.” He orders. 

I swallow, keeping my gaze on his overpriced dress shoes. 

He grabs me by the arm, “Don't make me ask you a second time, farfalla.” He growls furiously, his grip tightening, leaving a bite of pain in his wake. 

I slowly raise my gaze to meet his. 

“You have gone too far this time.” 

I yank my arm free from his grasp. “I’ve gone too far? Why couldn’t you just allow me to spend some time alone with my niece? This is all your fault!”

A cruel chuckle escapes past his lips as he reaches out, squeezing my jaw between his strong fingers, forcing me to meet his glare. 

“I thought I made myself abundantly clear yesterday, that I will have you stripped naked and laid bare for my eyes to feast upon whenever I desire, farfalla, right before you were escorted off my property?” His lips brush across mine, searing them with his touch.

 “You don't scare me,” I whisper against his rough lips, and I instantly wonder what they would feel like against mine, against the soft curves of my body and…

It is almost impossible to think straight when you are terrified and turned on at the same time!

His masculinity is unquestionable, and the fear of his strength only intensifies the illicit yearning coursing through me. This man represents everything I have been taught to fear, to avoid at all costs.

“If you ever come within two feet of Savannah again,” his nostrils flare as he breaks through my train of thought. “I will kill you. Do you hear me?” He shoves me away like filth as he turns on his heel and walks toward the SUV.

My body begins to tremble as I find the courage to stand up to him. “I will never stop! Savannah belongs with me, do you hear me? She is my blood and for as long as I breathe, I will never. Stop.” I cry out as he continues to march towards the SUV without paying me no attention as he slips into the back seat.

I remain standing as I watch them speed away with Savannah in the SUV. Two of his men take me by the arms and start to drag me toward a black sedan, forcing me inside as I struggle against them. 

“What are you doing?” I yell as they get in beside me, one on each side, caging me inside.

The car starts to move, and I begin to panic, “Where are you taking me?”

They ignore me by looking straight ahead.

“What are you going to do with me?” 

They continue to ignore me, and I become well aware that I have pushed Don Valentino beyond his limits, and he intends to punish me. 

Sheer terror licks my skin, contaminating it with goosebumps as I suddenly realise that I've just fucked off the devil himself, and no one is coming to save me.