Page 42 of Vows of Blood

I continue to scroll, cursing as a picture of my dilapidated building appears on screen with a caption underneath suggesting I’m some kind of charity case that the dashing billionaire Luca still surprisingly deigns to speak to.

“Oh God,” I whisper, blood roaring through my ears, my breaths shallow and fast. I pull at the neck of my sweater like it’s choking me.

"Come and stay with me, okay? Pack a bag and get out of there. Is there a back exit you can sneak out? A fire escape, maybe?"

Luca’s warnings ring in my ears. The assassin will be able to find me now. The article even describes how I helped Kate and had a terrifying face-to-face encounter with the gunman before he fled the building.

“I can’t. They’re everywhere.” I rest my head on my knees and focus on breathing in and out.

“Well, just lay low then. Don’t open the door. Don’t talk to anyone. They’ll lose interest by tomorrow…”

Right on cue, the banging starts, someone hammering on my door, hard enough to rattle the hinges. Through the wood, someone shouts a question about confirming the nature of my relationship with Luca Calvano, about whether I'd like to comment on the rumors.

The door handle shakes, and I yelp, expecting the flimsy lock to burst open.

"I have to go."

"I’ll come to you," Rebecca offers, but I quickly decline, scrambling along the wall, further from the door. I’m afraid to stand in case they can see in the windows.

“No. You can’t. Please.” I force myself to sound composed, just for one sentence. “I’ll lock up and stay indoors. I’ll be fine.”

“Sienna, wait–”

I hang up, but the banging continues, joined by more voices now, overlapping questions that blur into incoherent noise.

Tony's deep baritone cuts through, exactly what I needed to hear. “You can’t come in here. Get the fuck out. This is a private building.”

A pause, confirmation that the landlord gave them permission to come in.

"I don’t give a fuck. Back off. Now. All of you."

The banging stops. There’s scuffling, weak protests, and someone asks Tony whether it’s true it was an attempted hit on Luca rather than a robbery gone wrong.

"I said back off."

Footsteps retreat down the hallway, the grumbling and complaining growing quieter as Tony herds them away.

My pulse slows, and I can finally think again now that the immediate threat has faded.

But it hasn’t gone away.

Vito winds around me, shaking on my kitchen floor, and nudges me before crawling into my lap and letting me cling to him like a life line.

My phone beeps, and stupidly, I look.

David's response is waiting for me.

Hey Sienna. Bellini’s is closed indefinitely, and I’ve taken a job with my cousin. Honestly, I can’t recommend that he hire you. I know that sounds harsh, but I need to distance myself. I'm sorry. I really am. But good luck with everything.

I read it twice, waiting for the words to rearrange themselves into a message that’s less soul-destroying.

They don't.

Talk about kicking a girl when she’s down.

A knock on my door makes my head fly up, but this time, it's gentler.

"Ms. Fox? It's Tony. They're gone. For now."