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Or wishing I was…

Through a gap between the buildings, I glimpsed the two men from the car racing past, heads swiveling, searching for me. My captor held me pinned, his body pressed against mine, the stench of stale cigarettes and decay choking me.

His fingers dug into my sides, bruises blooming beneath his grasp.

He spun me, slamming me against the wall with brutal force before stepping back and ripping off his balaclava.

My stomach twisted.

He was showing me his face.

That was never good.

The way his gaze raked over my body made me feel stripped and exposed without him even touching me.

“Sebastian has good taste,” he whispered, wetting his lips with a slow, deliberate swipe of his tongue.

His fingers twitched.

Then he reached for me.

CHAPTER 2

SEBASTIAN

"Find her! Now!"

My men scattered instantly.

I crushed my phone in my grip, and the judge's words echoed in my head.

I warned you, ragazzo… You should have just handed the bitch over.

For the first time in my life, true fear took hold—not fear of loss, rather fear of miscalculation. I had made her a target when she was supposed to be leverage. The judge had seen through my bluff, and now she was paying for my arrogance.

Sabrina.

The woman I’d been stupid enough to let matter.

The scene replayed in my mind. Judge Marzio Delluci sitting in my office just minutes ago, creating a calculated distraction while his men moved into position.

I'd been played.

The old snake had engineered the perfect trap, and I'd walked into it like a fucking amateur. Outmaneuvered by a man twice my age with half my resources.

Gunfire pulled my attention to the wall of windows overlooking the street. My blood turned to ice as bullets shattered the back window of the car I'd put Sabrina in. The vehicle swerved violently before crashing.

She wasn't supposed to be in danger. She was supposed to be protected. Watched. Controlled. If she had stayed where I put her, if she had just obeyed me for once in her goddamn life⁠—

"Oh fuck," I breathed, pressing my palms against the glass. "FUCK!"

I sprinted out of my office toward the staircase, having no time for the elevator. "Move, now!"

My security team rushed to follow my orders as I took the stairs three at a time.

I burst through the lobby doors and onto the street just in time to see men in black, faces obscured, surrounding the crashed car. One of them fired a shot through the back window. The driver slumped forward.

I drew my weapon, taking aim, but they were using the car as cover.