“The quicker you accept this situation for what it is the happier you’ll be. There’s an opportunity here, maybe you should take advantage of it.”

  “Do you hear yourself right now?”

  “It’s you who isn’t hearing me. Judas is a powerful man.”

  “I’ve gathered as much.”

  From the look on his face, he didn’t agree that I did.

  “You don’t understand. There’s no one you can call to save you from him. No amount of money will buy your way out of here. The only thing trying to escape will do is get someone killed.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?”

  “Because it’s the only thing I can do for you,” he replied quietly, “This can be a prison or a paradise. Make the right choice.”

  He had to realize both of those options kept me exactly where I was right now, in Judas’ bedroom. There wasn’t any point in going back and forth with him when I already knew where he stood. If I were to take Gavin’s oh, so helpful advice the person who would benefit the most was the very one, he thought of as a brother.

  I turned away from him and reached for the strap of my duffel. “Like I said, thanks for bringing me my bag.”

  He finally took the hint that I wanted him to leave me the hell alone. With a clearing of his throat, he stepped away from the bed. “Be in the foyer in about ten minutes, he’ll be ready to go by then.”

  Dammit!

  I’d completely forgotten about this surprise trip we were supposed to be taking.

  Gavin was out the door before I could question him on the matter. I hadn’t wanted to come here and now we were going somewhere else? There was the option of digging my feet in and daring him to drag me along, but I knew he would gladly do so. If Judas wanted me to go somewhere with him, I didn’t have much of a choice right now.

  I opened the bag and just as Gavin had said, everything was inside. Mostly untouched and completely useless. My phone was on thirty percent and there wasn’t a single contact saved that could get me out of this mess. All my money might as well have zero value.

  Only a total fucking idiot would dial up the police. The Barrons had to have quite a few on their payroll. I assumed that was the case, anyways. I wasn’t looking to find out how deep their corrupted seeds were planted.

  The only person who could help me was myself.

  CHAPTER NINE

  I cursed the butterflies that took flight at the sight of him. He was such a gorgeous man, but that wasn’t what drew me in with a forlornness that could only be soothed away by his hands.

  There was a darkness inside Judas that burned like an inextinguishable flame. Deep within me was a flicker of that same slow-burning fire. When brought together, we were bewitching combustion.

  It was hard to describe how that made me feel. Losing that warmth when I did my family had almost felt like a punishment for daring to experience it in the first place.

  I guess the easiest way to define it would be akin to the way an addict felt after they got a potent hit. It was floating on an untouchable cloud of bliss that while life-threatening, was totally worth it. But then reality chased the high away and had you hitting rock bottom. The source of euphoria vanished and left you a shell of what you once were before you tasted rapture.

  That was Judas, the high you couldn’t get enough of but would surely overdose on.

  He watched me approach with an inscrutable look on his face, silver eyes sweeping up and down my body.

  “You’re beautiful all the time, but you look really fucking good in that dress.”

  I swallowed and took a quick mental breather, trying to prepare myself for being in his company.

  “Well, it’s all you left me.”

  “I wanted us to match.” He motioned up and down, showing off his perfectly pressed, black suit.

  It was similar to Gavin’s but notably fancier. “Anyways, there’s a closet full of clothing you’ll be able to do with as you please. I’ll have it unlocked before we get back tonight.”

  I blinked at him.

  So many questions popped into my head but the most important one right now was where the hell he intended on taking me.

  “It’s not even noon. Where are we going that will keep us away all day?”

  “Why? Going to miss home already?”

  “You’re not funny.”

  One side of his perfect lips tilted upward with a cool smirk. “I wasn’t trying to be. Come on, we’re going to be late.”

  Ignoring his offered arm, I veered around him and began walking towards the front door.

  “If this were anywhere else, you’d pay for that. I’m choosing to appreciate the view right now.”

  Ugh. I tossed a glare over my shoulder without slowing my stride. His comment reminded me of the pat he’d given my ass earlier.

  “Seeing as you’ve used your free pass, that’s all you’re permitted to do.”

  Without hearing his suddenly rapid approach, he came up behind me and pulled open the front door, placing his chest at my back. “Is that the lie you need to tell yourself to feel better, principessa?”

  I barely suppressed the shudder his words sent down my spine. I licked my lips and stepped outside, finding immediate respite beneath the warmth of radiant sunlight.

  Judas followed much too close for comfort.

  I did my best to ignore his proximity and retraveled the path I’d taken the night before. My steps automatically slowed when I saw the car angled in the circular drive, its front end facing away from the house. Judas’ palm skimmed across my lower back as he stepped around me and walked directly up to the flashy vehicle.

  “What is that?”

  “Your chariot,” he replied sarcastically. He rounded around the bullet-shaped front end to the passenger side and lifted up the door.

  I eyed the vehicle with consternation. It was a silver two-seater with an electric blue interior. The movie Transformers came to mind the longer I studied it. This had to of cost a pretty penny, more evidence of Judas’ wealth. I looked towards the garage, but the doors were still lowered. Two large SUVs like the one we’d ridden in last night were parked in front of them.

  “You don’t have anything less flashy?”

  “What exactly do you mean by less flashy?”

  Hearing the genuine confusion in his tone made me want to laugh. “I mean, don’t you have a Honda or something?”

  “A—no. Get in the fucking car, Rhiannon.”

  I did laugh this time. He’d gone from confused to offended in point five seconds. “Don’t look so disgusted. I drive a Civic, remember?”

  “Drove, and I’m sorry about that. It will never happen again.”

  “Wow, you’ve always had an inflated ego, but I never realized how pompous you are.”

  “You mispronounced confident, Dolcezza.”

  Having no idea what that meant, I rolled my eyes and begrudgingly made my way over to his fancy Bugatti.

  “I don’t think confidence has anything to do with the kind of car you drive.”

  “No, but money and power do.”

  “Oh, does it?” I questioned with rhetoric sarcasm, easing my way into the bucket seat.

  “I haven’t spent years cleaning blood off of my shoes so that I can turn around and drive a fucking Accord.”

  I hated how logical that sounded. If I spent half my life taking people out and helping build an empire, I would want to drive something nice too.

  He shut my door and then went around to claim the driver’s seat. Once he was seated, he reached over and opened the glove compartment. I pressed myself into the seat to try and keep a semblance of space between us, catching a stronger whiff of his alluring cologne. He pulled out two solid black cases lined with gold trim, dropping one onto my lap.

  Sitting fully back on his side of the car, he removed a pair of masculine shades and slid them on. As soon as he returned the now-empty case to the glove compartment, he wasted no time shifting his super-car into drive. The engine was so quiet I hadn’t realized it was already running. As we slowly coasted down the long drive, both SUVs followed behind us.

  “This doesn’t ever get old, being followed?”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  Well, that implied I would be sticking around for a while. It was better to change the subject entirely.

  “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”

  “Somewhere I’ve been wanting to bring you for a very long time.”

  That wasn’t a comforting response. No one seemed inclined to give me the actual destination.

  When silence returned and began to grate on my nerves, I reached out and began messing with the radio.

  “Do we need to go over passenger rules?”

  “All you need to do is focus on the road, Judas.”

  As he turned right outside his fancy gates, I swore I saw someone with a gun entering the guard shack in my peripheral. I’d failed to notice the small brick box the night before. It sat back a little way from the gate itself, the window tinted with a thick pane of glass.

  I wasn’t remotely surprised by this either. I’d be questioning Judas’ IQ if he didn’t have additional safety measures aside from the security system on the house.

  He got comfortable and looked over at me, steering without watching the road.

  “Can you please pay attention?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m an excellent multi-tasker.”

  There was a strong innuendo in there. “Good. Maybe you’ll earn a solid five stars then.”

  His lips twitched as he fought back a smile. I found an old-school station on the radio and turned the volume up before I settled back into my seat. I put on the sunglasses he’d given me and turned to look at the passing scenery. I didn’t know where I’d been flown to, and I had no idea what kind of place he was taking me now.

  When he mentioned that we’d be gone until nightfall, I figured wherever we were heading was a good distance away.

  I was somewhat right.

  We’d been in the car together for approximately twenty-five minutes with little conversation flowing between us. Judas had his attention trained on the highway ahead, his shaded expression obscuring his thoughts.

  He eventually turned the radio all the way down, but now the quiet was a welcome reprieve. I used this time to subtly study his side profile and attempt to sort my thoughts. Judas wanted me here for a reason. I knew that much was true. Were his intentions to really put a ring on it and go about his life after tying it to mine?

  That part was hard for me to believe. I wasn’t going to downplay or overhype myself. I knew everything I brought to the table and exactly what I was lacking. This vicious, beautiful man had to have plenty of other options. Was our past truly as ingrained in him as it was in me?

  “What is going to happen with my apartment? Diego and my job?”

  He glanced over at me, and despite not being able to see one another’s eyes, the spark between us threatened to fully ignite.

  “It’s being handled.”

  “Oh, my god. You still aren’t capable of answering a simple question.”

  “The answers you should be seeking don’t have anything to do with that situation. That’s been handled. Didn’t I tell you it would be?”

  I crossed my arms and huffed out a breath. “So, I should just take you at your word?”

  “Yes,” he replied curtly. “I know you don’t and until you learn to trust me, I’ll let my actions prove what my words can’t.”

  Trust him? He’d seriously lost his mind.

  “Don’t you think there are more serious matters for us to discuss than the piece of shit I put a bullet in?” he demanded.

  I wanted to get angry on Diego’s behalf but just like when I saw his lifeless eyes fixed on my ceiling, the typically expected emotion was missing.

  It had always been missing.

  And yet again, he had a valid point.

  There were many more important things to talk about. The only sorrow I felt concerning Diego was reserved for his wife and any children they might have.

  “Are you going to tell me why you’re claiming me as fiancé?”

  “I thought we’d already covered that.”

  “I think I would remember that conversation.”

  “You’re mine, Rhiannon. It’s as simple as that.”

  He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and slowed down as he took the next exit. The SUVs were still right behind us, keeping up even when he turned into a speed demon.

  “But why is that Judas? Is it because of my family?”

  I could see him consider the question before answering. “I admit, your father is a powerful man, but--.”

  “Since when? You’ve always said he was weak.”

  A derisive snort filled the cabin of the sports car. “I’m not talking about Marcus. That man doesn’t even deserve to be labeled as a pussy. I meant your birth father, the man who lost you.”

  “I…” Trailing off, I furrowed my brows and looked away from him. Of course, Judas knew who my actual dad was. He’d said my whole damn name just this morning—one I’d never heard before in my life. He seemed to know everything I didn’t just as he’d alluded on his jet. I couldn’t help but feel hurt and pissed off about it. “Is keeping me in the dark fun for you?”

  “Being in the darkness together is what’s fun for me. I don’t want you to be there alone.”

  It was an oddly sweet sentiment that sounded far too genuine.

  Judas had always been adept at placing me on a coaster of emotional whiplash. Thus far he hadn’t gone too cold yet but that didn’t prevent my brain from being triggered.

  I was remembering so much of our youth being around him again. I didn’t want these fucking memories. I didn’t want all my pain and anger to rise back to the surface and taint every breath I drew.

  “You wanna marry me and then play house in your giant mansion, Judas. Have three kids and get a Labradoodle?”

  “I had the house designed with you at the forefront of my mind. I thought you’d notice. If you don’t like it, we can bulldoze everything and start over. If I’m lucky you’ll give me three kids, but I’d be happy with just one. My only objection is the dog. We already have two.”

  What the entire hell?

  I gaped at him in disbelief for a few seconds before composing myself.

  Judas was highly intelligent, there was no way he didn’t realize I was being bitterly sarcastic. He just didn’t give a damn. He’d replied with a seriousness laced in his words. They needled at my skin, tugging at something that shouldn’t have existed any longer.

  I ignored all of it and clung to the last bit of argument he had no rebuttal against. “Then maybe you should start telling me what’s really going on and explain why you turned me into a pawn.”

  His grip tightened on the steering wheel, the only indication I’d hit a nerve.

  “You aren’t a pawn, Rhiannon. You’re my queen. Sooner than later, you’ll learn exactly what that means.” He coasted through a high-class neighborhood before turning off onto a private road. After approximately five or six minutes, he whipped the Bugatti onto a hidden drive and passed through a pair of open gates.

  Much like his place only in plain sight, a pair of gunmen stood on either side of the two brick pillars they connected to, their profiles flashing by in my peripheral.

  Our one-sided argument instantly took a backseat to the concerns I had for our destination. Tall trees stood proudly beside the long tarmac path, blocking out the brightness of the sun.

  “Do you have shooters? I think I saw one.” I asked to distract from the nerves beginning to accumulate in my stomach.

  “We have guards, yes.”

  I ground my teeth at his correction but didn’t comment. The stunning sandstone that suddenly loomed ahead of us captured my full attention. Judas’ home was perfectly defined as a mansion. This house screamed estate. It didn’t look like the kind of place gunmen would be protecting.

  A well-kept, flourishing garden with a small pond in the center was the focal point of the roundabout drive.

  “Whose house is this?”

  “My parents,” he replied smoothly.

  “Excuse me?” I questioned with a short laugh. “Did you just say your parents?”

  “You’re right, I should have said your in-laws.”

  Seriously? What was he thinking? Every time I thought this man couldn’t do anything else to knock the floor from beneath me, he sucker-punched that motherfucker another ten levels lower.

  He did it completely unremorseful. Judas made no excuses for being a domineering asshole. If anything, he shamelessly embraced it.

  “Why would you bring me here? Your family hates me!”

  “No,” he rebuked almost coldly.

  “My famiglia despises the weak and bottom feeders, more specifically people like Marcus and Evie Clermont. You’re a Saldaña.”

  “That name means shit to me. Marcus and Evie may be giant pieces of rat shit, but they raised me. Did you choose to forget that fact?”

  “They stole you, just like they did my sister. You made it out far more unscathed than she did. How long are you going to throw a fucking pity party for yourself?”

  I clamped my mouth shut and pulled my sunglasses off. I’d nearly forgotten his sister was caught up in this mess too. Maisie was her name. I had yet to get the full story on that. And my mother, she’d been a victim of Evie’s too.

  I was constantly reminded of all the things I didn’t know.

  Sometimes it felt like I’d been tossed into the middle of the sea and now had to figure out which way to swim.

  I turned my head and looked at him, fighting against the urge to cry. “You are such an asshole.”

  “Principessa, I’m much worse than that.” He removed his shades and hit the button on the dash to cut the Bugatti’s engine off before giving me his undivided attention.

  Time itself seemed to stop. We stared into each other’s eyes and neither of us spoke. I feared he would hear the pounding of my heart within the silence.

  “You are incredibly resilient, intelligent, infuriatingly stubborn, and possess all the qualities men like me can only hope to find in their partner.”