When a soldier’s body fell face forward, it threw me off guard. I crouched down, taking the time to roll him over, the goggles allowed me to see one vacant eye staring back at me. The other didn’t exist, a sharp instrument taking care of that.

  Vincenzo crowded against the door, taking labored breaths, nodding when he was in position. I was the one who went through the entrance first, preparing to fire.

  The loud growl sounded like a wounded animal and within seconds, I was pitched to the cement floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a glint. Whatever had killed the other soldier was in the assailant’s hand. I slammed my fist into the person’s jaw, pummeling him back by several feet, jumping to mine. I wasn’t surprised when the asshole clamored to his feet, lunging toward me as any well-trained soldier would do.

  Vincenzo jumped into the foray, grunting as he issued a hard punch under the soldier’s jaw. Then another popping of gunfire occurred outside the hut.

  “Go. I have this,” I snarled through gritted teeth.

  The unknown soldier shifted the weapon into his other hand, crouching low and moving from foot to foot. I tried to get a good look at the man who’d covered his face in dirt and blood. He was smaller than I’d expected, but still managing to pack a punch.

  Since our arrival, I’d heard at least six different dialects, which was unexpected. I imagined it was required to keep me from learning the rival’s identity. The fact this soldier remained quiet wasn’t shocking.

  My instinct told me that this was the one I wanted to interrogate, and it would be an absolute pleasure doing so. I took a deep breath, calculating the distance. Then I pitched my body forward, able to surprise the enemy. We both went down with a hard thud, his weapon flying out of his hand, but he was determined to continue fighting. Pitching and twisting, he did everything he could to regain control.

  That just wasn’t going to happen.

  I was shocked when he managed to grab another knife from his jacket, but I was too quick, pounding his arm against the cement, waiting to hear bones crack. The full weight of my body was pressed against his, the enemy’s breathing ragged, becoming an effeminate wheeze.

  I slammed his hand several more times then twisted his wrist, prepared to snap it.

  After few grunts, I was finally rewarded with a plea.

  “Stop. Please stop.”

  The cry stopped me in my tracks, the melodic voice decidedly female.

  CHAPTER 17

  Seconds before…

  Sophia

  I hovered in the shadows, the sound of gunshots screeching through the air from all directions. Was someone coming to save me? I continued digging the knife into the soldier as I tried to catch my breath. Fear was a great motivator, the threat of being raped then slaughtered pushing my adrenaline to ungodly levels. After I was certain the second assailant was dead, I yanked off his hat, tugging my long hair into a ball and shoving the thick canvas on my head. It was too large, but that was fine.

  The only way I might be able to get out of here was if I was disguised, only that was almost impossible. I glared around the prison, noticing a small portion of the floor wasn’t covered in broken cement. After scraping my fingers through the soldier’s blood, I shifted toward the dirt floor. It was wet from recent rains and a leak in the roof, the mixture now mud. I painted another portion of my face with that before returning to the soldier, my breathing still labored as I fought to remove his jacket. Then I grabbed his weapon, moving to the corner a few feet away from the steel door.

  Waiting.

  Listening.

  There were additional shouts, more gunfire. Then all was quiet. Dread tore through me as beads of sweat mixed with grime and blood, trickling down both sides of my face like war wounds. I tried to hold in my scattered breathing, but my nerves were shot, the severe tension even forcing my teeth to chatter. Seconds later, I could swear I heard voices.

  Another wave of terror tore through me, but I did everything I could to shove it aside, my father’s voice whispering in my ear.

  “Never allow your enemy to smell your fear. They will eat you alive because of it.”

  I scanned the area then rushed to the smaller of the two soldiers, struggling to get him to his feet. Goddamn, the asshole was dead weight, but if I could use his body as a shield or if it could buy me time, it was worth the struggle. I’d just gotten his body in jerked in front of me when another loud single pop of a gun shattered my nerves.

  The lock had been shot off.

  I remained where I was, shaking like a leaf. As soon as the door was thrown open, all I needed to do was pitch the body forward. Then I scuttled backwards, retreating to the corner once again, waiting to see who or what walked through that door. When he did, I sucked in and held my breath.

  The bastard was at least six foot four and outweighed me by an easy one hundred and fifty pounds. He was dressed in all black, his face obscured by what appeared to be night vision goggles. I was hopeful yet not stupid. This could be another enemy, another ploy. I had no way of knowing.

  He stood just inside, peering at me as if uncertain what to do. For a second, our eyes locked and I was frozen, my mind nestled in a fog.

  He studied the area then returned his gaze toward me. I issued a throaty growl, keeping my fingers wrapped around the makeshift knife I’d created. I lunged forward, shocked when he threw a hard punch against my jaw. Pain exploded in my head and I was pitched backward, gasping for air. I remained quiet, biting back any sound as tears formed in my eyes from the intensity of the pain. Any yelp and he’d know I was a woman.

  You can do this. Fight. Keep fighting.

  I didn’t hesitate, launching myself toward him a second time.

  Suddenly, there was a second man, just as large and menacing as hell. I couldn’t risk who they were.

  “Go, I have this,” my mystery man snarled. Wait a minute. Did I detect an accent? Italian?

  We stared at each other for a few additional seconds, sizing each other up. He wasn’t certain what to do with me. Then he reacted without hesitation, pitching himself in my direction, knocking the weapon from my hand. Another wave of agony tore through me, but I refused to allow him to beat me.

  I struggled under his massive weight, fighting him with everything I had, scrambling for a few seconds to try to reach the gun but it was no use.

  I’d snagged a knife from Sasha’s cold, dead body and somehow by the grace of God, managed to drag it from the jacket. My new assailant knew exactly what I was doing, grabbing my arm and slamming it on the cement. The pain was intense, his body weight crushing me. He smashed my arm again, then twisted my wrist to such an awkward angle, I was certain he’d snap it into. Suddenly, I couldn’t take it any longer.

  “Stop. Please stop.” Even though I’d spouted off before I could stop myself, I did what I could to keep from showing him any additional fear even though my stomach churned inside. I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t ready. I would still fight, even though every muscle ached.

  He tensed immediately, rearing back. Then he ripped the cap from my head, cursing in Italian. Seconds later, he yanked off the goggles, the ugly single orange light allowing me to see his face.

  “Sophia,” he growled. “What the fuck?”

  Oh, my God. I was shocked, more so than I’d been in a long time, relief flooding through me. I was in a crazy moment of limbo, blinking several times until I could believe my eyes and my ears. Him. They’d sent the bastard to hunt me down. I was angry. I was relieved. I was sick to my stomach.

  Unwanted tears rushed into my eyes.

  My hero. Oh, Jesus.

  Memories rushed to the back of my mind, a darkness that I’d done everything in my power to ignore. To avoid.

  To run away from.

  I’d managed for years, lying to myself about why I’d remained in Paris. Now him. Now this.

  My hero.

  My monster.

  My first.

  The only man I could ever love.

  The one I desperately wanted to hate. The man who’d… No, I’d shut down any possibility of loving him long before, after I’d come to my senses. And after Lucia had described a second time what she’d seen on a horrible night when she was barely twelve.

  “Mattia. It’s…”

  “Hello, princess. Did you miss me?”

  My throat was suddenly tight, my mind a horrible blur. I couldn’t stop shaking and it had nothing to do with what I’d gone through during the last few days. “It’s fucking you.”

  “In the flesh.” He gave me the same kind of heated look I remembered from the last time I’d seen him, the night in Paris one that continued to haunt me almost as much as seeing him shaking hands with my father on my nineteenth birthday. I reacted out of fear and fury, doing everything I could to shove him away.

  “Get off me.”

  “Is that what you really want?” he asked, his voice nothing but a dark and dangerous purr. Just like I remembered.

  “You son of a…”

  “Be careful, princess. I’m the only man who can save you,” Mattia responded. “I think you know that.”

  God, I hated his egotistical attitude. But I craved him just as desperately as I had before. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay out of my life.”

  “It seems like you need some help.”

  “Not from you. I’m going to tell you this one more time. Get off me.”

  “Or what? What are you going to do?”

  Everything about the man was infuriating. “Try me and you’ll find out.”

  The grin on his face was as irritating as it had been all those years ago when we’d tangled for the first time. “What’s wrong, princess? Finally realizing you can’t handle me?”

  Oh, my God. The man was as arrogant as I remembered, maybe even more so. “I don’t think it’s a worry about whether I can handle you, asshole. It’s whether or not I’ll need a flashlight or a telescope to find what you’re offering.”

  The look on his face turned carnal, the fire in his eyes adding a stream of luminance. “Be careful what you ask for, little girl. I’m not the kind of man you want to challenge. That’s something you should have learned years ago.”

  I wasn’t the kind of girl to be put under any man’s spell, but Mattia DeLuca was larger than life itself, so brutal that there wasn’t a man alive who didn’t fear what he could do. He was by far the most handsome man I’d ever seen, but someone I’d promised myself to hate for the rest of my time on earth. And here he was saving my life.

  Again.

  And the crazy girl inside of me longed to share the same intimacy we had all over again, pretending as if six horrible years hadn’t passed. We were no longer the same people, our lives taking different paths. Could I place my trust in him? A huge part of me wanted to but I refused to get hurt all over again.

  Then he grinned and I sensed his mockery, which made the anger and unresolved feelings swim to the surface. Goddamn the asshole. He thought he was God’s gift to everything, especially women. I took a deep breath, allowing a smile to cross my face. “Thank you for saving me, my darling man.” I tried to have the sweetest tone possible.

  He narrowed his eyes, easing back and studying me. “You’re mine to protect, bellissima principessa.” After he nodded, he pulled back even further.

  Beautiful princess. His words brought back another strangled wave of memories.

  Mine. It was the single word I hated most.

  Dropping his guard was a mistake he’d not soon forget. Giving him a hard shove, I crawled away quickly, kicking him in the chest. Then I issued a brutal punch to his jaw, the force not only nearly destroying my hand but also pitching him against the hard floor just like he’d done to me. He rubbed his face, grinning like some oaf before throwing himself on top of me again.

  “Jesus Christ,” he huffed, immediately lunging forward again.

  I let off a ragged squeal as he yanked my arms over my head, holding them in one hand then pressing his groin between my legs. This time he was hard as a rock, his cock throbbing. I was horrified, trying to keep my wits about me. The man was completely aroused by the fact I’d hit him? Then he’d absolutely love me when I drove a knife into his gut.

  Very slowly he lowered his head, his eyes now hooded as desire roared through them.

  “You’re very beautiful, Sophia, but also a very bad little girl.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Such a mouth. I was told you were a prim and proper princess. Look what I found instead. Perhaps you need a harsh round of discipline to embrace who you owe your life to.” He lowered his head another two inches until our lips were almost touching. I was both horrified and completely turned on, furious at any feelings other than disgust for the man. I knew exactly how he handled his business operations, the brutality he used rivaling my father’s. But that wasn’t nearly as repulsive as the way he treated his women.

  And he had lots of them.

  I’d meant nothing to him; the gift he’d acted as if it mattered more than anything had been a joke.

  “Are you out of your mind? I can take care of myself. Or hadn’t you figured that out? Two men down and I would have handled the others with no issue.” Even smelling like sweat and blood, a hint of exotic spices filtered into my nostrils from his masculine aftershave. The fact I was lightheaded further infuriated me. How could I find this… horrible, reprehensible man attractive in the least?

  “Uh-huh. I’d love to see that, princess. Hell, I’d take a video of the bloody action for a keepsake,” he whispered in a husky tone and I hated myself and my body’s betrayal as longing tickled every one of my senses. The fact he continued to laugh at my skillset was only making me hate him that much more.

  “Get off me,” I struggled to say, although there was no conviction in my voice.

  “Is that what you really want, or would you prefer me to plunge inside, sweet princess, ripping away your veil of innocence? Did you wait for me to take what you always wanted to belong to me? What you offered all those years ago?”

  I struggled hard in his hold, mortified that he thought I wanted anything from him. He was goading me on purpose, just because he’d almost been bested by a woman. I could see it in his eyes. “Fuck you, Mattia.”

  “We’ll get around to that, princess. Just like old times.”

  When he crushed his mouth over mine, I was floored how much my body reacted, the tingling sensations shifting into a red-hot heat of fire threatening to expose the yearning I’d had, the fantasies that had infiltrated my sleep every week. I did everything I could to get out of his hold, pitching my body back and forth but it was no use. He was far too strong, my strength all but shot, and the last few days had drained me almost completely.

  But that wasn’t really why I couldn’t get away. I was electrified, jolts of current making me feel more alive than I had in so long.

  As he thrust his tongue past my pursed lips, the taste of him was shockingly refreshing, as if he’d just popped a peppermint candy before rescuing me. Seconds later, my body relaxed against his and I was thrown into a strange, frenzied state of mind, blocking the reality of where we were from my brain.

  He gyrated his hips back and forth, creating the kind of friction that pulled at my defenses. I was so wet and hot, my pussy quivering, the reaction crazy. Every synapse exploded, our connection unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I was losing the tiny bit of self-control, which just couldn’t happen. I couldn’t want him. Not now.

  Not ever again.

  When he rubbed his hand down my side, crunching his large fingers around my thigh, I was certain he had plans on fucking me right here. That couldn’t happen. Somehow, I’d find the strength not to allow it.

  He was out of his mind if he believed for one second that I’d give him anything, let alone allow him to take anything from me. I lifted my leg, pressing it against him, arching my back so he was certain that I was complying with his repulsive needs. The kiss became more intense, the taste of him keeping my senses tingling.

  Then I forced my body to relax, even moaning into the kiss as a good little girl would do, one that was completely and stupidly blind to his womanizing characteristics.

  The moment I sensed him relaxing, I used the last of my strength, rolling him over and managing to break free of his hold. The second I snapped one arm under his jaw, using a move that could easily crush his windpipe, his eyes allowed me to see how delighted he was with my behavior.

  My God. He’d anticipated my move, even allowing me to thrust him into this position. Fuck. Fuck.

  “You bastard.”

  He laughed and I pressed my arm down even harder.

  “What the fuck?” The voice from behind was obviously one Mattia knew by the look on his face.

  “Boss?” the guy asked, moving into my periphery of vision. Only then did I realize the man standing like a lurching vulture was the soldier who’d been with Mattia before. “Need help?” he teased.

  Mattia took that minute to reverse the action, straddling my thighs and pitching both my arms against the concrete. “Stop, Sophia. This isn’t time for games.”

  “Who said I was playing a game?” I hissed in retort.

  “Jesus Christ.” He cupped my face, rubbing his thumb across my cheek where he’d punched me before. “You need to listen to me. Okay? We can continue this later.”

  Why did I want to believe in his sincerity? “We’re not continuing anything, Mattia. Just leave me alone or take me home.”

  “I can’t leave you alone, princess, and you know it. But you’re safe now. That’s all that matters. However, we need to get the fuck out of here. I assure you that I will take you home.”

  I knew home meant back to Italy. I grimaced, cursing in Italian under my breath.

  He gave me a hard look before turning his attention to the other man. “Vincenzo. Tell me they’re all fucking dead.”

  “I think there are a couple vigilantes still out there, boss. They’re coming from everywhere. What the fuck is going on here?” The man tossed me a look.

  Mattia swung his head around, glaring at his soldier. “Fuckin’ hunt them down. And where the hell are Luis and Carlo?”