Chapter two: Trapped with my enemy

The car jolted again as bullets slammed into the armored side. I gripped the seat so hard my nails dug into the leather.

“Drive faster, damn it!” Luciano barked at the driver, his voice cutting through the chaos.

I turned around to look out the back window. Two black SUVs were gaining on us, flashes of gunfire lighting up the rainy London streets. “They’re still coming! Who the hell are these people?”

Luciano grabbed my shoulder and yanked me down. “Keep your head down, Seraphina. You’ve done enough talking for one night.”

“Enough talking?” I shoved his hand off me, heart pounding. “I exposed you because your family killed my mother. Don’t you dare act like I’m the problem here.”

He leaned in close, eyes blazing in the dark car. Rain hammered the roof. “You really believe that story your father fed you? Open your eyes. Someone just turned your little revenge show into a massacre. People are dead because of your so-called peace event tonight.”

I stared at him, breathing fast. The car swerved sharply and I slid into him. His arm came around me automatically, steadying me. For a second I felt the solid heat of his body against mine and hated how it made my stomach tighten.

I suddenly snapped, pushing away even as another round of shots hit the back of the car.

Luciano didn’t let go right away. “You want to live? Then stop fighting me for five god-damn minutes.”

The driver took a hard turn into a narrow alley. The car screeched to a stop behind a row of dumpsters. Luciano pulled me out fast, shielding me with his body as we ran through the pouring rain toward another waiting vehicle.

“Why are you even helping me?” I demanded, water soaking my ruined red gown. “I just exposed who you are in front of everyone.”

He shoved me into the new car and climbed in after. The doors locked with a heavy click. This one was even more armored, windows tinted pitch black.

“Because right now,” he said, voice low and rough, “someone wants us both dead. And I need to know if you’re stupid enough to be working with them.”

“I’m not working with anyone” I shot back. My wet hair stuck to my face. “I planned the leak for months. It was supposed to be clean. Expose you, humiliate the Volkov name, and finally get some justice for my mother.”

Luciano wiped rain from his face, staring at me like he was trying to read my soul. “Justice? Your family isn’t exactly innocent. But we’ll fight about that later. Right now tell me everything you know about the masked men.”

I laughed bitterly. “You think I know them? I was on that stage when they started shooting. One second I’m winning, the next I’m on the floor with explosions going off.”

He muttered something in Russian to the driver. The car pulled out smoothly this time, blending into traffic.

“You pinned me in that first car,” I said after a minute, watching him. “Why? You could’ve left me to die back there.”

Luciano turned those cold blue eyes on me. “Because dead women don’t answer questions. And trust me, there’s a lot for you.”

The way he looked at me sent a shiver down my back. Not fear exactly. Something hotter. Angrier. I hated that I noticed how sharp his jaw was, how the wet shirt clung to his broad chest.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I said.

“Like what?” He leaned closer. “Like the woman who just tried to disgrace me is now sitting in my car, covered in blood and rain and is still breathing?”

I swallowed hard. “Exactly like that.”

He smirked, but there was no humor in it. “You started this, Seraphina DeLorenzo. Now we’re both in it. My men are already calling. They think your family orchestrated the attack to wipe us out.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I fired back. “My people wouldn’t…”

A phone rang. Luciano answered on speaker.

“Boss, the senator’s dead. The media is calling it terrorism. Both families are getting blamed. We also lost three of our men at the gala.”

Luciano’s face stayed hard. “Find out who the masked team worked for. I want names by morning.”

He hung up and looked at me again. “See? Your perfect plan just painted targets on every DeLorenzo and Volkov still breathing.”

I rubbed my arms, suddenly cold. “Then we find who really did this. But the second we have answers, I’m done.”

He laughed low. “You think it’ll be that easy? After the stunt you pulled tonight, every enemy we have is coming for blood. Including each other in the process.”

The car kept moving through the rainy night. I could still taste smoke in my throat.

Luciano’s phone buzzed again. He read the message and his expression shifted.

“What now?” I asked.

He turned the screen toward me. Another warning.

Run all you want. Neither of you will survive what’s coming.

I felt my stomach drop.

Luciano didn’t say anything right away. He just stared out the window, jaw tight. Then he looked back at me, something dangerous flickering in his eyes.

“We’re going to Milan. My safehouse. You are going to staying with me until we figure this out.”

“I’m not staying anywhere with you,” I protested.

“You don’t have a choice.” His voice went quiet, almost soft, but the threat was clear. “Because if you walk away now, trust me a bullet is not going to be far behind.”

The car sped up on the motorway toward the private airstrip. I sat back, wet, exhausted, and furious.

I came to destroy Luciano Volkov.

Instead, I might have just chained myself to him.

And whoever this Swan was, they were surely watching our every move.