from under the bed and heft it over my arm. I don’t have time to check if it has everything I need.
I go to the front door and press my ear against it, listening for activity, but hear nothing. I check the peephole and, satisfied that the coast is clear, ease the door open. Only once I stick my head out do I notice two men standing with their backs pressed to the wall. The one closest, who I immediately recognize as Gio, the guard I escaped from over a month ago, smiles and lurches forward.
I dive back into the apartment and jerk on the door to close it, but his foot jams in the doorway.
“So good to see you, Alexis,” Gio says, wrenching on the door.
I try to keep it closed, but I only have one free hand. It’s no use. He forces the door open and he and three other men rush in, surrounding me. I hold Harry tight. Will they take him from me now? Or will Gabriel want to personally separate me from my son?
Gio is tall and blond, with a crooked nose and perfectly straight teeth. I remember finding comfort in his soothing baritone and gentle green eyes once upon a time when I had just been freed from Andrew Walsh’s captivity. Now, the sight of him turns my stomach.
“There’s no way for you to escape this time,” Gio says. “We’re not here to hurt you. It will be easier for everyone if you come along without making a fuss.”
He’s right, I realize. I’m trapped. I can’t fight these men, and even if I stood a chance, I can’t risk Harry getting hurt.
My shoulders slump.
“Come on,” Gio says, reaching for my arm.
I jerk out of his grip, glaring. “I can walk on my own.”
He backs off, chuckling. “That you can.”
The car ride to the mansion feels impossibly short. Harry doesn’t have a care in the world and quickly falls asleep in the car seat. I spend the ride seething, digging my nails into the meat of my palms. Gabriel’s men hunted me down and trapped me like escaped livestock. Like property. And now I’m being toted back to his mansion, where presumably he will laugh about it in my face before tearing Harry out of my arms and locking me away for good this time.
And there is nothing I can do about it.
I want to believe that Gabriel wouldn’t be so cruel. During my time with him he could be very sweet and caring, but he also killed my father and has been importing purple heroin into the city, so I wouldn’t put it past him.
When we reach the gates, I plaster my face to the window and watch as we start to crawl through the familiar scenery. Rolling lawns sparkle with morning dew, and we pass a copse of maple trees whose leaves are tinged with the rust of the oncoming fall.
The main house rises proudly ahead of us, a masterpiece of Georgian symmetry. The red brick glows in the sunlight. I scrutinize the portico, with its marble columns and the oversized black door, its fresh lacquer gleaming. Two guards stand, straight-backed, on either side of the door. When I left, this portico was nothing but a pile of rubble from a recent attack by the Irish. Looking at it now, you’d never know.
The car stops and Gio gets out. I unstrap Harry before anyone else has a chance and band my arms around him. If Gabriel wants to take him from me, he’s going to have one hell of a fight on his hands.
Gio opens my door. “The boss is waiting for you,” he says.
I take a steadying breath and get out, approaching the front door with leaden feet. My heart races. My muscles twitch, and I consider bolting away, though I know that would be in vain. There is nowhere for me to go. The only reason I was able to escape last time was because I had help from someone in Gabriel’s inner circle, and look how well that turned out.
The door opens and I step inside.
Gabriel is standing in the middle of the vaulted foyer, arms folded over his broad chest. He is just as savagely beautiful as I remember—tall and imposing, with high cheekbones and dark brows that slope in the same disapproving fashion as his graceful lips. Gabriel is always well-dressed, and today is no different. His charcoal-gray suit fits his wide shoulders and narrow waist perfectly, not