him.”
Everything came to a screeching stop in my brain.
I twisted back to Felicity and stared at her. Dark, ratty curls whipped in front of my eyes, blocking my vision, but I didn’t care. I was too afraid to believe what she’d just said was true. “Marco has him? Are you sure?”
“Yes. And if you stop fighting me, I’ll take you to him.”
“Please.” Tears filled my eyes. Tears that made everything fuzzy and slipped past my lashes. Tears I didn’t even try to hold back. “Please tell me he’s okay.”
Felicity let go of me, pushed a lock of hair back from her face, and focused on the road, but her jaw clenched, and her features tightened. “I’m not going to lie to you. He’s not good.”
“Oh God...”
I closed my eyes and leaned forward, rocking slowly to keep from getting sick all over again. “Oh God...”
“Hey. Look at me, Natalie. I need you to hold it together. Luc needs you to hold it together. He’s going to get through this, but he won’t be able to do it without you. Do you remember our conversation in the kitchen yesterday? Natalie, focus. What did I tell you yesterday?”
I swallowed hard and forced my eyes open, fighting to recall our conversation in her kitchen only hours ago when we’d been waiting for Marco and Luc to return with Dante. “Y-you said that if things went to shit, th-that I’d be the only one who could keep him grounded.”
“And that hasn’t changed. Physically, Luc is going to heal from this, but mentally—emotionally—it could break him. I’m counting on you to make sure that doesn’t happen. We’re all counting on that, Natalie. You know how important Luc is.”
Nausea swirled in my stomach as I looked out at the passing scenery through watery vision, barely seeing the rolling Tuscan hills.
She was talking about Luc’s future with his House. He was the heir, destined to one day take his father’s place as the Grand Duke. And when he did, Felicity and Marco and hundreds of others in hiding were hopeful they could rise up against the evil Knights and overthrow the entire dynasty.
“He doesn’t care about any of that,” I said, throat thick. “And neither do I.”
“I know you don’t right now, and I don’t blame you. But if Luc breaks, you’re going to lose him too. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
Oh God... I swallowed back a sob and shook my head.
“Then I need to you to get yourself together before we see him. Natalie, they made sure you were there for a reason. They wanted him to know you saw it all. He’s going to be racked with guilt about that. You can’t let him wallow in it. You have to be his strength now.”
“Fee, they...” I wrapped my arms around my waist and fought back the nausea and misery. “They raped him. Like it was nothing. And his parents were standing right there. Watching.” Bile pushed up my throat all over again. “Directing it.”
“I know.” Her warm hand closed over mine against my thigh. “They’re sick people, Natalie. But Luc isn’t like them.”
“I know he’s not.”
“No matter what happens, make him believe that.”
We pulled onto a small airfield. I blinked and sat up straighter.
“What’s going on?” I asked as she bypassed the parking lot and pulled around behind the main building.
“Something we could get in big trouble for. We’re getting Luc out of here, which is why we have to hurry. The Knights agreed to release Luc into Marco’s care, but once they realize we didn’t head back to the villa, they’ll be searching for us.”
She slowed behind a large black SUV parked not far from a private jet, its engines already running. As we rolled to a stop, I spotted Marco’s familiar dark hair and broad shoulders as he rushed down the jet’s stairs. Behind him, a man who looked to be a pilot followed. They both raced to the back of the SUV.
“Oh God,” I whispered as they opened the back double doors and reached inside.
“Breathe,” Felicity said, shoving the car into Park and reaching for her door. “You’re no help to him if you lose your shit right now.”
Felicity climbed out and rushed to the back of the SUV.
Swallowing hard, I reached for my own door handle and popped the lever, but I felt as if I was moving in slow motion as I climbed out. Felt I was in a nightmarish dream I had to soon wake from.
Wind whipped