“What the hell are you doing here?” He scowls at Ella, who seems completely unaffected by his stare. A stare that has a shiver running down my spine.
“Don’t overreact. I’m fine. We were just talking.” She gets up and goes to stand by his side, touching his arm tenderly. I can see the rage seeping away from his body, from across the room. His shoulders relax, and the white-knuckled fists by his sides, turn back to lax hands.
“Go back home, mouse,” he tells her. She pushes up onto her tiptoes and gives him a chased kiss on the lips before heading out of the room, but not before giving me a tiny wave goodbye. As soon as she’s gone, I miss her presence. It’s like she’s taken the warmth in the room with her.
“Put your shoes on, it’s time to go,” Xander orders, crossing his arms in front of him.
The news leaves me shocked. “What do you mean? Where am I going?”
“Zane and Matteo arranged a meeting with me. They want to trade you for some territory.”
I should probably be offended that I’m being bargained with for a plot of land, but right this second, all I can process is that I’m finally going to get to see Zane again. I jump up from the bed and put my shoes on in a hurry.
“Why is Matteo willing to give up land for you?”
“Who?” I ask as I straighten up. “Who is Matteo?”
“One of my rivals as well as Christian’s. Zane must have some valuable information he is trading… or something else? What if he has information that can hurt me in the long run?”
For a moment, I think he is going to change his mind. I can see him thinking about it, weighing his options.
“Look, Xander, you treated me well, and like you said, you did save me from Christian. I owe you, if you bring me to Zane and I find something out that could harm you or your family, I will tell you. I swear.”
Xander examines me for a long minute. Just when I think he is going to lock me back in here, he disappears into the hallway but leaves the door open for me. Relief washes over me. He is still letting me go.
Hesitantly, I step outside. There are still two guards outside the door, and all three men resemble that of bouncers at a club, tall and muscular, making me feel even smaller than I am.
Looking up at the men, neither of them make eye contact with me. Without a word, Xander starts walking, the two men flanking him. I fall into step and follow them down the hall. When we get to the entrance, I find more men waiting at the door, and even more outside. All dressed in black, weapons attached to their hips, looking like an army about to take down a city.
“Everyone knows their orders, so let’s go,” Xander calls out, his voice void of emotion. There are four blacked-out SUVs parked in front of the building, and at Xander’s word, the men start piling into them. I stare, trying to figure out where I fit in in all of this. Do I just go to one of the SUV’s and get in? As if Xander can sense my confusion, his dark gaze turns to me.
“You’re coming with me,” he says.
Before I can take a step, Xander’s hand circles my upper arm, and he starts pulling me toward one of the cars. Excitement and anxiety over the unknown swirls deep in my gut. What’s going to happen next? Am I really going to be reunited with Zane, or is this a joke?
Xander opens the back door to one of the SUV’s and shoves me inside. I’m surprised to find someone already sitting in the back seat. The moment his eyes meet mine, I have this odd sense of deja vu. This man looks at me the same way Xander looked at me the first time we met. On top of that, he resembles Xander, almost to a tee. Like they could totally be—
“This is Damon, my brother,” Xander says before I can finish my thought.
Forced into the middle seat, I place my hands in my lap. Xander slides in next to me, sandwiching me between him and his brother.
The car starts, and before I know it, we are driving away from the building and off the compound. An eerie silence settles over us, and I don’t