What’s wrong with my fucking arm?

It’s also way too hot in here.

I hear a little, feminine moan when I pull on my left arm. I blink myself awake.

Oh. That’s right.

I remember what happened last night now.

Elena looks beautiful even when she’s asleep. Messy hair fanned out over my arm, cheek smushed against my chest . . . She looks perfectly vulnerable.

I lift the covers with my free hand to let in some air. The glimpse of Elena’s naked body that I get isn’t bad either. She must’ve slipped her dress off at some point in the night.

What time is it?

I fumble around until I find my phone under my pillow. It’s only seven in the morning . . . and I’ve already gotten multiple missed calls from Antonio.

Fuck. That’s not a good sign.

I pull my arm free as carefully as I can and lay Elena’s head down on the bed. I’ll need to make this call outside.

* * *

Antonio answers on the first ring.

“What happened?” I ask as I pace around the living room.

“You told me to call if anything’s unusual.”

“I know what I told you. So what is it?”

“I’d been seeing a lot of activity in the house since midnight so I asked this kid who worked security with me. He told me he didn’t know the details but it had something to do with the boss’ daughter.”

“You sure it’s the right daughter?” I know Rosa can be trouble. It’s possible she pulled another insane stunt.

“Yeah. Elena,” Antonio says.

“Fuck.”

This is not good.

The fact that Enzo hasn’t said a peep to me means I’m already on his list of suspects. I’m not his most trusted man, but if there’s “a lot of activity,” and I don’t hear anything, then something’s wrong.

I don’t know if he’s just being cautious because Antonio mentioned my name when he was caught dealing in the club or if he actually thinks I have something to do with Elena’s disappearance.

“What are we going to do?” Antonio asks.

Antonio is probably already on some kind of a list, thanks to him being stupid and selling my product in Enzo’s club.

Luckily, Enzo is sticking to his decision to have them both on guard duty at his residence. He thinks keeping them close will let him watch them when in reality, they’re watching him too.

Pulling Antonio out of his station right now would only rouse more suspicion. I don’t need that.

If Enzo were to suddenly realize the link between me and his missing daughter, Antonio and Giovanni could end up in deep shit. This is Enzo’s precious daughter, and he’d do anything to get her back, including torture and murder.

But there’s nothing we can do now except act like nothing’s wrong. If they can survive this shift, we’ll regroup tonight and decide on our next move. If they don’t, that’s too bad. It was their fault anyway for going against my order.

It’ll be harder to carry out the plan on my own. But it won’t be impossible.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing,” I tell Antonio. “Watch out for anything unusual. We’ll talk tonight.”

“The usual place and time?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I hang up.

Fuck! I throw a punch at the sandbag in the corner of the living room.

Maybe I shouldn’t have waited this long after all. Enzo is so protective over his daughters he keeps them under lock and key under his roof even though they’re full-grown adults.

I should’ve known better. I should’ve seen this coming.

Walking into the bedroom where Elena is still asleep, I pull out a key hidden underneath a pile of my clothes and open a drawer inside the wardrobe.

Elena’s phone.

I press the button and watch the screen come to life. At least I don’t have to charge the damn thing first.

Fourteen missed calls from “Dad.” Nine from “Mom.”

Fuck! How could I have been so careless? I should’ve kept my eyes on the fucking prize, but I’ve let Elena distract me instead.

I should’ve done more with this phone, at least. If I wanted to buy more time, I should’ve texted Enzo as Elena or had Elena speak to him on the phone herself and make him believe everything’s okay.

I haven’t been thinking straight.

Elena’s deep, regular breathing is the only sound I hear as I scroll down, reading Enzo’s text messages, one more frantic than the other.

“Are you at the hotel yet?”

“How’s Vancouver?”

“Is everything okay?”

And then, yesterday . . .

“Elena, where are you?”

“I know you’re not on a business trip.”

“I called your office and they told me you were on sick leave. CALL ME NOW.”

Jesus, fuck. Enzo must be insufferable as a dad. No wonder Elena practically jumped at the chance of escaping him. What kind of a parent calls her twenty-something daughter’s office just to check if she’s been playing hooky?

It’s only been three or four days.

I was hoping I’d have more time.

I was ready to carry out the plan the moment Elena hopped onto my bike. I’d been laying the foundation for months. I could’ve started moving then, before Stefano ever caught my men dealing my shit.

Instead, I wasted my time playing around with fire.

I told myself things would be easier if Elena could see things from my perspective. I made myself believe that would help her deal with the aftermath after Enzo’s death. Maybe the whole family, including my old friend, Matteo, would be better off for it.

I knew what it’s like to lose a parent and not have closure, and I didn’t want to put innocent people through that.

The truth is, I don’t feel a speck of guilt over having to kill Enzo. The man’s a killer. Hell, I’d be saving lives by taking his, considering the number of people he wouldn’t have the chance to murder.

I sit on the floor and lean my back against the wall.

Fuck, Elena . . . What are you doing to me?

Why does it feel so important to me that you don’t hate me? Why do I need you to hear my story? I’ve never needed to tell it to anyone else before.

What do I care? You’re the daughter of my enemy. You should be my enemy too.

At first, I thought I just wanted to fuck her before giving her back to her dad. And I didn’t want to take her by force. I wanted her submission. I knew once I pulled the trigger and killed Enzo, I’d have no chance of taking her the way I wanted to.

When she told me she was a virgin . . . I couldn’t believe my luck. I could be her first and taunt Enzo with that fact?

I thought my obsession with her would end after fucking her. I thought it would get her out of my system.

I was wrong. So wrong. I still want her the same way I did yesterday. I still can’t take my eyes off her.

Look at her, all cozy and warm, naked under the covers in my bed. She looks like she belongs there. But she doesn’t.

I need to get that into my head.

Elena and I, we’re just never going to happen. Even if I didn’t have any plans to kill her dad, we’d still be too different to work out.

What the fuck have I been doing? And what am I going to do now?

Staring at Elena, I lose track of time until suddenly she stirs and rubs her eyes.

I hurriedly pull out the drawer to drop her phone back inside, but then I change my mind.

She’s my hostage. My leverage. If I’m going to negotiate with her dad, she’s going to be there.

She’ll see who I really am in time. And she’ll understand what kind of a man I am. She’ll realize I’m completely wrong for her, perhaps be horrified by her own fascination with me.

After that, she’ll hate me. As she should. Because I’m going to kill her father.

“Damon?” Elena asks in a soft, sleepy voice.

I ignore the squeezing in my chest from how adorable she looks and sounds when she’s just waking up. Instead, I get up to my feet, her phone still in my hand.

I shouldn’t care if it reminds her she’s lost her freedom. It doesn’t matter.

I need to get things moving now. I’ve wasted enough time. I won’t give myself any opportunity to stall again. My parents have waited long enough for me to avenge their deaths.

“Get up, princess,” I say. “Your dad’s getting worried. It’s time for us to give him a call.”