Page 63 of Ruthless

When Bianca throws her head back and laughs, I stop in my tracks, staring at the daughter of my enemy and the love of my life in growing horror. Sara’s supposed to be gathering intel, not socializing. I trust her with this, but the most dangerous thing you can be among our kind is memorable.

I’m so focused on Sara that I don’t realize Bianca has spotted me. As soon as I meet her eyes, I turn away, clutching the serving tray against me like a shield. The next thing I know, glass is shattering at my feet as I crash into another server. Champagne splashes across my face and down the front of my stolen uniform. The kid I collided with winces and grabs a napkin from the beverage table.

“I’m so sorry, bro. I should have been paying more attention.” He’s rambling as he wipes at my cheeks and the front of my clothes. The people nearest us are already averting their gaze, uninterested in waitstaff drama, but when I chance a peek back at Sara, I catch the eye of the Conti bruiser next to Bianca.

I can tell the moment he recognizes me beneath the botched makeup and sullied uniform. The atmosphere shifts as hestiffens and nods at someone behind me. Shoving the kid aside, I spin around to square off with two more hulking Conti guards.

The larger of the two, his nose crooked from too many lost fights, frowns in genuine confusion. “I don’t remember you being this ugly, Argento.”

I scowl. “Fuck off, Igor.” As much as I might want to, I can’t afford to cause a scene that would endanger Sara or blow any chance we have of digging up information about Enzo. This little interception throws a wrench in my plans, but so long as they don’t realize Sara and I are together, everything should work out. Sara will be safe.

I let Igor and his surly companion lead me over to Bianca and her men. I’m careful not to acknowledge Sara, who’s pale and looking between everyone with wide eyes.

The Ice Princess mocks them all with her smile. “If I’d known you were this desperate for intelligent company, Dante, I would have sent you an invite.”

“‘Intelligent company’ is a weird way to say, ‘drooling morons,’ but to each their own.”

Bianca’s expression goes as cold as her namesake, and she jerks her head. Her two goons reach for me, but Sara beats them to it. Striding forward, she slaps me across the face.

“You son of a bitch!” Her shriek echoes through the hall, and I can sense dozens of eyes settling on us while a hush blankets the party. Eyes brimming with unholy light, Sara jabs a finger in my chest. “We just gotengaged, and now you’re sleeping with mysister! Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

Bianca Conti isn’t the only one gaping at Sara. Dumbstruck, it takes me a full minute to understand what’s happening. The Contis, for all their power, can’t do shit right now without showing their hand. Sara’s little improvisation just saved me from a back-alley beating.

When she goes to hit me again, I grab her by the wrist. She shakes her head, her golden curls flying free from her hairdo as she rants about betrayal and my inability to keep my dick in my pants.

I wince, the portrait of contrition. “I’m so sorry about her. We’ll…get going now.”

The guard with the broken nose comes forward, but Bianca places a hand on his arm to stop him. She angles her head at me, her expression contemplative. “I’ll be seeing you, Dante.”

I don’t stick around to acknowledge the frostbitten threat in her words. With a final waggle of my fingers at Igor, I haul Sara out of the museum while she rants at me in Spanish. I didn’t even know sheknewSpanish.

A cloud of balmy night air hits us both, and Sara giggles up at me. I’m so spellbound that I don’t notice the man stumbling up the stairs until he slams into her. His head is low, and his dark clothes reek of alcohol.

As Sara teeters in her unfamiliar heels, I hook her waist for stability as the man mumbles drunken apologies. I jerk around, ready to shove my fist down his throat, but Sara touches my forearm.

“Leave him alone.” She laughs as if she can’t contain her reaction. “We’ve got better things to do.”

I manage to defy the almost irresistible urge to kiss her. If we hope to avoid capture, then we need to get out. I grab my phone and text Gregor that it’s time to go as Sara and I fly down the museum steps. The limo squeals to a stop like something out of anOcean’s 11heist, and the two of us clamber inside in a tangle of limbs.

As we peel off, I glance back in time to see a figure in red at the top of the stairs, her painted lips twisted in an ominous smirk.

Chapter 25

Sara

My heart is racing a million miles a minute, and I can’t stop smiling.

Throwing my arms wide, I slump back against the leather seat of the limo next to Dante. “It worked!”

I toe my heels off and release a happy sigh. Not only did I handle the mission, but I also successfully extracted us from a potentially sticky situation.

Dante’s earnest chuckle is music to my ears, but the admiration gleaming in his eyes warms me inside and out. “It did, thanks to you. Even if my cheek is a little worse for wear.”

Shifting onto my knees, I cup his jaw and inspect the damage. “I’m sorry about slapping you, but my official verdict is that you’ll survive.”

I trail my fingers over the lumpy prosthetic makeup, peeling the material away with my nails until my Dante appears.

As he watches, I wonder what he sees. This version of me, this woman, feels like someone completely new. Someone free, bold, and brave.