Page 12 of Devil’s Reign

Sharp pain explodes across my scalp, bringing tears to my eyes. He grabbed my hair and used it to yank me back towards him. I stay still, barely breathing, as he wraps the strands around his fist.

“Only my men are stationed on this floor,” he whispers into my ear, making me shiver. “So scream all you want, myshka. No one here will save you.”

He releases my hair only to grab my arm and drag me towards one of the numbered doors. Yet another sleek card appears in his hand. He taps it against the panel beside the frame, lighting it up, and when he presses his palm to it, a soft beep and a click signal the door opening. This place is secure as hell.

As he ushers me inside and the door shuts behind us, several realizations hit me all at once. One: I’m not getting out of here without him letting me go.

Two: This fortress of his might actually be the safest place for me right now. I would be safe from the Cosa Nostra, safe from everyone else… except him.

For some insane reason, my pussy clenches again, my nipples hardening into tight peaks. I’ve lost my damn mind. I force myself to breathe, to think past my body.

Three—perhaps most importantly: This could be my best shot at finding out what happened to Luciano. I doubt I would’ve found anything useful in his office at the club anyway. It’s too public—too many eyes. But here, in his private residence? There could be files, computers, and information no one else is meant to see.

Maybe being kidnapped is a blessing in disguise…

I’m so lost in this revelation that the interior of the hotel suite becomes nothing but a blur around me as I’m led through the space towards another door. He opens it and shoves me inside what appears to be a bedroom.

Just as he starts to close the door, he pauses with a strange look on his face. “What the hell do you have to be smiling about?”

I am smiling. I hadn’t even realized I was.

I quickly school my features back to neutral. “Nothing. How long do you plan to hold me prisoner here?” What I really want to know is: How long do I have to find out what happened to my brother?

His lips thin into a hard line, and he slams the door shut without answering. A second later, the unmistakable click of a lock follows.

6

IVAN

I can’t get her smiling face out of my head. It niggles me as I settle behind the desk in my home office.

She’s a strange creature. I wasn’t lying when I told her only my men are stationed on this floor, but I still expected more resistance from her. More fight. I wasn't even done talking when she stopped running. Just… froze.

What the hell is going on in that pretty head of hers? What makes her tick?

I turn on my computer and pull up her employee records, needing answers.

Melani Monti. The file is disappointingly thin, which is even stranger than her mysterious smile. Zvezda doesn’t hire anyone without a valid ID, so she must have impressed Nadia during her interview enough for an exception to be made. There’s a small note at the bottom stating her passport was stolen along with her visa, but it sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Is she an illegal immigrant?

I scroll through the two meager pages. The first includes a short bio, education history, and work experience. A high school graduate from an unrecognizable Sicilian school I’ll need to verify actually exists. But she does speak three languages fluently, so that might have swayed Nadia’s decision. Three years of serving experience too—first at a restaurant in Sicily, then here in New York.

The second page consists of just four lines, which is Nadia’s justification for the hire:

The candidate has relevant service experience and interviewed well, demonstrating confidence and reliability. Exception made regarding missing documentation due to circumstances explained (loss of passport/visa). Proceeding with conditional hire at management’s discretion.

I tap my fingers on my desk, turning the implications over in my head. This is no coincidence. I was only trying to rile her up when I called her a spy, but what if she really is one? Who could have sent her? The Italians? We’re on a tentative truce with them, so they have no reason to spy on us unless they’re planning a war. And they don’t have the balls for that. Not when we control the major powers in this city. Still, better to be thorough than dead.

I forward her details to Vasily Gordon, my cousin and the best damn tech specialist this side of the world.

Find everything you can about her.

Check out the Sicilian high school if you have to.

I want to know where she’s been and what she’s been up to for the past three years.

Once that’s sent, I close her file and finally do what I should have done before leaving the club. I call my brothers.

“Is James Salvatore on board?” Aleksei asks without preamble.