Page 44 of Devil’s Reign

Sounds like Melani tried to escape after speaking with her mother. The last message says he’s got her locked in her room.

I text him back, instructing him to unlock her door but to watch her closely. Under no circumstances is she allowed to leave the suite until I arrive, but I don’t want her locked back in her room. She’s never attempted to escape before. Locking her up again now would only highlight the unfairness of her situation and likely fuel her rebellion. I need her compliant, not desperate.

I slip my phone into my pocket and get out of my car, forcing thoughts of Melani aside.

I’ll deal with her later.

“I was just about to call you,” Luka says as I enter my nightclub. “Everything is set here.”

“Good.” I nod at Nadia across the main floor before walking with Luka down to the basement storage. I’m here to cross-check the new shipments—not because I don’t trust him, but because I need to confirm it myself. Once that’s handled, I head up to my office to sort through some paperwork that requires my approval. Then I hold a meeting with Nadia and several other staff. The discussions drag on longer than expected, and by the time I’m done and ready to leave Zvezda, night has already fallen.

I text Luka as I exit my office, and we meet outside in the parking lot. He’s more distant than usual. Clearly, something’s on his mind. “Spit it out,” I order him.

He hesitates, but only for a split-second. “Linda Fontana is at Korona,” he says, like I don’t already know.

“I’m aware.” I press my key fob to unlock my car, and I pause, raising a brow.

“Why are you doing this?” he finally relents, getting to the point. “We have no reason to hold Linda Fontana in our custody. Unless it’s because Melani asked. She asked, didn’t she?”

She didn’t. I open the driver’s door and slide inside without answering. Before I can process his intention, Luka jogs around the hood and gets into the passenger side.

“And what about your car?” I nod towards the vehicle next to mine.

“I already gave the key to Igor. He'll drive it back to Korona,” he answers, pulling the seatbelt across his chest.

My lips thin, but I start the engine. For the first few minutes, Luka replies to messages on his phone in silence. Then he glances at me. “Melani tried to escape today.”

My grip tightens on the steering wheel. “I know. If you have something on your mind, then tell me straight. I don’t have the patience to watch you dance around the subject all night.”

Luka shakes his head. “Bringing the mother into this was a bad idea. I wonder what she said to Melani. She’s never tried to escape before.”

He’s not wrong. Suddenly, I need to know. Curiosity overcomes everything else, and I slam on the brakes. Tires screech as the cars behind us do the same, followed immediately by blaring horns and shouted curses.

“Are you insane?” Luka stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“You drive,” I tell him, already unbuckling and stepping out.

We switch positions wordlessly—me sliding into the backseat while Luka takes the wheel. Ignoring the look he shoots me in the rearview mirror, I pull out my phone, connect my AirPods, and pop them into my ears. I had a listening device installed in Linda’s suite before she was brought in. If she said something to Melani that triggered the escape attempt, I need to know what it was.

I open the surveillance app and select the most recent audio file. I have to fast-forward quite a bit before reaching the point when Melani walks into the room. Their conversation is short—barely six minutes—but there’s a lot to unpack in it.

When it ends, I remove the AirPods and stare out the window, contemplating what I just heard. As we approach my hotel, I open my messages and text Vasily.

I want you on Luciano Fontana’s trail. Find out how he spent his last few days before he went missing. What he did, who he met, what he bought. I want to know everything.

“Did you remember something important?” Luka asks as he pulls into Korona’s parking garage; he looks at me briefly in the rearview mirror.

“Yes.”

I don’t elaborate, and he knows me well enough not to press. We get out of the car and head for the elevator. As it carries us up to the top floor, I debate whether or not I should reassure Melani that I had nothing to do with her brother’s disappearance. She already knows that—if her argument with her mother is to be believed. But perhaps I need to remind her, reinforce it, since Linda clearly managed to get inside her head.

Maybe I should tell her what Aleksei revealed about Luciano’s visit to him.

No. I’m not the type to explain myself to anyone. Why am I even contemplating it in the first place? Let her believe whatever she wants. And yet my heart squeezes as I think of her voice on that recording, how she stood up for me to her mother.

The elevator opens on the top floor, and I part ways with Luka. He goes to his suite, and I go to mine. But my steps slow when I find Melani standing right outside my door, waiting, and my heart does that weird tugging thing it always does in her presence. I ignore it and her, brushing past her to get into my room. She follows.

I should tell her to leave, but I don’t. I can’t. The air shifts with her in here; it turns charged and restless, like it’s waiting for me to snap.