Demand (Careless Whispers #2)(51)

I grab the doorknob and open the door, entering the stairwell, and by the time the door has closed, I’ve lifted the silver satin skirt of Sasha’s dress and started down the steps. Niccolo’s face, his voice, try to claim my thoughts, but I shove them aside. Right now, I want to be out of this palace, and to know that Kayden and Sasha are as well. Three flights of stairs, and a blister on my right toe later, I exit the palace and step onto a sidewalk, and into the chilly night without a coat, the cold quickening my already fast steps. But there is no Adriel. I’m about to call Kayden when a black Rolls-Royce pulls to the curb, but I don’t breathe easier until a man in all black steps out.

“Adriel,” I whisper, hurrying forward as he rounds the hood of the car and meets me at the passenger side.

“You okay?” he asks, opening the door.

“Great. Peachy.” I start to get in, but he grabs me.

“Sorry,” he says, “but Sasha and I are f*ck buddies. We need to make this look good.” He molds me to him, pressing his forehead to mine, while I fight shock and the urge to shove him away. He notices, warning me, “Don’t react. And please keep all weapons away from Kayden when he sees this film.”

“Don’t even think about kissing me,” I warn, “or I will bite you.”

He laughs and lets go of me, turning me toward the car. I step toward its sanctuary, but he grabs me, holding a hand on my belly, his mouth by my ear. “Count to five and it’s over.”

“Four, five,” I say. “Enough.”

He releases me and I disappear inside the car, thankful when he shuts the door. Mechanically, I pull on a seat belt and sink into the seat, while Adriel joins me and puts us in drive. “I’m sorry, Ella. I had to do that.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “I just need to think.” I shut my eyes, and I’m back in my memory of minutes ago. I peek through the door and the two men, him and the other, stop on the stairs, and they are speaking in Italian, fighting. Niccolo’s voice echoes through the room, angry.

My eyes pop open and I know then that “him” is not Niccolo.





fourteen




I’ve barely come to the conclusion that he is not Niccolo when Adriel’s cell phone rings, and he surprises me by speaking in English to his caller, “Yes. I have her here. She’s safe.” He listens a moment. “She wants you to call us once you’re out of the palace.” He listens again and then ends the call.

I turn to face him. “Thank you, Adriel. I know you could have spoken in Italian, but you knew.”

“That you need some kind of control,” he supplies. “Yes. From one control freak to another, I get it.”

He glances at me and then back at the road. “I watched you on film tonight. You handled yourself well in there. I was wrong about you. Kayden chose well.”

“How can you know if you’re right or wrong, when none of us know my past?”

“I thought you were starting to recover some of your memories.”

“Randomly, and too few and far between for any of you to know who you’re dealing with.”

He glances at me briefly once again. “Where is this coming from?”

“I don’t know how to answer that—because I don’t know what you know, or what Kayden wants you to know.”

“Caution, like you just showed, is exactly what would be expected of the woman Kayden would give that bracelet to,” he says, while I grab my wrist, which feels more naked by the moment. “I was with Kayden when we found you,” he continues. “I know there are no fingerprints on file for you, despite the fact that you would have been fingerprinted for your passport. I know that Matteo created a new identity for you. I know Niccolo is looking for you, and I know why we were in that alleyway. That leaves open a lot of possibilities that I’m smart enough to figure out.”

“You know almost as much as I do, which is kind of scary since this is my life.”

“Did something happen with Niccolo at the party that I missed on the film?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. I saw him, and instead of confirming he was this other person I thought he was, I now know he’s not. I know he’s looking for me, but it’s not because he’s the person I thought he was. It’s because he either thinks I know something I shouldn’t, or I have something he wants.”

“Do you?”

“I have no clue.”

“And who did you think he was?”

“A very powerful, brutal man in my past who won’t let me just walk away. I was sure it was him, so now I have no idea of who’s coming for me—and he might hurt anyone I allow into my life.”

“We are powerful, and Kayden is a force to be reckoned with.”

“But he is human, and I can’t be the reason something happens to him.”

“There are many people who watch over Kayden, Ella. And the people who watch over you are all his people. The Underground is family, and you are now one of us. Your problem is our problem.”

“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about everyone else. Kevin was a Hawk, and he’s gone.”

“Kayden learned from Kevin’s mistakes. He brought together and united Hawks around the world, and created a new, well-known, highly feared program called Evil Eye.”