"The Vow He Denied"

Chapter 5

“The Edge of Betrayal”

The little triumph, though, was fleeting. One of the last guys pointed his gun at me, icy and unrelenting eyes. Just as the rifle fired, Alessandro hurled himself in front of me, his roar of wrath filling the room.

The planet slanted as Alessandro fell against me, his body weightless and limp. Warm and sticky, blood leaked through his shirt on my hands.

"Alessandro!" I started to cry; my voice broke.

He opened his eyes just long enough to fix himself on mine. "Get... out...," he said, then his head slanted forward.

The door sprang open, and more armed men tore across the space. Trapped, surrounded, with Alessandro unconscious in my arms, I The group leader moved forward, his face hidden but his voice terrible.

"Take both," he orders.

And then everything darkened.

The subtle smell of antiseptic combined with the bitter flavor of blood startled me back to consciousness. My eyelids opened, and I was in a dark, windowless chamber. Alessandro lay still next to me; his face was pallid but determined even in oblivion.

"Alessandro," I said, shaking his shoulder and panic rising in my chest. "Woke up!" Surely.

A low murmur from his mouth, and his eyes flicked open, those steely grays locating me in the dark light. "Isabella," he said, rasping and with a strained voice. "You're... ok."

Tears burned in my eyes as I bent closer. Me: Watch you! You morons jumped in front of a bullet for me.

He tried a smile, but it came out feeble. "Could not let you seize all the glory."

I bit my lip, torn between crying and screaming at him. This isn't humorous. You are wounded, and I have no idea where we are either.

"Safe," he said, but the uncertainty in his eyes bet against the term. For today, then.

The heavy metal door groaned open before I could shove him farther, exposing a tall man with a scar running across his cheek. He walked in with a sense of power, two armed guards on either side.

"Ah, the infamous DeLuca," the man replied, his voice full of contempt. And his tiny escape bride. How comfortable?

As the stranger approached, my heart raced, and his sharp eyes locked into mine. His presence was choking, his smile cold. Alessandro moved sloppily but defensively next to me as he struggled to sit up.

I hissed, "Stay down," then pressed a hand to his chest. "You are not in any shape to play the hero."

The man laughed, obviously enjoying the situation. "How remarkable. The rumors are accurate; DeLuca does have a flaw after all.

I murmured, forcing steel into my voice despite the horror gnawing at my throat, "I don't know who you are, but if you hurt him—”

"You'll do what?" wonders The man stopped, his voice sarcastic. "Scree?" weep? You are not in a position to threaten, sweetheart.apart."

Like a razor, Alessandro's voice sliced into the suspense. "Touch her, and I'll rip you apart." .

The man bent down and leveled his eyes toward Alessandro. "Big words for someone floor-based bleeding out. Tell me, DeLuca, what it feels like at last losing control.

Alessandro pointed angrily, his jaw closing. You're toying with someone you don't know.

The man, straightening himself, responded, "Oh, I think I do." "You have been a pain in the side of my boss for years; now? You now merely serve as a pawn. Between you both.

"Who's your manager??" I insisted, moving ahead even with armed soldiers closing in. "What do you want from us?”

The man slanted his head, his face nearly sympathetic. "You believe you are the one here posing questions? That is so cute.

I tightened my hands, resentment boiling under my terror. You're a coward. hiding behind weapons and security guards. You wouldn't have to play these games if you were half as strong as you believe yourself to be.

The man's smile wavering, his eyes narrowed. "Beware, Isabella. That tongue of yours could land you in hot water.

"Leave her out of this," Alessandro said, his voice gaining force despite his bruises. "Your struggle is with me."

The man laughed a hollow, terrible sound. "Oh, do you still not grasp it? These days, she fights. She possesses leverage. And I want to make really good use of her.

"Do you not dare?" When Alessandro tried to get up, his body betrayed him and he sank back with a painful gasp.

I dropped to his side and said, "Stop it," hands shaking as I pressed against his cut. You will kill yourself trying to be the hero.

He grabbed my wrist, his hold shockingly strong. For you, Isabella, I would die. You knew that.

His comments connected with me deeply and set up feelings I wasn't ready to deal with. Desperate for solutions, I examined his gaze. "Why, Alessandro? Why do you keep doing this?

"Because I can't lose you again," he answered simply, his voice raw with vulnerability.

The man broke the mood by clapping his hands before I could reply. Well, that is rather sweet. But enough with the heart-to-heart. We ought to start moving things along.

One of the soldiers moved forward, grasping my arm to drive me away from Alessandro. I battled, panic exploding through me as Alessandro's voice protested.

He said, "Let her go!" with a furious and desperate tone.

"She'll be fine," the man responded, grinning. "For right now." Nevertheless, you? You will want to wish you had stayed dead.

I struggled every step the guards pulled me toward the door. "Alessandro!" I broke off in tears. "Don't let them take me!"

"I'll find you!" he yelled, his eyes burning with will even as he was pinned down. "I'll find you, Isabella; nothing else matters."

Alessandro's speech was cut off as the door locked tightly behind me. The guards pushed me into a bleak and frigid room, hurling a single chair to the floor. With their harsh hands leaving bruises in their wake, the guards drove me into the chair and fastened my wrists to the armrests.

Moments later, the scarred man showed up with a little gadget. He hunched down to show me a sleek black remote with one red button.

His voice was calm but intimidating; he asked, "Do you know what this does?"

I scowled at him, not answering.

He grinned and bent in closer. "It regulates the explosives set for the room your husband is in. One shove, and he just has ashes.

The room whirled around me while my blood ran cold. You're lying.

Tipping his head, he asked, "Am I?" "Why don't we investigate??"

He pulled the button.

The floor under me trembled, and the building echoed with an awful boom. My scream ripped from my throat as understanding struck.

"Alessandro!"

But the only answer was stillness.

As the shock wave of the explosion subsided, the room appeared to tilt, and an unsettling quiet followed. My breath stopped; my head whirled as the scarred man leaned back and wore an infuriating smile.

See, then. Simple as that, he replied, tapping the remote in his hand as though it were a benign toy. "Are you ready to start chatting now?"

My heart thumped in my chest, the sound deafening to me. "What did you do?" said Fear and wrath mixed together in my voice as it cracked. "What have you recently done?"

"Oh, don't worry," he added, his tone shockingly laid back. "It served simply as a demonstration. The real fireworks still need my signal.

"Bastard!!" Stretching against the handcuffs biting into my wrists, I lurched forward. "If you have harmed him—”

With a languid sweep of his hand, he cut me off. "Calm down, honey." For now, your priceless De Luca is still breathing.

Though I refused to allow tears to flow from my eyes, they burned there. "What do you want from us?”

The man slanted his head and studied me with a terrible fascination. "I do not wish for this. That is what my manager requests. And he really finds you, Isabella, quite interesting.

Me, then? I sneezed and shook my head. I have nothing to give him.

Oh, I disagree. He bent in, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "You are the key to busting Alessandro DeLuca; believe me, that is far more valuable than you could possibly know."

The door behind him opened suddenly, and another man entered saying something in a language I cannot grasp. The man with scars stopped smiling and started to scowl. He straightened up and gave commands in the same alien tongue, his voice harsh and forceful.

"What's occurring?" I insisted, my panic rising as the soldiers around me tensed their hands near their rifles.

He scoffed, glancing back at me, "Looks like your knight in shining armor is causing trouble." "But don't get overly enthusiastic. He is squarely heading into a trap.

"No..." Though my murmur was hardly heard, my mind ran with options. Alessandro is living. He was on my side, battling.

The man with scars leaned forward, his smile coming back. "The interesting part is that I have decided to let you see."

He waved to a guard wheeling in a small monitor. The screen came to life, displaying hazy video of a dark hallway. There Alessandro was killing precisely as he sent one guard after another.

When I saw him, my heart shot, but the words of the scarred guy stopped the blood in my veins.

"Let him get a little further," he replied, his voice almost happy. Then set the charges to active.

"NO!" Screaming, I thrashed against my ties. "Stop it! Let him be alone!

The man turned his head away from me and concentrated on the TV. Pausing at the end of the corridor, Alessandro looked about as though he sensed something was amiss.

"Right now, scared man," he said.

One of the guards stretched for a wall switch. My breath seized, and I acted only in the most limited manner.

"Alessandro! " I screamed loudly over the computer, hoping he could hear me.

Just as the explosion tore across the hall, his head turned toward the camera. The screen went dark, and my scream reverberated in the chilly, empty room.