Savage Heir

Chapter 3: The Chase

Juliette’s heart pounded in her ears, drowning out all but the sound of her footsteps as she ran down the narrow alley, breath coming in gasps. The street closed around her like a shroud, but she didn’t dare slow down, didn’t dare look back. All of her being cried out to flee.

She could hear them behind her now — the heavy steps of Rafael’s men drawing closer and closer with every second. Panic coursed through her body; her legs felt like lead as she turned a corner and raced through the tangle of alleys that crisscrossed Rome’s historic center. The ancient buildings were like gargoyles looming over her, their serrated edges carving into the sky, a shroud of darkness, but they would not help her now.

The adrenaline rushing through her body muted the pain in her lungs, but it did not mute the fear twisting in her chest. She had been running, but she didn’t know to where. Rome’s familiar streets were no longer comfortable; its treasured landmarks had no significance when a pair of cold eyes were searching for her.

It had all become a fog in her mind, except for the understanding that she couldn’t stop — couldn’t let them catch her. Not yet. She had no way of knowing just what Rafael Salvatore would do to her if she was returned to that warehouse. He was as ruthless as they came, and now seeing what he could do with hardly even blushing she couldn’t begin to comprehend the depth of his power.

The sound of boots slapping against cobblestone reached her ears once more. They were gaining on her. She looked back, just far enough to see one of them coming around the corner she’d just rounded, dark against the streetlight. She put her foot down harder now, the ground a blur of bricks beneath her, as she dashed down the back alleys, wishing for a miracle.

She didn’t want to slow down, but she could feel the exhaustion start to take its toll. The pursuit had been unrelenting and she felt the first tinges of fatigue in her muscles, creaking just a little in her pace.

Then ahead, a voice, deep and unmistakable, resounded.

“Stop!”

It wasn’t simply one of his men. It was Rafael himself. There was the unmistakable authority of a man accustomed to getting what he wanted in his voice. And the terrifying knowledge that there was no escape for Juliette. Her breath hitched in her throat and she forced her feet to move deeper into the maze of the city as desperation urged her on.

But then another set of footfalls echoed from behind her, and before she could comprehend anything two figures popped into view, standing in front of her in the restricted passageway. They slipped through the night with practiced ease, their bodies as insubstantial as shadows in the moonlight. She barely managed to skid to a halt, heart racing like crazy in her chest, just before slamming into them.

They had her.

Her breath was quick, her brain racing, with a Big Man closing in, and the first guy, an oaf of a figure, clutching her arm, pulling her to him with scary strength. She fled, kicking out with her free leg, but the guy had already wrapped her arm with his rope and her foot didn’t reach its target.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the man hissed, hot breath against her skin as he yanked her backward. She twisted and kicked again, but it did no good. There were too many of them and she was too outmatched.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, but before she could react, Rafael’s voice came from behind her.

“You should have known better than to run, Juliette,” he said, in a voice that was so calm it was jarring. “Now, you have added a difficulty that didn’t have to be included.”

She didn’t respond, couldn’t even find her voice. There was no choice now, she would be dragged back through the alleyways, too tired to struggle much longer. They’d won.

Her mind began to spin — She was looking for any way out, but there was none. With each passing moment, they were closing in on her, her distance to safety was dwindling, their murmurings ebbing low, their laughter a sharp bite in the air as it rattled through their throats, signals of her pain. Rafael’s men were in pursuit, and now, as they dragged her back toward the warehouse, she could feel the arc of her destiny descending.

When they arrived at the warehouse, she was shoved into the back of a car with little more than a shove. The door slammed behind her, and, before she had a chance to understand what was happening, a thick blindfold was fastened over her eyes. The abrupt blackness caused her head to spin, and she couldn’t figure out if it was the thumping of the car or the drumbeat in her heart that was making her feel ill.

The engine roared, the car accelerated forward, carrying her away from everything she had ever known. Her fate was not to be determined by herself. She had passed into a world far blacker than she could have (had she tried to) anticipated, and there was no returning now.

Inside the car, it was quiet, the kind of quiet that trapped her inside her own head. She had wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to ask where they were going to, but the reality of her trapping in a car there would be left in her mouth. What would asking do? They had her. She had no power here.

She took the blindfold off, but a voice halted her.

“Keep it on,” one of the men said, his voice flat and far away. “You’ll know soon enough.”

Her fingers froze, and she leaned back in the seat, the hot bite of fear creeping up her spine. She had had close calls before, but nothing like this. Nothing had prepared her for what would come next.

The car grinded to a slopped halt, the engine clicking off in a snap. The doors opened and hands, strong from labor, pulled her from her vehicle. They shoved her and she moved forward, pinning her feet underneath her in the cool air that tingled her skin.

Now she could hear voices — low murmurs, impossible to make out from her position. It sounded like they were at some type of wooded area. A warehouse? An old factory? She didn’t know. All she could sense was the icy concrete that scratched under her soles and the thick, choking business of her blindfold.

The man who had spoken before took hold of her arm once more, his grip cruel. He drew her close, and once they crossed through the building entrance, the sounds of the city — the honking cars, the shrill echo of distant conversations — faded. The door pressed shut behind them, and Juliette was left — once more — in silence.

Then, a door opened in front of her, and another voice spoke.

“I notice you brought her to me.”

Her blood ran cold.

She knew that voice.

It was Rafael.

And this time, there was no escape.