CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“ M otherfucking fucking fucker,” Sofia mumbled to herself as she stomped—yes, stomped—back to her apartment. How dare he have his face between her legs one damn minute and then let some damn human bimbo lay her hands all over him the next? “I’ll gut him.”

She wasn’t quite sure how she planned to do that, especially since he had nearly one hundred pounds and seven inches on her, but she’d find a way.

Fury poured through her veins. She knew she was being jealous, but given the circumstances, Lance could have had the decency to keep his regular girl toys at bay for just one night.

How ignorant of her.

Had he been sleeping with other females all along? Of course he had. All those weeks while he’d been slowly building her trust, he’d been going out and shagging the local Roman girls.

Ugh, she was such a fool.

He was just using her. They all were.

Oomph.

A hand landed over her mouth, and she was pulled off her feet and up against a solid wall of flesh. “Don’t scream.”

She blinked.

“Are you going to scream?”

She shook her head.

The large hand was removed from her mouth, and she slid down the body, lowering to the ground. Slowly, she turned and stared up into the face she was most furious with, at least at this moment.

“It wasn’t how it looked,” he said, and she lifted her arm to slap him, but Lance caught her wrist. “Don’t. I mean it, Sofia.”

She lifted the other one and he did the same. Gripping both wrists now, he pressed her into the wall.

She let out a gasp.

He leaned in till they were nose to nose. “No more warnings. I will lift your damn dress and fuck you right here if you keep doing that.”

It turned him on?

She shook her head. No, she could no longer trust him.

“ Bastardo!” she said, her eyes filling with all the emotions rushing through her.

“They are nobody to me,” Lance growled and grabbed her chin. “You hear me?”

She glanced away.

“Sofia. You risked your life because of stupid jealously. Stop it.”

Her eyes darted up to his. “Did you fuck them? Before. When I was locked up.”

He frowned at her. “I met them a few weeks ago.”

“What?” She struggled to get out of his arms and then yelled, “ Bastardo! Let me go!”

Lance spun her around and pulled her up against his body. “Stop it. Fuck!” His hand was over her mouth. “Don’t you know how fucking dangerous it is out here for you right now?”

He held her tight as she sagged against him, feeling tears roll down her cheeks.

“Okay?” he asked, brushing her hair off her face.

She nodded. But she wasn’t fucking okay because he hadn’t denied it. Her heart broke as she imagined all the thing’s he’d done with the two females. Twins. Ugh.

She’d heard the rumors about Lance. Lancelot, they called him. The vampire all the females wanted, and many enjoyed. Prison walls had loud whispers, and worse, the males she’d been imprisoned with had accused her of servicing the vampire when she’d been taken for interrogation.

It had never mattered to her until now.

Now she realized that while he had been charming her into spilling her secrets, he’d been spending his free time scoring females at that bar. Was the attraction between them even real? Was that why he didn’t go all the way?

Was he sleeping with someone else and keeping a promise not to go all the way?

As her thoughts spiraled with a million scenarios, her heart tore into pieces. She needed to get away from him.

“You need to return to the apartment. I’ll meet you there and then we’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Okay.” She nodded, keeping her expression blank as her emotions shut down.

Lance leaned in and kissed her, his hands gripping her hips.

She closed her eyes, feeling herself go cold. She’d trusted him and now she felt like an idiot. Lance was a Moretti soldier tasked with doing a job. She was the job. He was attracted to her; she wouldn’t lie to herself about that. A male couldn’t fake attraction—it was real. But as far as feelings went, that was all about his sister and his sense of failure. It had nothing to do with her.

He was just doing a job.

They were using her attraction to get to Stefano. She was nothing but a tool to them.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Lance said and nudged her back out into the street.

Sofia turned and walked the two blocks to her apartment in a daze.

She had nobody left to trust.

Her family had let her down; her own mother and father. The leader of the movement she’d defended all her life had sexually abused her. And now the one person she had trusted, who had promised to protect her, had been lying all along. She had taken a leap of faith when she’d pledged her allegiance to the Moretti king, but she had trusted Lance. Now she couldn’t clear her head enough to see the truth.

Was she blinded by jealousy or was she seeing clearly for the first time since being captured?

Freedom was a powerful thing. Sitting in that bar, watching Lance stare down at the petite blonde who had laid her hands on his chest had been painful. Her own thighs still ached from his grip not even an hour before, her flesh still buzzing from the pleasure he’d given her.

A mix of pain and anger filled her.

Sofia was too angry to talk to him.

She didn’t want to hear his lies while she tried to sort out fact from fiction. But she was stuck. Stuck in this agreement with the Moretti royal family, and for how long? How long would she have to pretend to live this fake life waiting for Stefano Russo to get his hands on her once more?

When would it be over?

Sofia’s phone began to ring inside her purse. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. No number.

“ Pronto ,” she answered.

“ Sofia ,” Stefano said, his voice dark. “ Where are you headed this late at night all on your own? ”

She froze, then looked around as a large black vehicle pulled up beside her.

“ Get in the car. I have a job for you, ” he ordered.

“I can meet you tomorrow,” she said, beginning to shake.

Where was Lance? Where was all the protection? Was she supposed to just go with him? They hadn’t factored this into the equation. No one had thought she’d be ambushed like this.

Or had they? Had the Morettis known this would happen and led her like a sheep to the wolves?

“I need to change and shower,” she said, her voice faltering.

“ Everything you need will be provided for you, my Sofia. ”

My Sofia?

Her skin crawled.

What options did she have? She glanced at her apartment building and saw a large male in the shadows.

“ It’s in your best interest to get in the vehicle right now, ” the dark, threatening voice said.

With one last look at the shadow, she realized this was what they wanted of her. She closed her eyes and drew a breath. The only way she would find out the truth about any of this was to go with him. She closed her eyes and hung up. Then she walked to the vehicle and climbed in.

“Hello, Sofia,” the man she hoped to never see again said.

“Hello, Stefano.”