43. Jenn

Chapter 43

Jenn

I stumbled as Noah half-carried me from the ancient elevator, his arm tight around my waist. We emerged into a security room similar to the one at the entrance, though much smaller.

He wasn’t covering my mouth anymore. Now was my chance.

“Let me go!” I screamed, twisting and pushing against him with all my strength.

But Noah was still stronger. He anticipated my every move, deflecting each desperate attempt at escape with infuriating ease.

“I told you—both of you—that you should have left,” Noah grunted, his voice a mix of frustration and something almost like regret. Before I could process his words, he hoisted me over his shoulder.

I gasped, the sudden change in position disorienting. “Put me down!” I demanded, fists pounding against his back. I kicked my legs, hoping to connect with something that would make him release me.

His grip remained firm.

As we passed the guard’s desk, my eyes fell on the metal detector wands scattered on the ground. There were no guards in sight.

Blood splattered across the wall behind the desk.

Ice splintered down my spine, and for a moment, I stopped fighting. “Are they…”

I couldn’t finish the question.

I already knew.

Noah’s voice was surprisingly gentle when he said, “Close your eyes.”

Those words sent a wave of nausea through me. What had Noah done?

Oh shit, what had I done by staying to talk to him?

Acid burned up my throat, tinged with the flavor of champagne. Why had I let Dante leave?

We exited through a heavy door, and the cool evening air hit me like a slap. A light spray from the water misted my legs, dangling awkwardly in front of Noah. I pushed up a few inches, desperate to get my bearings.

It was so dark.

When Noah turned, the lights on a small boat nearby shone directly onto us, and I had to avert my eyes. Spots crowded my vision, and I craned my neck to see the museum looming high above us.

We were on a stone dock with a few stairs leading down into the Mediterranean.

“Please, Noah, don’t!” I pleaded, my voice cracking. “Don’t take me!”

The gentle purr of the boat’s engine slowed next to us. From my position over Noah’s shoulder, all I could see was the tip of the port to our right. It was at least a quarter of a mile away. If I screamed again, would anyone hear me? Would it bounce off the water and the cliff above us, stopping anyone from figuring out where I was?

Noah walked down the stone steps toward the small boat and passed me to someone else. The exchange was quick and rough.

The scar. The snarl. The angry?—

Oh shit, it was Enzo! The one Emmett said was behind his beatings.

“Don’t hurt her,” Noah said, his tone carrying a warning.

Do. Not. Freeze.

I sucked in a deep breath and screamed with all the power in my lungs.

But Enzo’s hand clamped over my mouth, his grip painful. He growled, “No noise, bellissima, or I’ll have to ignore Noah’s suggestion.”

I whimpered against his palm, my eyes darting wildly between Enzo and Noah. How was this happening?

Enzo dropped me onto a padded U-shaped bench at the back of the boat.

I scrambled to sit up, my hands gripping the edge of the seat as if it could somehow anchor me to safety.

“Do they know we have her?” Enzo asked Noah, who was climbing into the boat.

Who were they ? Emmett? The police?

“They’ll figure it out soon enough.” Noah scanned the horizon before pointing at a set of lights moving in our direction from the port. “I stand corrected. I suspect that’s theirs.”

My pulse quickened. Was it Emmett coming to rescue me? No, he wouldn’t have been able to get out of the Casino so fast. Was it a coincidence? Had he called the police? Surely they’d have flashing lights or something, wouldn’t they?

Noah extended his hand toward Enzo. “Give me one of your guns.”

My internal panic reached a fever pitch. This was real. This was happening. I was being kidnapped by armed men. Why? Where were they taking me?

I huddled on the bench, trying to make myself as small as possible. My mind raced. The fake painting. Dante’s evasiveness. Emmett’s warnings. Noah’s cryptic messages. How had I ended up here?

Noah closed in on me, shoving my head from one side to the other, looking at my ears. Patted me down. Breasts, thighs, everything.

“Don’t touch me!” I swatted at his hand, but he snatched mine.

“She’s clear—no surveillance.” Noah’s voice was devoid of the warmth I once knew. He released my arm. “Let’s go. If the boat closes any distance, I’ll need you to threaten her. They won’t believe me.”

I pulled my legs up to my chest and stared at Noah. What had happened to him? Upstairs, he’d been like his old self—right until he grabbed me. And now? Had he killed the guards? No, he hadn’t had a gun when we left. But Enzo… my eyes darted to the scarred man. It must have been him.

Enzo sat at the helm, turned up the engines, and slowly maneuvered us backward from the dock. When we were only ten feet away, Enzo began to turn the boat, until a loud noise caught everyone’s attention.

The door flew open and slammed against the wall as Emmett charged through. “Jenn!”

Enzo cut the engine.

Hope surged inside me. Emmett had come for me! He cared. He was here to save me.

But he stopped suddenly, extending a hand as if he’d lost his balance.

“Emmett!” I cried.

He didn’t look at me. His gaze was fixed on Enzo.

And Enzo did exactly what Noah had asked him to—he pulled out his gun and walked toward me, his movements slow and deliberate. As he approached, I shrank back against the bench.

Why wasn’t Emmett doing anything?

Was he really just a con man? Had his feelings for me been nothing but pretend? Another part of some elaborate game?

I searched Emmett’s face for answers but found only fear and indecision. He wasn’t coming to rescue me.

He’d just… stopped.

Noah took Enzo’s place at the helm. “Tell your boat—I’m assuming that’s Rav—to stop.”

Emmett stood there, doing nothing but sucking slow breaths. He’d said it was post-traumatic stress—that he’d been having a hard time dealing with it. But this? What had Enzo done to him?

He wasn’t doing a fucking thing other than breathing.

In the distance, the approaching boat slowed to a stop.

“I see Will’s improved the earpieces,” Noah said, sounding genuinely impressed. “It picked me up from all the way over there?”

Emmett’s lips moved, his voice barely audible at first. But as he spoke, his words gained volume and strength. “Let her go. She has no part in this.”

“You brought her into it.” Noah shrugged his shoulders dramatically. “If you’d left her and the bug in her hotel room and avoided her—as I recall, something you’ve done often throughout your shared history—she would have finished with the painting and left Monaco without ever learning the truth.”

A bug in my hotel room? The Reynolds team had swept it, but hadn’t told me about any bugs. Was that why they’d moved me?

You should be asking why they didn’t tell you.

“Truth?” Emmett’s voice was thick, guarded.

Noah’s face took on a mock-sympathetic expression that made my stomach churn. “I’m afraid I had to tell her about Reynolds Recoveries being a group of thieves.”

Emmett’s eyes finally met mine, wide with shock. Or apology? Shame? No signs of denial. No hints Noah was lying.

“I also told her you stole the scarab,” Noah continued, twisting the knife deeper into my chest.

No, Emmett wasn’t debating anything Noah said. Noah was the only one who’d told me the truth. My world tilted on its axis, and I had to brace myself against the back of the bench.

Noah’s voice took on a darker tone. “I didn’t tell her that when I went to pick up the Chinese disc for Massimo, it was already gone. I must confess, I’m surprised you got the jump on us this time.” He paused, gesturing at Jenn. “But if you want her back, you’ll have to hand over the disc.”

Emmett nodded, his face a mask of calm I now recognized as practiced deception. “Jayce, did you catch that?”

My heart shattered into a million pieces. He was in communication with Jayce this whole time. Noah was telling the truth—Emmett was a liar and con man. And if he was working this job with Scarlett, that meant Scarlett was a thief, too.

My best friend.

The person I trusted most in the world.

“Emmett?” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. “Is it true?”

He just stared at me, his silence more damning than any words could have been. The truth was written all over his face. My father’s warnings echoed in my mind, a cruel reminder of how blind I’d been. Emmett was dangerous. He was no good for me. And I’d fallen for him all over again.

“We’ll be on Massimo’s yacht.” Noah started the engine. The low rumble increased the churning in my stomach. He raised his voice as the engine grew louder. “You have thirty minutes. Enzo won’t wait any longer.”

I couldn’t look up at Enzo, who still had the gun trained on me.

What would he do in thirty minutes?