My breath stops as he looks toward me and the men.
Fuck, no.
He found out. I don’t know how he found out, but he knows we know.
And now he’s going to unleash hell.
“Marcus Constantine, Theo Harrington, and Ryland Bennett,” Luca intones, his voice grave. “I had such high hopes for all three of you. But I’m afraid none of you bear the mark of a true leader. You cannot be trusted, and trust is the foundation of every relationship. Mors tua, vita mea.”
I don’t know what the last words mean, but he speaks them solemnly. Then he turns to survey the rest of the crowd, all of whom have gone deathly silent. “Those of you who are still under consideration—and I believe you know who you are—will receive my true gratitude if you are able to prove your loyalty.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Victoria stiffen, her gaze darting around the room. Michael Saviano reacts to Luca’s words too. I can’t see his face well from where I’m standing, but his body language tells me plenty.
He looks like he’s ready for a fucking fight.
Luca, in contrast, appears utterly relaxed and at ease as he surveys the crowd once more. Then, with a quiet nod, he replaces the microphone in the stand and steps down from the small platform.
A low hum of conversation builds slowly around us, but something about it feels… off. Forced. Like no one really wants to be talking, but they’re afraid to let the silence linger too long.
“What just happened?” I whisper, my throat tight.
I can’t tell if I should be glad or terrified that Luca didn’t just have his guards haul us away, or shoot us dead where we stand.
“What happened is we got fucked.” Theo curses under his breath, speaking low. He and the other two men step closer to me, their gazes scanning the crowd around us.
Nothing has changed. Well-dressed people are still sipping expensive champagne as they gather in small groups.
But somehow, everything is different.
Before I can ask what Theo meant, Ryland elaborates. “That thing he said? Mors tua, vita mea? It’s a code. A signal. He just put out a fucking hit on us and basically told everyone in the game that they’ll win if they’re the one to carry it out.”
My stomach drops. The gun strapped to my thigh seems to burn my skin, and I wish desperately that it was in my hand.
“Why haven’t they come after us yet, then?”
As I speak, I check to see where Victoria is, half expecting her to be charging toward us with a weapon drawn.
But she’s not. She’s making her way slowly through the crowd, her movements graceful and purposeful as a predator. She glances toward us, her gaze locking with mine briefly before moving away.
“None of them will do anything on Luca’s territory. Not at his house. It’s fucking sacrosanct. That’s why he hasn’t done anything either.” Marcus slips his hand into mine, tugging me close to him as he turns toward the door we first entered from.
The other two are right beside us, still keeping a tight, protective knot around me. No one screams or shouts or makes any threatening gesture toward us as we move across the room, but the crowd parts for us in an eerie way that makes my heart beat out a panicked rhythm in my chest.
It’s like we don’t exist.
Like we’re already ghosts.
Fighting down my impulse to break into a run, I scan the room as we walk. Ryland’s parents are standing off to one side, and as we pass by them, Ryland’s father turns away.
The movement is subtle, but the message is not.
Ryland’s on his own.
All of us are.
These men’s parents all signed them up for a deadly game, insisting the risk was worth it for the good of their families—but when it comes down to it, they aren’t willing to risk themselves to protect their own damn blood.
Selfish fucking assholes.
Anger burns through me, hot and purifying. It helps me focus, helps push the panic away. We’ll get out of this somehow. We’ll survive this, if for no other reason than to come back later and kick their asses.
We’re only a few yards from the door now, and my stomach feels so tight and heavy it’s like I swallowed a brick.
“Why are we leaving?” I ask, glancing over at Marcus. His face is set in a tight mask. “You said we’re only safe as long as we’re here, right? So why go?”
“Because the longer we stay, the longer we give everyone else to prepare. To call in backup and have an ambush waiting for us. If we get out now, we’ll be on more even footing in the fight.”
His voice is clipped and hard, no emotion in it at all. It’s a stark reminder that these men have been playing this game for a long time. This situation isn’t new for him, or any of them.
Worse, maybe. But not new.
“We have the flash drive. What if we try to out Luca now? If we could turn people against him—”
“Won’t work.” Ryland pushes the door open, and we step into the hallway, moving quickly toward the front door. A few of the house staff glance our way, but no one tries to stop us. If it weren’t for the adrenaline coursing through me and the sweat slicking my palm, I could almost believe we were leaving under normal circumstances.
“We don’t know what’s on the drive yet,” Theo murmurs quietly. “It may not be the proof we need. And we don’t even know if Luca is aware we have it. I’m guessing not, or he might’ve tried harder to get it from us. But if we raise hell, he’ll definitely figure it out.”
“The priority right now is getting out of here. Getting you out of here.” Marcus’s grip on my hand tightens, and for the first time since Luca’s announcement, I hear a hint of emotion in his voice.
Fear.
Not for himself. For me.
It ramps up the fear clawing inside my own chest, the horrific feeling that the men I love are about to die in front of me.
I pick up my pace, and our footsteps ring loudly on the polished floor as we reach the front door. We step out into the quiet, cool night, and goose bumps rise on my skin.
“There.” Ryland jerks his head toward one side of the property, where cars are lined up in orderly rows.
We don’t wait for the valet to bring Theo’s around. Instead, he grabs his keys from the valet stand and we move toward the vehicle, finally breaking into a run as we near it.
Marcus practically shoves me into the back passenger seat before taking the seat up front next to Theo. Ryland climbs into the back with me, slamming his door shut as Theo guns the engine and peels out.
Both Ryland and Marcus suddenly have weapons in their hands, and I don’t know if they were armed beneath their suit jackets or if the guns were stashed in the car. It doesn’t really matter.
As Theo turns onto the street leading away from Luca’s house, I dig beneath the layers of my skirt, fighting against the centrifugal force as he whips the car around with dangerous speed.
My hand closes around the warm metal of the gun’s grip, and I pull it from the small holster. Just as I do, headlights flash brightly from behind us, lighting up the interior of the car.
“Fuck!”
Theo’s curse is barely out of his mouth before someone rams us from behind, making the car jerk forward. I don’t have a seatbelt on, and the force of the impact nearly sends me sliding off the seat. I scramble to right myself as Marcus fires out the window at the car behind us.