Darkest Sins (Perfectly Imperfect #9)

“I hope it’s nothing serious?”

“Absolutely not.” He smiles and shuts the door after me.

Since Dania’s home is close by, we drop her off first. Halfway to my place, though, the driver misses a turn.

“Gerodi, you should have taken the right.”

“Oh, apologies, Miss Veronese.” He meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. “No worries, I’ll find a place to do a U-turn.”

I lean back but keep my eyes pinned to the mirror. Every few moments, Gerodi glances at it, then looks away. My purse is right next to me on the seat, and I move my hand toward it as inconspicuously as possible.

“So, have you been working for my father long?” I ask.

“A couple of months.” Another smile.

We reach an intersection where he could easily turn around, but he keeps driving straight. My hand slips halfway inside my purse, and I can feel the phone under the tips of my fingers.

“It’s hard. Starting a new job,” I say casually. “Have you made any friends? Did you ask Teobaldo to show you the ropes? He’s been working for us for more than a decade.”

“Yes, he was very eager to give me the basics.”

“That’s great.” My pulse skyrockets. There is no Teobaldo working for my dad.

Another intersection, another missed turn. It looks like we’re heading out of the city. I grip the phone and slowly pull it from my purse, just enough so I can see the screen. I have Zara on speed dial, and I only need to click the button. Both my hands and legs have started to shake.

“I really wouldn’t do that if I were you, Miss Veronese.”

My head snaps up. Holding my gaze in the mirror, the driver pulls a gun from his holster and places it on his lap.

“What do you mean?” I try to play dumb, even though I know I’m busted.

“Alvino’s orders were quite explicit, Miss. No harm is to come to you unless you try something,” he says. “Please don’t make me hurt you.”

My stomach drops, and, for a moment, I can’t seem to draw a breath. There’s only one reason for the head of Camorra to order someone to grab me. Dad must have already told him that the marriage won’t happen.

I let go of the phone and fold my hands in my lap. As long as I’m in the moving car, my options are limited. The doors automatically locked soon after we started moving, and I’m certain the asshole behind the wheel activated the override so I won’t be able to open the door from the inside. Besides, I can’t jump out of the vehicle at fifty miles per hour.

“Where are you taking me?” If I have an idea of where we’re going, I might think of a way to escape.

“You’ll see.” His lips widen in a highly disturbing grin as he gets onto the interstate.

We drive in silence for more than two hours. During this time, I consider all potential reasons for Alvino to resort to doing this. I don’t think he would dare kill me, but there are a lot of other nasty things he could do. And based on what I know about him, nastiness is his favorite pastime.

The driver takes the off-ramp onto a narrow, deserted road. There’s hardly any other traffic here, not surprising considering that the dashboard clock shows it’s one in the morning. We continue for a couple of miles and then make a turn before coming to a stop in front of a building, though I don’t know more than that since there are no lights around it.

With gun in hand, the driver opens the door for me. I grab my purse as I exit the car, but he snatches it away.

“You won’t be needing this for the time being,” he says, throwing it onto the passenger seat.

A line of SUVs is parked in the otherwise empty lot, and hope sparks within me upon seeing them. Perhaps there’s someone here who could help me.

The driver gives me a shove from behind, pushing me toward the huge wooden door. It’s only then that I realize what this building is.

A church.

“Come on, Miss Veronese. Your groom is waiting.”

Years of the most intense and rigorous physical and mental training. A decade and a half of active duty. Over one hundred high-risk and psychologically challenging missions, executed with absolute calmness and detachment. Since I made my first kill, my hands have never once trembled. There has never been a situation that made me feel unhinged or even slightly agitated.