Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
One day I'll laugh at this memory.
Until then, my heart beats in trepidation at the thought of what's coming next.
32
Ryder
It takes us too long to get the necessary information to attack Giordani's house, but at least we know where he is now. None of us anticipate the pure chaos that erupts once we enter the mansion though. There are guards everywhere and women in various states of undress all over the property. Terrified women scream when they see us with our guns pointed at them, and guards remain tight lipped as our men seize them.
My men scour the house and its gardens for any sign of Aurora or Giordani, but when the last of the men calls in without finding a thing, I know that bastard got away with his shit yet again.
But not for long. Not this time. And once I find him, I will take the utmost pleasure in slicing his throat open. He'll pay for what he did to Aurora and me. I'll make fucking sure of it.
Despite my men looking for clues, I can't leave empty-handed, and find myself scouring the property along with everybody else.
"They must have gotten tipped off," one of my men, Matteo, says. "They probably left with a hidden vehicle. This road here is the only way to get out of here, to the nearest village."
I furrow my brows. We're standing at a crossroads of two roads – well, one's more of a dirt path than anything else. "Where does the other path go?"
"That's just a path for the local goat farmers," Matteo tells me. "It cannot be driven on."
"Maybe they didn't leave in a car," I mutter.
"What else?"
I ignore his question, not knowing what to think of it all myself. But something prompts me to disregard the asphalt road and walk a few steps down the other path instead. There are prints in the gravel and it's dusty, as if the ground's been kicked at recently.
And that's when I smell it.
It hits me hard, like a ton of bricks, and along with it, weeks of memories of being by Aurora's side. Touching her. Feeling her. Smelling this very scent – sugary sweet violets, her signature.
But how could I possibly be smelling that here, in the middle of nowhere?
I continue to follow my nose along the dirt path until something crunches under my boot.
I bend down and pick up glass shards. I recognize the bottle of perfume I've seen in Aurora's room before. What the hell is it doing here?
My mind quickly puts the puzzle pieces together and I turn around to face one of the Bernardi men who's already waiting for my instructions. "Follow this path."
"I'm afraid we can't use a car on it, sir."
"Then we'll use a horse," I bark in response. "They have stables here, don't they?"
The man nods. I wait at the crossroads until a black stallion is brought out for me. Getting on the horse, I order the men to follow me any way they can. But I need to arrive there alone to ensure I don't spook Angelo and make him hurt my woman. By now I'm certain they've taken this dirt path and Aurora has left behind a clue for me to ensure I'll know where they went.
I ride the horse down the dirt path which soon turns into a grassy field. There's no building on the horizon for several long minutes, but then I see it. There's an old stone convent in the far-off distance. I don't know whether or not it's abandoned, but now it's my goal to reach it. My heart speeds up and something tells me I'm on Aurora's trail. The sweet scent of violets still follows me as I ride for almost an excruciating hour before reaching the convent.
It seems abandoned from the outside. Some of the stained-glass windows have been smashed and there's not a soul in sight. I tie the horse to a tree next to a brook so it can refresh itself, then walk into the convent with a heavy heart, anticipating the worst.
Inside, the building is truly abandoned. Weeds and grass cover the once well-paved hallways of the convent. But there's something else. The faint hint of violets is in the air, telling me I've made the right decision by following this trail. I'm about to be reunited with Aurora.
I touch the gun in its holster, knowing things might get bloody. It is never my intention to scare Aurora, but the man who took her is a monster and I'll take great pleasure in bringing him down tonight.
It's minutes later that I hear the voices. A woman, softly sobbing, and a man having a phone conversation in Italian. My heart tightens in my chest at the prospect of seeing Aurora again. I'm so close now. Seconds away from having her back in my arms.