A beat of silence. Finally, Lorelei said slowly, “I was under the impression that if you were able to call, you’d knifed the bastard and escaped.”
The mention of knife had a phantom blade stroking down her spine the same way Dante had done it earlier. A threat. It was most certainly a threat. He surely hadn’t meant it to be seductive, and she sure as hell hadn’t felt a little tremor of desire in response. Rose sucked in a breath and tried to focus. “He left me a phone.”
“He’s that confident?” Lorelei hesitated. “That’s bad.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Rose…”
“Tell me everything.” There wasn’t much she could do from here, not at this moment, but better to know the full spectrum of the mess so she had some idea of how to fix it when she got back. Because she would be fixing it.
“It’s a mess.” Her sister sighed. “Last I heard, Romeo is threatening war for the insult of being left at the altar. I don’t think finding out that Dante Verducci kidnapped you is going to help. It might even make the situation worse. Every time Romeo makes a comment about you not fulfilling your promises, that vein in Papa’s temple pulses. It’s only a matter of time before he snaps. Weirdly, Mama is being the calmest, but I think it’s because she’s in crisis mode. And Carrigan is helping.”
Rose closed her eyes and tried to think. There was a way out of this puzzle. There had to be. The easy solution was for her to escape and get back there to marry Romeo before things truly went past the point of no return, but they’d reach that point sooner rather than later with so many tempers simmering at surface level. She couldn’t rely on her parents right now, not when so much of their concern would be with her safety and not with the greater Romanov power base.
She closed her eyes. The thing she needed most was the one thing she couldn’t guarantee. Time. “Lorelei, I need you to stall them.”
“What?”
“You have to stall. Keep our parents calm. Do something to keep Romeo occupied. Under no circumstances are we to go to war with the Italians. The cost is too high.” Once again, she couldn’t stop the rising guilt that threatened to choke her. She’d fucked up. This was her fault. If she’d fought Dante, maybe people would have gotten hurt, but at least it wouldn’t be a war. She’d been so sure she was ready to take over the family business and let her parents enjoy an actual retirement. So sure she was ready to be a good leader for their people. Look at her now.
Tricked by Dante Verducci.
Kidnapped by Dante Verducci.
Singlehandedly starting the first war in decades. Not even her father had managed that with all the bullshit he pulled with Mama’s family. Hell, even her mother’s family had avoided it despite high costs during the skirmishes between the O’Malleys, Sheridans, and Hallorans in Boston. Rose truly was a boundary breaker, but not in the way her parents had intended by having a daughter as the heir.
All the bullshit she’d fielded from Papa’s Russian cousins came rushing back. They doubted her because of her gender, and she’d been so damn certain they were just archaic assholes. Now, she couldn’t be so sure.
Truly, Rose was shaping up to be the worst heir the Romanov family had ever seen. The fact she was also the first woman who intended to take over? Even if she survived this, even if her entire family survived this, the greater Romanov family tree would have something to say about it. They might very well try to come in and do a full sweep, marrying her and her sisters off to secure alliances and establishing a man of their choice as leader. That’s what they wanted in the first place, after all.
No. Rose took a slow breath and forced her racing thoughts to still. This wasn’t over. There was still time to salvage things before everyone tumbled past the point of no return. She wouldn’t allow a war. She’d find a way through. She just needed time. “Please, Lorelei.”
Her sister was quiet for so long, she had to press her lips together to prevent herself from begging. She was Rose Romanov, and she didn’t beg, not even her sisters. Besides, Lorelei didn’t like to be rushed. Letting her consider her options before making a decision was the easiest way to get what Rose wanted.
“I might have an idea,” she finally said. She hardly sounded like herself, her voice wavering a little. “The cost is going to be high, Rose. Really high.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’ll pay it.”
“You might not be the one paying it.” Something rustled on her end. “I’ll do what it takes to prevent a war. I promise. You do what it takes to cut off that motherfucker’s head and bring it back with you. I think Romeo would accept it as an apology. Maybe.”
Despite it all, Rose smiled. Sometimes Lorelei was even more bloodthirsty than Anya. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”
“I mean it, Rose. Kill him. Anya’s about to start stabbing people, and Sasha hasn’t stopped crying since we realized you were missing. We need you back here.”
Sasha hadn’t stopped crying. Guilt swamped Rose. Her sister fainted at the sight of blood, hated guns, and wanted to be an artist for children’s picture books. If they were a family of black sheep, she was the pristine gray one that was better than the rest. Somewhere along the way, Rose, Anya, and Lorelei had decided to do whatever it took to preserve Sasha’s relative innocence. And now her little sister couldn’t stop crying because she was worried about Rose. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Good. I’ll handle things on this end.”
“Thank you.”
“Rose…” Lorelei hesitated. “Something I don’t get, though. Why hasn’t he killed you? If he wanted a war between the Romanovs and Capparellis, murdering you would accomplish a lot more than a simple kidnapping.”
She’d thought the same thing, but she couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her tone. “Thanks for that insight, Lorelei. That’s really comforting and not at all something I’m already worried about.”
“I don’t want you dead, you ass. I’m just saying if I were Dante and wanted to disrupt a Romanov-Capparelli alliance, I’d make an example of you and leave your body to be found.” She was silent for a beat. “Or maybe wait until after the wedding and kill you in your wedding bed. There’d be no coming back from that for Romeo.”
“Lorelei.” Rose glanced at the door again. Where was Dante? Even if he was listening in, it wasn’t like she’d said anything he could use. Still, better to get off the phone and start coming up with a plan. “Your attempts to be comforting are failing spectacularly.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Yes, well, you can take your just saying and fuck off. If he wanted me dead, he’d have done it already, so I have at least a little advantage here. In theory. I don’t know what he wants, but I mean to find out. Before I kill him, of course.”
“Of course.” Raised voices in the background. Lorelei sighed. “I have to go. I think Papa is about to punch Romeo in the face, and that will make this entire conversation pointless. Stay safe, Rose. Be sure to tell Verducci if he touches a hair on your head, Anya and I will grind his family to dust. Even the extended cousins who have gone straight.”