a moment to pause and turn, checking her surroundings, she didn’t spot Dalton anywhere. Still, she wasn’t about to stop. She pushed on, keeping her brisk pace, but this time only at a walk so she wouldn’t draw suspicion to herself. Still, she stayed within the morning crowds until she found a dark side street. She ducked up the street and was greeted with mercifully cool shade.
Having been to Catania before, it only took her a moment to gather her bearings. This was a business section. All she had to do was take a taxi to the train station nearby and get the hell out of here-disappear so Dalton could never find her.
She kept to the shadows, sticking close to the buildings, especially near the alleys in case she had to duck down one if she spotted Dalton.
“Isabelle.”
She froze, turning quickly at the sound of her name.
It wasn’t Dalton. A tall, well-dressed man stepped out of an alley.
She didn’t recognize him, but he seemed friendly enough, smiling as he motioned to her. Pinned to the wall of a building, she wasn’t about to budge. For all she knew he could be working for Dalton.
“Who are you?” She clutched her bag closer, prepared to tear off in the opposite direction.
“I’ve been sent by your sister. Angelique has been looking for you. Hurry, we need to get out of here.”
Relief flooded her. She’d never been happier to hear her sister’s name. “Angie sent you?”
“Yes. I saw you get off the yacht. I’ve been searching everywhere for you. Your sister is frantic.” He looked down one end of the street, then the other, then back at her, motioning with his hand. “Let’s go. Hurry. Before he catches up.”
He knew her sister’s name, and that Dalton was chasing her. Should she trust him? What if it was a setup?
She paused, uncertain and yet desperate. Dalton would find her any minute.
“Please, Isabelle. Your sister is waiting.”
“Where?”
“Izzy, come on!”
Angelique! She heard her sister’s voice around the corner. It was Angie’s voice, wasn’t it?
Isabelle didn’t feel that connection, that warmth she usually felt when she was near her sister. Yet she so wanted it to be her. “Angelique is here?”
He nodded. “Yes. Now hurry.”
Where else did she have to go? She was desperate. And for once in her life, she really needed Angelique.
She pushed off the wall and moved toward him. He slid around the corner and disappeared into the alley.
Isabelle started to follow, but as soon as she got to the corner of the building someone grabbed her arm. She gasped and looked up to find Dalton’s face glaring down at her.
Dalton shook his head. “No, she’s not.”
“I heard her.”
“You heard what they wanted you to hear, Isabelle. It’s a trick.”
She didn’t believe him. More lies. She shook her head, tried to jerk her wrist out of his grasp, but he held tight.
“Put these on. Now.”
He handed her a pair of sunglasses. What the hell?
She tried to pull away, but his iron grip on her arm meant she wasn’t going anywhere. She wanted to drop to the ground and cry. She’d been so close to escape.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered, “but you’re wrong. That thing you think was about to rescue you is a demon, and it wasn’t your sister’s voice. Now put these on. They’re eye protection.”
A demon? “He’s human. What are you talking about?”
“It’s not human, Isabelle. Let me prove it to you.”
If he’d take her around the corner, she could maybe break free again and get to her sister. It was at least a chance. Sighing in defeat, she slid on the sunglasses. They wrapped tightly around her eyes, darkening everything around her. “I can barely see.”
“Good. Now follow me.”
Like she had a choice? If she tried to run now he’d just grab her again. He pulled her in front of him and she had nowhere to go.
Shielded by Isabelle and the building, Dalton drew his bag off his shoulder and pulled something out, assembling two long metal pieces together with swift, precise movements.
Oh, dear God, it was a gun. Not a regular gun, either, but something she’d never seen before, dark and scarylooking. He zippered up his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and grabbed her hand, keeping the weapon alongside his body so no one would see it.
