Chapter 41

Grayson’s POV

I waited until sufficient distance separated us before emerging from the shadows. Approaching the vendor, I sought to confirm I wasn't hallucinating—that I was actually walking the streets of Italy.

The vendor Ava had just left smiled at me, the same smile he’d given her—a smile I wanted to obliterate. My presence cut him short, and his grin vanished instantly. Good.

He cleared his throat uneasily. “What can I do for you, Signor?”

“The woman who was here a few minutes ago—what did she want?” My voice was sharp, unyielding.

His grin returned, and he produced a tacky necklace that looked like a toddler had glued it together. Of all the things she could have chosen, this was what caught her eye?

“How much is it?” I sighed, feeling irritation rise.

“Twenty euros.”

I handed him the money silently, taking the ugly necklace and turning on my heel.

“Signor!” the vendor called after me. “This is too much—”

I didn’t stop. My pace quickened as I tried to keep her in sight. Ava was smart, in her own way, but sometimes her decisions were questionable. She hadn’t even tried to cover her tracks or make me chase her. My first instinct had been to grab her and drag her back to the hotel, where she would be safe, but something stopped me.

I remembered the look in her eyes when I found her—wide with wonder as she gazed at the surrounding streets. It was like watching a child discover the world for the first time. It hit me then—she didn’t want to be chased. She wanted to explore, to taste freedom, even if only for a moment.

So I let her.

I maintained a careful distance, watching her every move. The way she smiled when the wind swept through her hair, oblivious to the attention she was drawing. The way she lingered before a gelato stand, her eyes sparkling before she remembered she didn’t have any money. A mental note to buy her some later crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

And everything was fine—until he showed up.

Now, I sat in my car, parked outside the restaurant where he’d taken her, contemplating various ways to dismember him. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly the leather groaned. I ground my teeth in irritation, deciding I’d given her enough time to explore.

I opened the door and stepped into the cozy little restaurant. The warm lighting and soft hum of conversation did nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me.

I scanned the area instinctively. My eyes fell on a half-eaten pizza at an empty table, and my chest tightened. Something was wrong.

I approached a waitress with cold precision. “A woman and a man were just here. She’s striking—too beautiful not to notice. Where did they go?”

Her face paled as she took in my expression, her throat working as if she were trying to swallow something too large. “She… uh… the man, Luca, is a regular here. He requested to use the back door because his date wasn’t feeling well. She couldn’t stand, so he took her home.”

My blood ran cold. “Where does he live?”

“I—I don’t know. I swear, he just comes in here from time to time. I don’t know anything else.”

I forced myself to breathe, every muscle screaming to act, to find her. I ground my teeth, pulled out my phone, and dialed Carter. He answered on the first ring, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I might actually think you’re in love with—”

I cut him off, my voice hard. “Ava’s been taken. I need information. Luca. That’s the first name.”

The line went silent for a beat, Carter’s tone shifting. “On it.”

I hung up, turning back to the waitress, who seemed frozen in place. My glare could have incinerated her. “Next time, try to be more useful. Incompetence is punishable by death in my world.”

Her face blanched further, and I could almost see the terror in her wide eyes as I stormed out, slamming the door. My phone buzzed almost immediately.

“Luca Perez,” Carter’s voice came through the line. “He’s a professional. Hired for jobs like this. His charm and good looks are the bait. He lures women with targets on their backs, and by the time they realize what’s happening, it’s too late. Some he sells whole, others… in parts. I’m sending you all the details.”

My hand tightened around the phone until I thought it might crack. I knew I was the reason she had a target on her back. This mess was my fault. And that knowledge only fueled the fire burning inside me.

Carter’s voice cut through my thoughts. “This guy’s good. He’s managed to stay undercover for a long time. Took me longer than usual to track him. One more thing—his last job contact? Ricardo Sylvester.”

My wolf growled, and I had to stop myself from crushing the phone. Ricardo. A name that sent waves of anger surging through my veins.

“Grayson,” Carter called out, sensing my shift in mood.

“I’ll find her,” I said through clenched teeth, ending the call.

I quickly scanned the information Carter had sent me—Luca’s known hideouts, his associates, everything I needed. I jumped into the car, slamming the door shut and gunning the engine. The tires screeched as I sped out of the parking lot, my mind locked on one thing: getting Ava back.

And when I found Luca?

I’d show him exactly what it means to touch what was mine.

I sped along the winding Italian streets, the car’s engine roaring, but the only sound I truly heard was the pounding of my own heartbeat. Ricardo Sylvester. His name alone sent a wave of rage coursing through my veins, my wolf snarling within me, restless and violent. Memories of the past flashed in my mind—his smug face, the sound of that silver bullet tearing through my chest, the taste of my own blood as I lay dying.

He had been the reason I lost a chance at life, and now Ava. She was mine, and Ricardo had made the fatal mistake of touching what belonged to me.

Ricardo had always capitalized on moments of weakness, and I hadn’t been focused. The second I landed in Italy, I knew Ricardo had been alerted. His eyes were always on me, just as mine had been on him. He must have heard about Ava, tracked her, marked her, and then had her kidnapped, and I had unknowingly allowed it to happen. The realization made my wolf howl with fury, its savage hunger for vengeance boiling beneath the surface. I couldn’t afford mistakes. Not now.

The sky had darkened by the time I neared the location Carter sent me. A rundown warehouse on the city’s outskirts, hidden well enough to avoid suspicion but close enough to the center for a quick getaway. My instincts told me Ava was here. Luca was smart enough to have gotten this far, so he would have taken her to the closest place where he could hide her quickly.

I parked a few blocks away and killed the engine, sitting in silence for a moment, letting my senses sharpen. Every noise, every scent, felt magnified. The sharp tang of gasoline, the distant chatter of a nearby street vendor, and then it was there—faint, but unmistakable—Ava’s scent. Sweet, soft, like wildflowers after a storm. She was close. I could feel it.

I stepped out of the car, careful to shut the door quietly. My pulse quickened, but I kept my movements measured, swift, precise. The warehouse loomed ahead, its broken windows and rusted metal exterior making it look abandoned, but I knew better. The faint flicker of light from one of the windows told me they were inside, waiting. I moved carefully, slipping between shadows, sticking to the sides of buildings, ensuring my presence remained undetected.

As I approached the warehouse’s rear entrance, I took a deep breath, my senses sharpening. I could smell them—Luca and Ava weren’t the only ones here. Two, maybe three. No more than that. I crouched low, peeking around the corner. They were positioned near the main door, weapons strapped to their sides, but their stances were lazy, casual. They weren’t expecting me to get this far so quickly. Amateurs.

I circled around, maintaining my distance, heading for the back. The scent of gasoline grew stronger, mixed with the faint scent of cigars… but then all calculation and… (The passage cuts off here).