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All I want to do is see Illyana.

Darting through the inner doorway, Illyana greets me with a smile from her bed, surrounded by more machines than she surely had back in the yacht.

"Sabina! Is Uncle Mario here to take me home? Please don't let him."

Surprise stops me at the foot of her bed. "You don't want to go with him?"

She shakes her head. "The pretty woman says she's taking me to get my kidney. I want to go. Please, I want to get better."

A weak smile crosses my face and I move to the side of her bed, gently taking her hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse Mario and his men dispersing to their cars.

"You're not going anywhere with that man. You're going to New York to get surgery so you can be all better."

"Promise?" She gazes up at me with a wide smile.

"I promise."

25

CASSIAN

Idon't board the jet until all of Mario's men have fully retreated from the tarmac. Only then do I turn and follow the rest of the armed squad up the steps and into the jet.

"You good?" I lock eyes with Valentina who still lingers at the door. She nods quickly and puffs out her cheeks.

"That was close. He pulled up as we were getting Illyana on board. I don't know how he found us so fast."

"Mario has eyes everywhere. We ran into trouble on the road as well."

Her sharp eyes immediately drop to my chest and then scan over me in half a second. "You're hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. They were easy to take care of." Behind me, the door is hauled up into position by one of the guards and Valentina takes my hand. She leads me away from the door and down the short corridor toward the cockpit.

"Listen, I have to ask."

"What's wrong?"

"Illyana." Valentina glances past me and keeps her voice low. "Are we absolutely sure she's not going to…" She pauses and her lips twist as if she's rethinking her words. "She's very calm for a ten-year-old that's been taken from her home by strangers."

My brows knit together. "You think something is up?"

"I don't know. It's just something I wanted to mention."

"She's been surrounded by countless strange doctors since she got sick, and I think she mentioned more than one nanny to Sabina. She might be used to being carted around by strangers. It doesn't strike me that she's had much family stability. I know Sabina's been leaning into her dislike of Mario."

"Fair." Valentina's hands land on her hips. "I wanted to ask in case it becomes an issue later. I'm going to keep an eye on her, just in case."

"I understand." Now that things are calmer, an ache in my lower back darts to the forefront of my mind as I stand there and the urge to shower grows so strong. The stink of that car and the blood from those men still clings to the inside of my nose. "I'm going to shower. Keep an eye on them for me?"

"Mmhmm. Sure thing." Valentina pats my shoulder and then weaves past me toward the main room where Sabina sits on the edge of Illyana's bed. I only stop for a moment to wave at Sabina so she knows I'm here, then I take the long corridor to the rooms at the back of the plane and pick one for myself.

Coming to Italy, I was prepared to fight through all sorts of people in order to save Sabina. I never once anticipated that I'd be returning to the States with her and her daughter, while the last sting of my family connection lies severed.

Life is… chaotic.

I shed my clothes as soon as the jet takes off and disappear into the shower for a powerful yet lukewarm wash. It's enough to wash away all of the sweat and grime from the fight and my anxiety that we would not be walking away from Mario in one piece.

He won't give up, either. He's far too connected to his honor and the last thing he'll want is for this to get out. We'll just have to be ready for him.