Chapter 26: Trapped With Him
The car wound through dark, twisting roads, leaving the city lights behind.
Isla didn't know where they were going.
And Alessandro wasn't telling her.
The farther they drove, the more the weight of their situation settled in her chest.
She wasn't just running.
She was being hidden.
Like a pawn in a game she didn't understand.
Like property.
She exhaled sharply, staring out the window. "You can't just keep me locked away forever."
Alessandro didn't respond.
She turned to him. "Alessandro."
Still, nothing.
His jaw was tight, his eyes focused on the road ahead, his grip on the steering wheel almost too controlled.
Isla gritted her teeth. "So that's it? You're just going to pretend I'm not here?"
He let out a slow, quiet breath.
Then—
"We're almost there."
She scowled. "Where is there?"
He finally glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "Somewhere no one can find you."
Her stomach twisted. "I don't need to be hidden—"
"You don't get to decide that."
His voice was calm. Controlled.
But there was something simmering beneath the surface.
Something dangerous.
Her fingers curled into fists. "This isn't fair."
Alessandro chuckled under his breath, low and humorless. "Fair? You think any of this is fair?" He exhaled sharply. "You knew what you were getting into, cara mia."
Her pulse jumped. "I didn't sign up to be a target."
Alessandro's grip on the wheel tightened. "And yet, here we are."
A tense silence stretched between them.
Then—
The car slowed.
Through the windshield, Isla saw it—a secluded estate, nestled deep in the countryside, surrounded by towering iron gates.
No neighbors. No roads.
No way to leave.
Her heart pounded.
Alessandro pulled through the gates, parking the car in the circular driveway.
The second the engine shut off, Isla unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him.
"This is insane," she said, her voice sharp with frustration. "You can't just keep me here."
Alessandro's jaw ticked. "I can and I will."
She threw open the car door, stepping out into the cold night air.
She didn't care that she didn't know where she was.
She didn't care that running wouldn't change anything.
She just needed space.
But before she could take two steps—
A strong hand gripped her wrist.
Not rough. Not painful.
But firm. Unrelenting.
Alessandro pulled her back, spinning her to face him.
His dark eyes burned into hers. "Where do you think you're going?"
Isla's breath caught.
Because standing this close—his fingers wrapped around her wrist, his body radiating heat, his control barely hanging by a thread—
She wasn't sure if she was fighting him anymore.
Or herself.
She lifted her chin. "You don't own me."
His smirk was slow. Dangerous. "No?"
His fingers skimmed up her arm, tracing the sensitive skin along her wrist, up to the inside of her elbow.
She shivered.
And Alessandro felt it.
His smirk deepened.
His hand slid to her waist, pulling her flush against him.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"Tell me," he murmured, his breath warm against her ear. "Are you really trying to escape?"
She should say yes.
She should push him away.
But instead—
Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt.
And she hated herself for it.
Because for all her resistance, all her fights, all her lies—
She didn't want to leave.
Alessandro's hand slid lower, gripping her hip.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Or are you just trying to see how far I'll let you go?"
A shudder ran through her.
Because she didn't know the answer.
And that terrified her.