Kidnapping His Bride

by Karen Erickson

  “She’s fine.” Annalisa waved her hand, dismissing his worry. “Stop being such an old man.”

  He wanted to choke her. “Tell me you’re here because you dropped the charges.”

  Reaching inside his pocket, he fumbled for his cell, pressing the recorder button on. In the police’s sloppy handling of his arrest, they’d somehow forgotten to confiscate his phone.

  So he planned on using it to his advantage.

  “I have no plans for dropping the charges,” Annalisa said, an odd smile on her face.

  Jesus. What was wrong with this woman? “Why not? What have I ever done to you?”

  Her brows rose. “Really? You have the nerve to ask that question? What have you done to me? Why don’t I rattle off the list?” She pointed at him, her finger shaking. “First, you ignore me. I’ve had a crush on you for years. Years. I was the one who should’ve been your fiancée, not Catalina. We have more in common, we’re closer in age.”

  He said nothing in reply, disgusted by how she turned this entire situation into poor, pitiful Annalisa. Such bullshit.

  “I tried to tell you multiple times how I felt, but you never cared. Then at that party, I practically throw myself at you, and you did nothing. Nothing at all! That was it. That was the moment that pushed me to convince Cat you were worthless,” she said with a smirk.

  “Didn’t work, did it? She’s still with me,” he murmured.

  Her smirk faltered, her eyes dimmed. “Not for long.”

  His heart fell into his toes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you won’t be able to get out of this hellhole unless you agree to do what I tell you.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want you to break up with Catalina.”

  Rafe remained silent. He refused to agree.

  “You’re going to tell her the reason you’re breaking up with her is because you’re in love with me. That you’ve been in love with me for years and you used her to get closer to me.”

  He slowly shook his head. Would Cat really believe that? After everything they shared the last few days? “You’re crazy.”

  “Crazy for you. And you’d be crazy too if you don’t agree to this. I have plans, Rafe, if you don’t split up with her. Plans to keep you in here for a very, very long time.”

  “Your charges won’t hold,” he tossed at her. “No one will believe you. Cat is a grown woman who left with me willingly.”

  “She’s a woman who’s mentally unstable and I’m her guardian. At this very moment she’s lying in the fetal position, drooling on her bed. What woman would do this when her beloved fiancé is locked up in jail? I’ll tell you…a woman who has numerous, untreatable problems.” Annalisa leaned back in her chair, looking smug. “She needs help, Rafe. She’s unstable. Incapable of being a proper wife to you. You’ll see. With all of her problems, there’s no way you could marry her.”

  She was sick. A fucked-up, twisted mess, and he needed to pretend he was on her side to get the hell out of this place and rescue Cat before something terrible happened to her. “So that’s all you want? Is me?”

  Hope lit her eyes, her smile. “A simple request, don’t you think?”

  He nodded slowly, his stomach curdling at what he was about to say. “I need to get out of here, Annalisa. If being with you is the solution, then I’ll agree.”

  “So you’ll end it with Cat.”

  “Absolutely.” He nodded and shrugged. “You’re right. She’s not the one for me. We do have more in common, don’t we?”

  “Yes,” she said eagerly. “Yes, we do. I’m so glad you can finally see it. Maybe being in jail for a few hours was good for you. Helped you see things clearer.”

  Yeah, sure.

  “You must be right. We belong together, you and I.” He choked the last few words out, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  Tears sparkled in her eyes. “You don’t know how happy you’ve just made me.”

  “Hurry and talk to the detectives. Tell them you want to drop the charges so we can be together.”

  “I will. I swear I will.” She pushed her chair back and stood, smiling down at him with tear-filled eyes. “You’ve made me the happiest woman on Earth, I swear.”

  He returned the smile, more a baring of teeth than anything else. God, the woman turned his stomach. “Hurry, darling. I need to get out of here so I can go talk to Cat and break it off with her.”

  Her smile turned into a frown. “Oh, you might want to wait before you talk to her.”

  “Why?” What had she done to Cat?

  “She’s so sleepy. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Maybe she’ll be awake by the time we get out of here.”

  “Did you…did you do something to her, Annalisa?”

  “Oh, stop worrying. You act like I tried to kill her.” She waved her hand, her words like little daggers to his heart. Was she capable of such a thing? He hadn’t a clue. “I just gave her a little something to help her sleep. I had to. She was like a dog with a bone, determined to find justice for you once and for all.”

  Just hearing those words confirmed his feelings. He was in love with Cat. He might’ve been all along, but it was hard to admit when he barely knew her. A few days with her showed him how perfect they were for each other. How much they belonged together.

  Why was Annalisa so hell bent on keeping them apart? Was she that delusional to believe they really belonged together? Was she the one who was mentally unstable?

  He’d bet yes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rafe left the jail less than an hour after Annalisa came to visit him. The process had been remarkably easy. She’d gone to the detectives she’d first contacted when he and Cat had been in New York and admitted she’d made a mistake. Her sister was fine and Rafe shouldn’t have been arrested.

  They released him without question, which blew his mind. Just as easily they’d arrest and charge him, they’d let him go? Frightening.

  More frightening? Annalisa’s behavior. She acted as if nothing were amiss. As if it wasn’t a big deal that she’d gone to such lengths to break up his relationship with her sister. She’d had him jailed. She’d somehow drugged Cat. Who knew how she was doing? Was she okay? God, he could only hope so.

  Fear kept him motivated. The minute they walked out of the station, they ran into Matteo, who was just about to head inside.

  “I need to talk to him,” Rafe told a wary Annalisa. “Alone.”

  She shifted on her feet, her expression wary, her gaze narrowed. “Honestly? I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

  Cautious one, wasn’t she? She had every right to be. He planned on enlisting Matteo’s help him out of this insane situation the minute he got his brother out of earshot.

  “He’s my oldest brother, the one I’ve always gone to for advice. There are a few things we need to discuss. Privately. But don’t worry.” Dread flooding him, he drew her into his arms and gave her a quick hug, patting her back awkwardly. “Give me ten minutes.”

  She nodded, snuggling her face against his chest before he practically pushed her away from him. God, she made his skin crawl. “Ten minutes, but that’s it, Rafael. Then we need to get home. You need to talk to Cat. And then you need to tell my mother what you intend to do.”

  “What I intend to do?”

  Annalisa beamed. “Why, marry me, of course.”

  Dread consumed him, his stomach roiling at the thought of actually marrying this woman. He didn’t even know her. She was flat-out crazy.

  And completely delusional.

  Turning away from her, he faced Matteo, who watched him with slack-jawed fascination. “What the hell is going on here?” his big brother muttered.

  “Let’s go.” Rafe grabbed Matteo’s arm and steered him away, knowing he couldn’t get out of her sight but at least she wouldn’t be able to overhear them. “She’ll probably time us exactly ten minutes and then I have to leave.”

  “Why are you even talking
to her? Isn’t she the one who put you in jail in the first place? With her trumped up kidnapping charges and false documents?” Matteo asked incredulously.

  “False documents? Do you know something I don’t?” Hope lit within Rafe.

  “I’ve looked into some matters and from what I can tell, yes. The documents were somehow falsified. She had to have received help to get those documents put through the court system. Who, I don’t know, but does it really matter? Thankfully we can get her on the phony papers alone,” Matteo explained.

  “Yes, well, let’s not jump the gun in trying to get anything on her at the moment. She might’ve been the one who had me thrown in jail, but she’s also the one who got the charges dropped against me,” Rafe said grimly. “Looks like we don’t need the lawyer at this moment, but later, I’m sure.”

  “Fine, I’ll make a call and let him know what’s going on. But I think you need to explain what’s going on here—and quick. Before she gets anxious.” Matteo flicked his head in Annalisa’s direction.

  Rafe gave him the quick rundown, explaining everything Annalisa had told him. He had no idea what was true, what wasn’t, but he knew he needed to get to Cat. Her own sister had drugged Cat to keep her from being with him. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

  The thought alone made him sick. If something happened to her because of him, he didn’t know what he’d do. Or how he’d ever forgive himself.

  “I need to go with Annalisa back to her house so I can make sure Cat is all right,” Rafe said after he finished filling Matteo in. “She admitted she drugged Cat to keep her from me. Annalisa will do whatever it takes to keep us apart. She doesn’t care if she hurts her sister or not.”

  Matteo briefly glanced in Annalisa’s direction before returning his gaze to Rafe. “You’re serious.”

  “As a heart attack.” How he wished he wasn’t.

  “Sounds like Annalisa has some issues when it comes to her sister.”

  Rafe snorted. “That’s an understatement. She has major issues. And I don’t think they all revolve around her sister.”

  “So what are we going to do about her? Clearly she’s unstable if she’s willing to harm her own sister in order to get at you.” Matteo shook his head. “I hadn’t a clue she was interested in you. Her behavior is shocking.”

  “Tell me all about it,” Rafe muttered.

  “I’ll help you, Rafe. We’ll get Cat out of that house and take care of her. She’ll be a Renaldi now. We protect what’s ours,” Matteo said firmly.

  Relief flooded Rafe at Matteo’s speech. He knew his brother would be on board in helping him out. It just felt good to actually receive confirmation. “I need you to find a facility nearby. I plan on checking her in. And while you’re researching that on your cell, I need you to follow us back to the Campioni house. That’s where Cat is. And that’s where we’re headed. But keep a certain amount of distance, you know? I don’t want her to realize you’re following us.”

  Matteo didn’t even flinch at what Rafe asked him to do. “Then what?”

  “I’ll let Cat know you’re outside waiting for her and I’ll send her to your car. You can keep her safe.” Rafe breathed deep, letting out a ragged breath. “I’ll try and calm Annalisa down, then tell her to come out for a drive with me. You text me the address to the facility and you can meet me there. How does that sound?”

  “She has to check herself in you know. She’s an adult. We can’t force her to stay there,” Matteo pointed out.

  “What if she’s in a wrecked state? Completely unhinged? What then? Think we could get them to take her if she’s acting like a crazy woman?”

  Matteo shrugged. “I suppose so. But do you want to push her to those limits?”

  “I’m not sure if we’ll have a choice. I think we have to push her to those limits.”

  Matteo whistled low. “That’s incredibly risky, especially dealing with someone who is clearly on the edge.”

  “I have to do it.” It was Rafe’s turn to look over where Annalisa stood. She watched him, her gaze never straying, a funny little smile on her face. He smiled in return, hoping it didn’t look like a grimace before he turned to his brother once more. “She’s crazy, Matteo. I’m scared of what she might do to Cat.”

  “I understand. We’ll take care of this, Rafe. Together.”

  The weather matched Rafe’s mood, gray and drizzly, dark and foreboding. He’d convinced Annalisa to let him drive her car and she’d agreed freely, looking like a lovesick teenager, literally batting her eyelashes at him while he drove, clinging to his arm with every chance she got.

  Until he finally had to tell her the weather was too sketchy and he needed both arms free to drive for fear they’d end up in a wreck. Thank God he had that excuse. He could hardly stand having her touch him, let alone cling to him like another appendage.

  “So you’ll talk to Cat when we get to the house and break off the engagement?” she asked.

  He sent Annalisa a quick glance, his stomach turning when he saw the bright smile on her face. She would probably want to be in the room with him when he supposedly split with Cat. Hell, if Annalisa had her way, she’d probably beg him to be the one who did the breaking up for him.

  “I will, just as you asked. Hopefully she’s coherent when we get there,” he said carefully, trying to dig for more information.

  Trying to get her to say something incriminating since he’d clicked on the recorder on his cell phone, which sat in the cup holder in the center console.

  She hissed in a sharp breath. “Maybe she will be. God, she better be.” Annalisa sounded unsure. “Can I tell you what I did and you won’t get mad?” She didn’t even wait for his answer before she pushed on. “I gave her three of my sleeping pills. Usually it only takes one to knock me out, so I knew she’d fall asleep quick. Just what I needed her to do so I could get to see you.”

  Jesus. Annalisa had at least fifteen pounds on Cat and she only took one. Cat would probably sleep for days with three of the pills in her.

  “That was a bit extreme, don’t you think? Giving her three of your sleeping pills?” he bit out.

  Annalisa shrugged as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “I wanted to make sure she was good and passed out. Trust me, she was very determined to see you. And so angry with me! I’ve never seen her so mad. I really pushed all of her buttons. Cat is usually so quiet and calm.”

  Unlike you, crazy-from-hell bitch. “So you forced pills on her and knocked her out?”

  “It was nothing like that. I made her tea, smashed up the pills in the bottom of her cup and served it to her. She was out within minutes. It was quite amazing to see, she got so loopy and incoherent. Poor thing.” She laughed, actually laughed, and Rafe was tempted to smash her face in.

  He wasn’t a man prone to violence, especially against women. He’d always respected them. He adored his sister, his mother and now Catalina.

  But he’d love to wrap his hands around Annalisa’s neck and throttle her senseless.

  “Turn there,” Annalisa said, waving her hand at the street to the right just up ahead. “Then go all the way to the end of the drive. Our house is the last one on the right.”

  He knew that, of course, since he’d just climbed through Cat’s window not too long ago. He hated that he was returning to their family home under such horrible pretenses, but it had to be done.

  The original plan had been for him to accompany Cat to the house so they could talk to her mother and let her know they were going forward with their wedding plans, and soon. Rafe had promised her on their last night together he would do whatever it took to help take care of her mother too. All the burden couldn’t be put on Annalisa, he’d told Cat. Her mother Anna had been a part of his life long, long ago, before she became the quiet, depressed woman that she was now.

  When he’d been very small, he’d loved Anna Campioni. She always gave him and his brothers freshly baked cookies. He’d envied the easy friendship his father had with Carlo Campi
oni as well. The two men had been friends since they were children and had such an easygoing camaraderie, his father and Cat’s father had behaved like brothers. Brothers who didn’t want to beat each other up, which was the norm in the Renaldi household back then. But the kind of brothers that grew up to be friends. Rafe was thankful he felt like his brothers were his friends.

  It was sad, what happened to the Campioni sisters. They weren’t friends.

  They were enemies.

  A rapid, staccato knocking was what woke her first. It pounded in her brain, reverberated throughout her entire body, and Cat squeezed her eyes shut tight, rolling over on her side so she faced the wall.

  The knocking never stopped—she wanted to yell at whoever it was who wanted her to open the damn door. Licking her dry lips, she tried her best to speak, but it was as if the words flat out refused to form.

  “Catalina! You must wake up! Your sister is back!”

  Cat slowly opened her eyes, staring at the familiar, faded wallpaper of her childhood. She’d lived her entire life in this room. So many memories were made here…but she couldn’t remember this.

  How exactly did she get into her bed? The last thing she remembered was fighting with Annalisa and going into the kitchen with her to have some tea…

  “Mama?” she called out feebly, her voice more like a croak. She cleared her throat, the sound ripping through her foggy head and she buried her face in the pillow.

  “Your sister’s car just pulled into the drive. She’ll be in the house at any minute. She’ll want to talk to you. You must get up,” her mother continued, sounding frantic.

  “Come in,” Cat encouraged. “The door isn’t locked.” She rarely locked her bedroom door.

  Her mother rattled the door handle. “It is locked, my darling. Your sister locked you in.”

  Wait…what? Why would Annalisa do such a thing? “Hold on.” Cat sat up, her head spinning, her stomach cramping. She felt like she’d been asleep for days. In fact, she could lie right back down, close her eyes and fall back to sleep.