by Amy Starling
In this family, you paid for betrayal with blood.
The tension in the room now unbearably thick, we were all relieved to escape once dad dismissed us. Out in the hallway, everyone hurried away in their own directions, reluctant to even make eye contact.
Only Lucas and Sam remained by my side. Lucas had just polished off his last donut and wiped the jelly off his hands onto his pants.
“What a mess,” he grunted. “There's nothing worse than walking on eggshells, thinking some asshole's gonna use what you say against you.”
I stormed downstairs. “It can't be true. I trust all these men here with my life.”
“Sometimes money makes 'em choose poorly,” Sam said.
Money, huh. Was that what this came down to? I supposed in the end, that's what mattered most. Who had the money had the power, and whoever had power ruled this town. The Ciarellos reigned for decades, but rival gangs had been trying very hard to break that tradition.
“Oh, boys!” Janet grabbed us as we passed by the kitchen. “I made gingersnap cookies. Would anybody like one?”
Lucas gleefully grabbed for the plate like the overgrown kid he was. Right away, I wondered if Ceci liked gingersnap cookies. Maybe she'd appreciate me bringing her some, as a gesture of goodwill or something.
I mean, I did just screw the woman. It'd be the nice thing to do. Right?
“Mind if I take a bag full?” I asked Janet. “My, uh, hostage might like to try them.”
Sam snorted. “His girlfriend, you mean.”
I shoved him into the china cabinet. “Shut up. Where do you get off saying shit like that? I don't have any girlfriend, and if I did it sure wouldn't be her.”
“Man, c'mon.” He put his hands up to shield himself. “It's just, well, you're taking her cookies. I've never seen you even give a chick flowers before.”
He had a point. I always thought romantic stuff like that was sappy and stupid. Now? Well, I'd pretty much turned Ceci's life upside-down. I just wanted to make up for it somehow, I guess.
I wanted to see a smile on her pretty face again.
“Where you keeping her, anyway?” Lucas asked, his mouth full as usual.
“Just a place far out of town. Nobody would think to look for her there.”
“Here you go.” Janet happily handed me a baggie of cookies. “Take them to her while they're still fresh and soft, you hear?”
Outside, the guys went their own way. I should have headed to the club – probably lots for me to get done there – but I had other plans.
The notebook Ceci wrote in sat on the seat beside me. If she was gonna be my prisoner for thirty days, then I was gonna make sure she at least kind of enjoyed it.
She'd like to have some of her things, wouldn't she? She needed clothes, toiletries too. And I knew just where to get them.
I sped across town to her home. I had never been there, but knew exactly where it was. Amusing how her dad managed to afford such a place with that empty bank account of his.
When I got there, Roger's BMW wasn't in the driveway. There was a silver Lexus, though. That one belonged to her mother, Lonnie.
“Guess I'll be entering the stealthy way,” I muttered as I parked behind some bushes. Lonnie wouldn't be very pleased, I figured, if I came knocking and asked to collect her daughter's stuff.
Ceci's room was most likely on the second floor. With no way up, I'd have to sneak through a bottom window and pray nobody spotted me on the way in. I seriously didn't wanna have to knock her mom out.
The first window I tried was unlocked. It creaked as I lifted it. Shit!
I held my breath and waited for Lonnie to come running. Nobody did.
“Should have sent Jess to deal with this,” I said, exhaling with relief. “He's way better at this breaking-and-entering crap than I am.”
I raised the window gently this time, then paused to listen. Didn't hear anything except the TV playing at a low volume. Good, hopefully Lonnie was preoccupied watching talk shows or something.
I slipped through and landed in the laundry room. The stairs were right nearby, so I crept up them to the second floor.
Ceci's room was easy to find. The door had stickers all over it, probably put there when she was a kid.
Funny. We both lived in Summerset all our lives, yet I'd never even noticed her before.
It made me kinda sad. Wish I'd found her, gotten to know her, before all this crap went down between our families.
Into Ceci's room I went, then flicked on the light. The place was a mess, like somebody had ripped through it looking for something. The bed covers were crumpled in a ball, and the drawers in her chest all pulled out. Papers and other junk lay scattered about the floor.
Whatever had happened, it wasn't my business. I pulled out the bag I'd brought and began to stuff it with what caught my eye. There was her laptop; she'd definitely appreciate that. An e-reader, some notebooks, her college books...
I paused. She was freaking out about failing med school, and what if she did – because of me? Maybe I could talk to her teachers. Make up some sob story about her dying relative in Europe or some crap. I was pretty good at bullshitting, or so dad always told me.
Next, onto the clothes. I pulled open the closet and stared.
What I found was surprisingly minimalist. She owned a few pairs of jeans, some shorts, a handful of shirts, and not much else. Except, wait – there was the skirt she'd worn to the club.
The one she wore that wonderful night with me. I'd never forget the look on her face when I peeled away her panties and made her come with all those people around us.
My cock hardened just thinking about it. When I stumbled on her underwear drawer, I got even harder.
“Gotta get you some sexy, lacy underwear, don't we?” I willed my erection to go away as I stuffed her undergarments into the bag. Didn't work.
Then my hand met plastic. Holy shit, Ceci had a vibrator!
Yeah, I was definitely taking this thing with me. Maybe if I was a good boy, she'd let me use it on her...
“No, I don't think he has any idea.”
Lonnie's voice came from downstairs. My heart pounded as I finished tying up the bag. Who was she talking to?
I crept into the hallway and listened. A man replied; I didn't recognize his voice.
“It's okay, baby. You don't have to worry about a thing. Trust me.”
...Baby?
“Don't worry? They have my little girl.” Lonnie started to cry. “And it's all my idiot husband's fault. I told him to stop the gambling, and now they're going to kill her because of him!”
Carefully, I peered over the railing. This was getting too dicey for me not to look.
There sat Lonnie on the couch, sobbing softly into a tissue. Beside her sat a guy I'd never seen, some older dude with a beard and a smattering of tattoos across his arms.
I had no idea who he was, but I recognized that snake and knife tattoo right away.
This guy was one of the Giseppi family. Oh, shit. What had Ceci's mom gotten herself into?
“It'll be fine. I know some guys, see, and soon as we figure out where your daughter is, we'll go get her.”
“But what are you going to do? She was kidnapped by a bunch of gangsters. I... I saw the video that evil man sent to Roger.” She sobbed violently. “He held a gun to her head, Mark.”
“Guy sounds like a real piece of shit.” He slung his arm around her. “But I promise I'll get her back. There is, ah, one small thing, though.”
“What is it?”
Mark looked away. “Our boss doesn't exactly believe in charity. It'll be dangerous, you know, sending guys after your girl. They'll ask for fair compensation.”
“You want money?” She laughed. “We don't have any of that. The retirement account, Ceci's college fund, even our savings is running dry.”
“The Ciarellos want over seventy grand. My boss can get your girl back for twenty.”
I silently raged while she thought about his offer. No, this c
ouldn't be happening! Didn't she get it?Even if the Giseppis managed to rescue her, dad wouldn't let that crap fly. He'd wage war on their family. It'd be bloodshed. Lot of good men would die.
Not only that, Roger still wouldn't be off the hook. Dad would get his money, or he'd force me to take his daughter's life.
“We might be able to come up with that,” she said quietly. “Perhaps we could take out a loan, or sell our cars, or –”
“Do whatever it takes. This is your kid in danger, after all.”
My head reeled with confusion. How did Lonnie get involved with this guy? Looked like she knew him pretty well. Possibly screwing him behind her husband's back.
Ceci said her mom was religious. If “religious” meant “total hypocrite,” then I agreed.
Even stranger, she seemed to have no idea of Mark's affiliation. And what would a guy like him be doing with a woman like her?
“Look at me, babe. Everything's gonna be fine.”
Mark pulled her in for a kiss. My stomach churned. Time to go; I'd heard enough.
The whole way back to the cabin, I couldn't stop worrying about Ceci. Her mother didn't know it, but she was about to put her daughter's life in even more danger.
I swore that I'd protect her, and I damn well meant it. Any Giseppi guy tried to come get her, he'd be rewarded with a bullet to the skull and a trip to the bottom of the lake. I'd kill anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way.
The aroma of warm gingersnaps filled my car. I relaxed a little when I thought of giving them to her.
Then I laughed, because I couldn't believe it. Couldn't deny my feelings for much longer, either.
The guys picked on me, but maybe they were right.
Against all reason, I was falling hard for the woman I'd kidnapped. It was stupid and reckless; there could be no happy ending to a story like ours.
But that didn't meant I wasn't gonna try for one anyway.
Chapter 11 - Ceci
After watching the same crappy sitcom for the third hour in a row, boredom began to sink its claws into me.
It wasn't like I had much else to do. I'd gone through the cabin several times, making absolutely sure that I hadn't missed something, maybe some obscure way out Alec had forgotten about.
But I found nothing. Upstairs, I peered out the bedroom window and tried to get my bearings. It would be helpful to know how to reach town on the chance I did escape.
It didn't look good, for sure. We were way up on a hill, almost in the mountains, surrounded by forest for miles around. If I squinted, I could barely make out the roofs of a few buildings way off to the north.
Should I run, I wouldn't get too far on foot. I'd have to stop halfway and spend the night in the woods – and with no food, supplies, or proper clothing, I was definitely not equipped for that.
I shifted from foot to foot, still sore after the rough screwing Alec gave me. Ugh, why did assholes like him have to be so good in bed?
“Ceci.”
I jumped at the sound of his voice. He stood in the doorway, holding a big bag stuffed so much it was about to tear.
“Oh, Alec – I didn't hear you come in,” I stammered.
He set the bag down with a wry smile. “Something the matter? You're not up to no good, I hope.”
“No, I was just bored, so I thought I'd take in the scenery.” I eyed him as he untied the sack. “Um, I can't see the city from here. Just how far out have you taken me?”
“Far enough so nobody's going to find you. This is the only house for a few miles in either direction. That's why I had it built up here, for the privacy.”
“Wait, this house is yours?”
He nodded and handed me a little bag with something yummy-smelling in it. “Yeah. I got a nice apartment in Summerset, but sometimes I want to get away from it all. Even us mobsters need a little R and R.”
I opened the bag. “Cookies, for me?”
“Gingersnaps. Janet made them fresh and I thought maybe you'd like some.”
He actually thought about me enough to bring me dessert? Unsure what to think about that, I took a bite of one and sighed happily.
“They're perfect. You're lucky to have someone who makes such delicious food for you.”
He blushed a little. Why did I have to find that so freaking cute?
“Well, she's really my dad's maid. When I'm at home, I have to fend for myself.” He seemed a bit downtrodden about it. “Anyway, I brought you something else.”
I set the cookies down and peeked into the bag. Staring back at me was a bunch of my belongings from home.
“How did you get this?”
He chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. “I wasn't exactly invited inside, let's just say that.”
So now I could add “home invasion” to his list of criminal offenses. I was pleased that he got my stuff, but not terribly happy about him digging in my room.
“I didn't know what you wanted,” he continued. “There's clothes, your books to study, and some things for you to do.”
And my laptop, too. If by some small chance this place had internet, I could get online and call for help that way. My heartbeat quickened at the slim hope of escaping this place.
I lifted some of the shirts he'd chosen. Beneath that was a neat stack of underwear – and my vibrator!
“You went through my underwear drawer?” I shrieked and threw a balled-up shirt at his head.
“I kind of had no choice, unless you wanted to go without clean panties for a month.” Then his eyes twinkled. “Actually, I don't think I would mind that too much at all.”
I shoved him backward. “You must be kidding. I'm here because you kidnapped me, you realize.”
Given his murderous track record, reacting that way was probably a stupid thing to do. He could have raged on me like he did that guy at the club, could've snapped my neck in a second.
Instead, he just laughed. He laughed so hard that his face turned red.
“Imagine my surprise at finding a sex toy in there. Thought maybe you'd miss it, so I did you a favor.”
So humiliating.
And what would I need a vibrator for if I had him around to satisfy me? I almost asked him that, but stopped myself in time.
He wasn't my boyfriend, and this wasn't some romantic getaway for the two of us. Yeah, I'd slept with him, but just to get it out of my system. I couldn't let that happen again. No more. How would I respect myself if I did?
Except just looking at him filled my mind with lusty thoughts too filthy to say aloud. His touch was so magical, I couldn't deny myself him for long.
I grumbled and stuff the vibrator into the bag. His hand settled on my back.
“You could at least pretend to be grateful, you know. It wasn't all that easy nabbing that stuff for you.”
I turned to face him. His dark eyes flickered with interest; it was clear he'd been thinking thoughts just as dirty as mine.
“Thanks. You didn't have to,” I muttered. “Though I still can't believe you broke into my house.”
The warmth suddenly vanished. His jaw clenched.
“It's a lucky thing I got there when I did.” He grabbed my arms. “Ceci, your mom was there with a guy from the Giseppi family. Something big is about to go down.”
“What? Why would she be with someone like that?”
“She's trying to get them to rescue you, sounds like.” His brow furrowed and he sank into the fluffy mattress. “He offered her some kind of deal: pay his boss twenty grand and they'll get you back.”
It was so ridiculous that I, too, slumped onto the bed in shock. No, it couldn't be true. He must have misheard them.
“My mother isn't the type who has friends in gangs,” I assured him.
“Maybe you don't know her well as you thought.” He swallowed hard. “And maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but... looks like they're more than friends.”
I moved away from him. How dare he accuse her of cheating on dad!
“Mom's a
good woman,” I hissed. “How can you possibly insinuate she's messing around on my father?”
“I saw it with my own eyes, Ceci. He had his hands on her. Called her 'baby.' And I'd say the clincher would have to be the kiss.”
My chest ached. He had no reason to lie, but then...
“Why would she do that? She's just not that kind of person.” I rubbed my misty eyes. “She was the one who taught me about morals and God and what would happen if you sinned. She stood by dad all these years, in spite of his problems.”
Alec held my hand. That was the only bit of comfort I had right now. I was alone, trapped in this hell, with no one else to turn to.
Right now, he was the closest thing I had to an ally.
“People change,” he said, threading his fingers between mine. “And pardon me, but your father hasn't been the greatest family man, has he?”
“So you're saying because he messed up, it's okay for her to cheat on him?”
“No, but maybe that's how your mom felt.”
I thought back. Dad had always been a gambler, and the fights he and mom had about his habit only got worse over the years. He'd go out at night for hours, leaving her to wonder where he was.
What would I have done in her shoes?
“Anyway, your family's personal problems are the major concern right now. If your mother does pay up, the Giseppis will be coming for you.”
“Coming to free me from you,” I corrected him. “Which I fail to actually see as such a bad thing. I want to go home, and they show up to escort me there.”
Anger filled his eyes. “If you go with them, someone is going to try to kill you.”
He wasn't messing around. What little flame of hope I'd had was beginning to go out.
Maybe he saw that I was about to burst into tears. He hugged me the way you might hug a friend you'd known forever.
“I'll help you out of this, okay? As long as you stick with me and do everything I say, you'll be fine.”
His embrace made me cry harder. “I don't understand. Why would you do this for me? Why protect me? Is this some kind of joke, or a ploy to make me let my guard down?”
He took a deep breath, pulled back, and stared blankly out the window. I worried maybe I had offended him. Yes, he had kidnapped me and I had every right to be a bitch to him – but the look of hurt on his face made me feel bad about it.
