by A. J. Snyder
I stare up at him with adoration. He has no idea how much love I have for him already. I've had a crush on Giovanni ever since my father first took him under his wing. He's always been a handsome and powerful man, and his presence constantly took my breath away when he entered a room.
In fact, it still does.
"If anything ever happens to you, know that I'll find you. I'll always be with you…in here," Giovanni says with a very serious look before pressing his fingers against my chest right over my heart.
My heartbeat stutters under his touch, and he flashes me a breathtaking smile that has me practically melting to the floor.
"I have to go now, but I'll pick you up for dinner at seven," he tells me before placing a quick kiss on my cheek and leaving.
It takes me a few moments to gather my wits before I go upstairs to get ready for our date tonight.
CHAPTER 3
LUCIEN
WHILE THE ENCRYPTED email is running through a special decryption program, I think about what it might contain.
My interaction with this particular supplier has been a difficult but rewarding one. Even though he's always right under the deadline date, he manages to somehow pull through with exactly what I need.
He has supplied me with the last four girls that have been to my home. The first two were from a different supplier, who now seemed unable to fulfill my requests.
I give the handlers a specific set time to comply with my demand. If they fail, then they don't receive one red cent from me. But if they succeed…then they're paid handsomely for delivering exactly what I want.
An alert pops up on my large computer screen, notifying me to the fact that the email has been decrypted and is ready to read.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I close my eyes for a moment before clicking open the message.
Big Bad Wolf,
I have what you want, but it's going to cost you. One-hundred percent pure, virgin, 5'4", around 125 pounds, beautiful with dark hair, as you requested.
You will receive the goods once I receive the cash.
And I expect her to be released once you get what you paid for.
Signed,
Supplier
My eyes rake over the words again and again until my vision blurs. Squeezing my eyes shut, a rare smile graces my lips.
This will be the seventh girl that I have purchased to fulfill my obsession.
Lucky number seven.
The number has great significance to me. It was July 7th, 1997 when my uncle rescued me from the hell formerly known as my childhood.
Perhaps this will finally be the one to end my sick obsession, I think to myself.
I've been trying for years to get over this fascination I have with purity and control. So far I've been unsuccessful in finding a cure….if one even exists.
My fixation with cleanliness, order and control started soon after my uncle found me. It started off small with not wanting to eat off dishes or drink from glasses that someone else had used before me even though they had been thoroughly washed. That somehow manifested to wanting perfection in every possible thing around me…including people.
The thought of being with someone who had slept with other people sickened me. I needed someone pure, someone unblemished.
Unfortunately, it's been hard for me to find such women over the years. And that is precisely what led me to my latest supplier, Giovanni Morello. I pay him large sums of money to find exactly what I desire the most.
Now, putting my fate into the hands of corrupt people is not ideal, to say the least, but I have an uncontrollable need that must be met…no matter the cost.
I buy these girls, most of them stuck in a world they don't want to be in, filled with filth and abuse, not much unlike my own past, and I turn them into the perfect specimen right before I take one of the most valued assets they have to offer --- their virginity.
And even though it makes me feel full of shame that I'm, in a sense, helping the supply and demand aspect of human trafficking, the girls I take are all willing. In a way I feel as though I'm actually their savior, rescuing them from a much more horrible fate than what I could ever produce.
After I'm done sleeping with a girl once, I send her on her way with a large sum of cash and a new identity, if she so chooses. Then she's able to live the rest of her life in luxury.
All they have to do is give me one time with them --- their first time. That's all I want. And then I send them off into the world with more money than they could probably spend in a lifetime. I know they receive a small cut from their handlers, but I would imagine it doesn't amount to much, if they even get paid at all. It definitely wouldn't surprise me to learn that the handlers, who are from the seediest underground in the world, are dishonest to the girls I buy.
Unbeknownst to any of the girls that I've purchased in the past, I check on them periodically. All six girls that have left my home are living the life they always wanted but could have never had before they met me. And I suppose in that way, I feel like their knight in shining armor. They just don't realize it while they're here how much of a savior I am to them. No, that realization comes much later...after they leave this place…after they receive their money.
I like to think that this seventh girl, who meets my specifications to a T, is going to be the girl that ends it all for me. Maybe once I have her, I'll finally be satisfied.
I can only hope that is the case.
Lucky number seven.
My eyes flit over the message even though I have it memorized.
And then I do something I haven't done in any of my transactions in the past. I request a picture of Number Seven from my supplier.
My hands tingle in anticipation as I type out the email, encrypt it and send it off into the dark web.
He's never been able to find me a girl that met my specific stipulations, and I'm anxious to put a face to the description he gave me.
I just hope I'm not disappointed…for her sake.
CHAPTER 4
ADELINE
GIOVANNI TAKES MY hand in his and leads me out of the trendy and romantic Michelin-starred restaurant in downtown New York we just dined in. It was one of the fanciest restaurants I've ever been in, and the food was to die for. I'm feeling a little tipsy from the expensive bottle of wine we shared, and I stumble in my heels in the doorway before Gio catches me in his strong arms with a chuckle.
"Careful," he says before bringing my hand up to his mouth and placing a gentle kiss on my skin. I bite my lip and smile as I stare up at him. As we leave the ritzy place, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world when I'm in his arms, as if I'm walking on a cloud.
Giovanni's dressed in a tailored three-piece suit, and I'm wearing the sexiest little black dress I own with the highest pair of heels I can manage to walk in. When Gio picked me up earlier, he told me I looked stunning, and I should hope so considering it took me all day to get ready. I wanted to look perfect for him.
And if the way he can't keep his eyes off of me all night is any indication, I'd say I achieved my goal.
Once we're on the public sidewalk, Giovanni turns to me and says, "I'm glad your father agreed to let me take you out again so soon after what happened last night…" he says, his voice trailing off.
I grimace inwardly. I was mortified by my father's actions, but it's not like I'm not used to them. I glance up at Gio and gently brush my fingertips over the bruise on his jaw and the cut on his lip. "I'm sorry for ---" I start to tell him, but he silences me by pressing his lips against mine.
His hands cup my face as he holds me in place, his tongue running over the seam of my mouth. I open up for him, allowing his tongue to tangle with mine. He tastes like the wine we just shared, and I can't stop the whimper that escapes my throat.
My stomach feels like a million butterflies are inside, fluttering their wings all at the same time. This is only our fourth date since becoming engaged. We haven't done anything but kiss and hold hands, but I want to do
more, so much more. I want Gio to be my first…for everything.
I've been kept under lock and key for so long that even a night out like tonight feels like a dream, like I'm watching myself on a movie or something. I want to experience the world with Gio by my side, and I know that's what he wants too. Even if he doesn't say the words. I can see and feel the hunger in his eyes that he has for me.
Giovanni breaks our connection by taking a step back before giving me a small smile. I know exactly what he's thinking. My father would kill him if he ever found out we did anything before our wedding. And that thought alone keeps us both unwilling to cross any lines with one another.
"Let's take a walk through the park across the street," Gio suggests, surprising me. "I'll have Bruno and Dario take the car back to my condo, so we can be alone for a bit."
I stare up at him like he's grown a third head. After what just happened last night, I didn't think Gio would want to bend the rules so soon. Maybe it's because my father is out of town and so he doesn't fear the consequences of his actions.
"Really?" I squeak. We never leave anywhere without the accompaniment of my two bodyguards, and my father would most certainly forbid it. My father is a very powerful man, and so the need for constant protection for me is a must. Feeling uneasy, but not wanting to displease him, I nod and say, "Sure. A walk sounds nice."
Giovanni turns to the bodyguards waiting at the black town car just a few feet away. "We're going to walk, boys. You can take the car back to my condo. We'll meet you there."
Bruno and Dario exchange a look before Bruno asks, "You sure, Mr. Morello? I don't think the boss would like that very much." Bruno is the bigger of the two, but they both look like professional wrestlers with bulging muscles packed tightly in matching, black Armani suits.
"It's only a few blocks," Giovanni assures them with a calm, but demanding voice that sends a shiver up my spine. "Besides, the boss is in Cali for the next few weeks. He won't even know."
The two bodyguards eventually concede and reluctantly get in the car and disappear into the night.
Giovanni stares down at me and smiles. "Alone at last," he says with a chuckle.
I intertwine my fingers with Giovanni's and look up at him with adoration. In a way, Gio is my own personal savior. He's going to be plucking me from a life of solitude and anguish. I never feel those two things when I'm with Gio.
It's not like I don't have a good life at home. I do. I know I'm lucky in a lot of ways, and I know it could be a lot worse, but sometimes I just wish I had more…freedom. And I wish my father didn't demand perfection from me every second of the day, punishing me for every minor transgression.
I shudder at the thought of my beating last night, and Giovanni wraps an arm around me as we cross the street. "Cold?" he asks.
I shake my head and just smile up at him as we start walking through the park. I never walked through here at night or without the accompaniment of bodyguards, but Gio makes me feel safe no matter where we are. Gently, he tugs on my shoulder, bringing me in closer to him as we walk.
Even though my father chose Giovanni as a husband for me, I feel like we're a compatible match. He's handsome with dark hair, tall and muscular and has a great sense of humor. He can be very serious and distant at times, but I like to think that he could one day grow to love me as his wife.
Giovanni has been under my father's tutelage for a while now, rising to the top of the ranks quickly. And when I turned twenty last year, my father made a decision --- he wanted me to marry and eventually have an heir to take over the family business. My mother never had any boys, just seven girls with me being the youngest. She died shortly after child birth, and so my father's chance of having an heir seemed to solely rest on my shoulders, unfortunately.
He chose Giovanni to be the man to carry on the family name and run the family business. He trusts Gio, and that cannot be said about the husbands of my other sisters.
I can't say that I'm disappointed in who he's chosen even though I secretly wish I could have found love myself. But when you're the daughter of the biggest Italian mafia boss on the east coast, you don't get to have choices. I learned that from the moment I learned how to talk.
We walk and walk until my feet begin to ache in my high heels. Gio leads me from the park, across the street and down what appears to be an alley. When we come out the other side of the alleyway, I glance at our surroundings and realize I have no idea where we are. There is barely a soul in sight, and the businesses on this side of the city are all dark and abandoned.
This isn't the way to his condo, I think to myself. "I think we went the wrong way," I tell him, nervousness edging my tone. I twist my engagement ring with the large solitaire diamond around my finger. It's a nervous habit I've picked up as of late.
Giovanni seems distracted, and so it takes him almost a full minute before he realizes I said something. "Oh, must have taken the wrong street," he mumbles. Then he glances up at the street signs, studying the names.
My brows crease in confusion. Giovanni should know these streets by heart. He grew up in NYC, after all. But I don't question him. Instead, I tell him, "Let's just walk back the way we came. I'm sure if you called Bruno ---."
Suddenly, Giovanni stops walking and pulls me towards him. He leans down and kisses me so hard, so passionately that my knees go week. When he pulls back, there is an indescribable emotion etched on his face. I'm about to ask him what's wrong when I hear a clicking sound behind us.
It takes me a long moment to realize what's happening.
"Give me your money, and no one gets hurt," says a deep and terrifying voice.
I turn to see the gun aimed right at my heart, and I shudder in fear. "Giovanni," I whisper in a trembling voice.
A man not much taller than me, but much bigger in width, stands a few feet away. He's dressed in black with a ski mask over his face. I glance past him and see at least two more men all in black waiting nearby in the shadows.
Giovanni's grasp on me tightens for a moment before he releases me and whispers, "It's all right, Adeline." He puts his hands up defensively and turns his attention to the gunman. "Hey, man, you don't have to do this. Just turn and walk the other way, and we'll forget this even happened."
The men walk out of the shadows towards us while the gunman takes a step closer to me. There were more than two lurking in the dark. My head spins as I realize there are four men now standing behind the gunman. We'll never be able to fight all of them off.
"Give me your money, bitch," the leader hisses, waving his gun at me to emphasize his point.
I glance down at my dress and realize I left my purse in the car with the bodyguards. The streetlamp above us lights my diamond ring up like a beacon, and I quickly pull the ring off my finger. My father bought it for Giovanni to give to me, so I have no qualms about giving it to this man in exchange for saving our lives.
The gunman steps forward. And just when I think he's going to snatch the ring in my outstretched fingers and take off, he grabs my hand and yanks my back against his chest, pushing the gun hard against my temple. My ring slips out of my grasp and bounces on the dirty street before disappearing into a muddy puddle.
"Please!" Giovanni begs the man. "Let her go!" He pulls out his wallet and starts throwing hundreds on the ground as if they're worth nothing. "You want money? I have money."
"I want more than money," the man replies, and an icy chill freezes the blood in my veins.
All of a sudden, my fight or flee sense kicks into high gear…and so I begin to fight. I squirm against the man's hold, throwing back my elbows and kicking him hard in the shins. A whoosh of air escapes him with a bitter curse when one of my elbows lands in his stomach.
Regaining his control of me quickly, the man's hold on me tightens to the point that he constricts my breathing. Struggling for air, the last word I hear him spit out is "bitch" before he slams the butt of the gun against my temple.
I hear Giovanni calling my name, but it sou
nds like he's far away…and under water. Suddenly, I'm doused in a sea of darkness, drowning in it and not knowing if I'll ever resurface again.
CHAPTER 5
LUCIEN
THE ANTICIPATION OF their arrival is the hardest thing to deal with, especially with Number Seven.
Jackson, my cousin and most trusted friend --- hell, my only friend, will be flying the girl in today. Judging from the radar on my computer screen, they should be arriving within the next hour.
Minimizing the tracking screen, I bring up the email from my supplier for probably the fiftieth time today.
My eyes flit over the message even though I have it memorized.
I have what you want, but it's going to cost you. One-hundred percent pure, virgin, 5'4", around 125 pounds, beautiful with dark hair, as you requested.
Virgins are the most valuable in the flesh trade. I should know. I pay top dollar for the ones I buy. But I know I need to eventually stop all of this and do the right thing. And the right thing is bringing down Salvatore Valenti's empire and all the men under him, including my current supplier, Giovanni Morello. Then, when the mafia empire crumbles for good, I'd be saving all the girls, not just some of them like I have been doing.
I pull a stack of bright green post-it notes and place it in front of me. My hand trembles as I grip a black marker and write the words Eliminate Salvatore Valenti and Giovanni Morello.
I tear off the note and stick it to the edge of my computer desk, along with dozens of other notes of things that I want to do or need to do after I rid myself of this sick obsession of buying women to fulfill some overwhelming need inside of me.
I've tried everything over the years to find some sort of miracle cure for my transgressions --- medication, hypnotherapy, psychological testing --- and nothing worked.
