by A. J. Snyder
Adeline wasn't there. Adeline isn't even in the United States, as far as I'm aware. The Wolf has her.
And instead of returning her, as agreed upon, he's keeping her. And I am so fuckin' fucked.
Swallowing hard again, I manage to tell Salvatore, "Adeline was kidnapped a few weeks ago while you were in Cali." I don't dare tell him that she was kidnapped the night he left or the fact that I paid off her bodyguards to keep their traps shut.
I managed to keep Bruno and Dario in the dark over the past several weeks, feeding them lies about Adeline's whereabouts. They thought she was safe and sound with me, and they enjoyed spending the fuck out of my hush money whilst not having to babysit.
However, they paid the price dearly when Salvatore returned home and the two of them couldn't answer his questions as to why Adeline wasn't in her room safe and sound. Sal didn't waste any time showing them what he thought of their negligence.
He slit their fuckin' throats.
But I have earned something over the years that Bruno and Dario never did --- Salvatore's trust. Sal trusts me not to lie to him. He trusts me not to fuck up. And he trusts me so much that he's willing to welcome me into his family by allowing me to marry his daughter and produce an heir to take over the entire empire someday.
"So, she's been missing for weeks, and I'm just now finding out the truth," he states matter-of-factly.
I can practically hear the blood start to boil in Salvatore's veins. He calmly stands, his hands clenching into fists at his sides, the only indication that he's losing his cool. If there's one thing I know about Salvatore, it's that he's always the three Cs --- cool, calm and collected. Even when he's a raging lunatic or on a killing spree, he always seems like he knows exactly what he's doing in the heat of the moment. He never wavers past the point of no return. He's always present, in the moment, doing the task at hand.
"I trusted you." He spits the words out as if they're full of venom. "I trusted you with my youngest daughter."
I hang my head in shame. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was thinking solely about the money, all the fuckin' money. And now I've lost the most important thing in my life. Did I love Adeline? No. I loved what she could give me. She gave me the chance to be second in command to the most powerful mafia boss on the east coast. I knew without a doubt that once we were married, Salvatore would consider me his son. And with that title, I would assume new responsibilities. I would have the life most men in my world only dream about.
"I knew how important your business was in Cali, and so I tried to find her, tried to get her back on my own without causing a ripple in the pond."
"Oh, you didn't create a ripple, Giovanni. You created a fucking tidal wave." He slowly rolls the sleeves of his black shirt over his thick, hairy forearms. "Tell me everything you know," Salvatore says in a calm voice that causes a chill to run up my spine.
I recount the story back to him of the kidnapping, not giving him any more details than necessary and making it seem like an ordinary mugging in the city with nothing to link her disappearance back to me. I exaggerate about the amount of men, however, knowing that he won't believe that I couldn't overcome just a few men.
"Those fucks took my daughter," he says through clenched teeth with rage practically sprouting out of every greasy pore in his body.
"I tried finding her on my own. I should have told you right away, Boss. I'm sorry," I tell him hurriedly, sweat beginning to drip down my temples. My life is starting to flash before my eyes. I've seen a guy get gutted for a hell of a lot less in this very room.
"You kept this from me," Salvatore says, seething, while he slowly stands and rounds the desk. His pudgy hand shoots out and grabs me by my collar, pulling tight and strangling me in the process. "You shouldn't have done that. I control this fucking city. I could have found her in less than an hour," he spits, saliva running down my cheek. "I should kill you just for being such a stupid fuck," he snarls, wringing my neck back and forth roughly for several seconds before finally releasing his hold on me. "But you're engaged to my daughter, and that is the only reason you're alive right now. Don't you fucking forget it," he warns me, pointing his finger at me.
I nod vehemently, choking to get air back into my lungs after his assault. "Yes, Boss. We'll find her. We're going to get her back," I tell him, not knowing if I'm trying to convince him or myself.
"You're goddamn right we're going to get her back." He grabs his cell phone off of his desk and presses a few buttons. After a muffled voice speaks on the other end, he says, "Adeline was kidnapped. I need all manpower on this. And when you find the fucks that are responsible, don't kill them. I want all of their pain and blood on my hands."
I swallow hard at his words. If Salvatore finds out I'm the one behind Adeline's disappearance, it won't matter that I'm her fiancé or that he trusted me. He'll fucking kill me…but not until after he makes me suffer through a long, torturous and painful revenge.
I put my head in my hands, visibly distraught and not knowing how the fuck to fix this. When Salvatore clasps his hand on my shoulder, I nearly jump out of my chair.
"Don't worry," he says to me in a calmer voice, obviously thinking I'm upset about Adeline's disappearance and not shitting myself over the fact that I'm terrified of him and what he'll do to me if he finds out the truth. "We'll find her," he tells me with all the confidence in the world.
I hope he's right. I've tried finding her for weeks with no more information than when I started. Adeline disappeared off the face of the earth when I sold her. And if her father ever finds out what I did, it will be the end of me and everything I've worked so hard for.
I rub my blurry eyes, tired and bloodshot from lack of sleep. I haven't slept more than a few minutes since she was kidnapped. I worry constantly about whether she's eating or sleeping or being tortured. If I don't get her back safe and sound, my life as I knew it is fuckin' over.
My decision to sell her was so extraordinarily stupid that I still can't believe it's real. I feel like I'm in a never-ending nightmare that I can't wake myself out of.
I did this. It's all my fault. And if the truth were to ever come out…then I'm a dead man walking.
CHAPTER 33
ADELINE
IT'S A SUNNY, breezy morning when I venture outside to the butterfly garden that Lucien had planted for me a couple of weeks ago. It still feels weird to leave the house or even my room on my own without someone in tow or someone watching.
I sit down amongst the beautiful flowers and watch the numerous swallowtails and monarchs flutter around me. This is my favorite place to go to read and just be by myself. It's on the edge of the property, away from prying eyes, although I don't doubt that there are cameras in place somewhere around me.
I decide I don't care, however. In the past few weeks, I've become accustomed to this island and to everyone who inhabits it…especially Lucien.
Call me crazy, but there have been some serious moments of chemistry between us. I just can't make heads or tails of the whole thing, however.
One moment I want him. The next I want nothing to do with him.
I play the what if game a million times in my head every day.
What if Gio found me? Would I go back with him?
What if I stay here on the island? What would happen between Lucien and me? Could we truly ever be happy?
I have a million questions with no answers in sight. And I suppose only time will tell what will really happen to me…to Luc…to us, if there even is an us.
Sometimes it feels like he doesn't want to even be in the same room as me, and other times I feel his obsession and need for me like a magnetic pull drawing me in.
Lucien is an enigma, and that's putting it extremely lightly. I don't even think his own cousin understands him. When Lucien goes off the deep end, Jax will just shrug and say, "Leave him alone until he works out whatever the hell he needs worked out."
Luc has a past that I've only caught a glimpse of hidden in his deep dar
k gaze. I'd love to uncover it, bury myself inside his brain until I could learn every little secret he keeps so tightly guarded.
Jax told me before that Luc had a terrible childhood, but that it was his story to tell.
What if Lucien never tells me? What if we go through our lives on this island and I never get to know the real Lucien?
Sighing, I tuck my hair behind my ear and bend down to breathe in the scent of the tropical flower in full bloom. Maria told me it's some type of lily, but I can't remember the name of it. All I know is that it's beautiful and smells like heaven.
Maybe I'll ask Lucien to order me some books about flowers and how to identify them. He already bought me one about birds, and I devoured it, wanting to know every kind of fowl feathered friend I've been religiously feeding for weeks.
I didn't think many birds would be on an island, but they must have migrated here at some point. And some are so beautiful and bright that they take my breath away.
Plucking the lily from the ground, I shove the stem behind my ear to hold it in place. I do this often, wanting the scent of the beautiful flowers around me constantly.
Then I stand up, dusting the grass and dirt from my denim capris. It's almost lunchtime, according to the watch that Lucien gave me. And as if right on cue, my stomach growls loudly.
Maria makes the most spectacular meals, and I've been hitting up Luc's private gym even harder to make up for all the extra calories. I work out a few times a week, sometimes even alongside Luc.
I grin when I think of his nickname that I've been calling him. Luc fits him. And more often than not lately, he's been easier to deal with, more casual and…happier than I've ever seen him.
I'd like to think I play a part in that, but who knows. It's not like he would ever tell me.
On my way back to the mansion, I cut through the small orchard with the hopes of snagging some fruit on the way when I'm stopped by the gardener, who I've become familiar with. He's short with bronzed skin, dark eyes and a thick accent. He's always friendly, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I can't put my finger on it, but sometimes I catch him staring at me with an expression that I can't quite decipher, and it gives me the creeps.
"Hi, Rafael," I call to him, giving him a wave.
Rafael's eyes dart around before he puts his finger to his lips to shush me. My mouth instantly snaps shut. As he steps closer to me, his dark eyes study me closely. "You want go home?" he asks in broken English.
My gaze snaps to his, searching his face for any ulterior motives. He can get me off of this island? The what if game has suddenly become a very real possibility. Maybe if I could get back home and tell my father what happened, he could protect me. Then there would be no reason for Luc to take on that responsibility of keeping me safe.
"Y-yes," I stammer. "I do. Please. Can you help me leave?"
He nods and motions for me to follow him. My eyes dart back to the mansion, and I suddenly get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. In my excitement to leave and get back to my old life, I didn't take the time to consider everything I'd be leaving behind…and who I'd be leaving behind.
But I refuse to be held prisoner for the rest of my life with an uncertain future. Lucien holds all the power here. Maybe once I'm back home he could visit me, and we could go from there….if he even still wants me by then.
I tear my eyes away from the mansion and reluctantly follow the man. Even though he gives me the creeps, maybe he's a nice guy on the inside. If he's willing to help me, he must have a good heart. No one else has been willing to go against their master.
The man begins to jog, motioning with his hand for me to hurry up. I begin to run behind him, my short legs trying to match his long strides.
He leads me farther and farther away from the security of the grounds, and I'm suddenly feeling uneasy. I realize in that moment how safe Lucien makes me feel. Even though he's my captor, he's so protective over me. He would never let anything bad happen to me.
A lump lodges in my throat as I finally push my escape plans aside and begin to think about the consequences of my actions. I don't even know Rafael other than the fact that he works for Lucien.
What if he's not even planning to take me home? And what happens if I do get home? Will my father ever let me out of his sight again? Will Gio even want me anymore after he finds out what happened? If he doesn't…then my life will return to what it was before…filled with abuse and me being my father's little puppet.
And there is no way my father would ever let me contact Lucien. Besides, it's not like I have Luc's address or phone number.
I'll never see him again.
That thought causes me to stop dead in my tracks, and Rafael looks back at me with confusion lacing his dark features.
"Wait. I can't do this. I want to go back," I say in a panic. I'd wanted to leave this island so badly for so long that my natural instincts had been overshadowed, but now I'm starting to think clearly. I wanted to leave before…before I started falling for my captor.
I take a step back, and suddenly Rafael's whole demeanor changes. His face crumples in anger, and he stares at me through narrow slits as he stalks towards me. He's not my savior after all. He's just another monster living in the shadows of this island.
I turn to run, but I only make it a few feet before he tackles me to the ground. I struggle against him as best I can, but he quickly overpowers me. He hauls me up by my hair, and his large hand clamps down on my mouth before I can scream.
I kick and thrash with all my might, my sneakers kicking up plumes of dust and dirt until my left one eventually comes off, as he half pulls, half drags me towards a row of small cottages up ahead.
Knowing what he's planning on doing, I fight even harder, but my efforts soon prove to be futile. I would have better luck wrestling a grizzly bear. Instead, I scream and scream until my voice is hoarse.
The man pulls me inside of the cottage and throws me on a dirty mattress on the floor that smells like moldy cheese and other things I can't even fathom. Bile rises up in my throat, and I gag.
I glance to the right and left of me trying to find a weapon, but coming up empty considering the Spartan furnishings of the small room.
The man menacingly steps towards me, but I hold my hands out and scream at him, "Stop! Please! Let me go!"
He tackles me onto the mattress, and I struggle under him, trying to escape. The only thought in my head is that I need Luc. Above everything, he would protect me. He would never allow this to happen.
And so I begin to scream my dark angel's name over and over and over again as loud as I can.
"Shut up!" the man hisses at me before wrapping his hands around my throat.
Lucien's name dies in my throat as Rafael squeezes so tightly that I can't pull air into my lungs. Black dots form in my vision, but I refuse to allow the darkness to take over. If I pass out, then I can't fight back…and then he can do anything he wants.
I buck under him, using the last of my strength to kick up my knee. The first strike gets him in the gut, but the second is a bullseye, and I land my knee right into his balls.
Rafael roars in pain and lets me go, and I scramble back away from him. He's hurt, but not incapacitated and will quickly recover. Thinking fast, I dart for the front door, but he snags my ankle on the way. I fall forward quickly, but am able to brace myself at the last second before I face plant on the hard floor.
My attacker twists my leg, turning me over onto my back, and comes down hard with his thighs on either side of my waist. With a growl, he grabs a fistful of my hair and slams my head back on the unforgiving concrete floor, jarring my skull. A ringing sensation is in my ears as I try to find my bearings. I'm dazed from the hard hit, and I can feel a searing pain in the back of my head.
Rafael gets up, easily taking me with him and throws me down on the mattress once more. The room spins around me as I fall back, unable to stay upright.
"Lucien!" I plead, begging for him
to hear me, but knowing he won't.
He's not coming for me.
And I don't know if I can survive this.
To be continued…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed reading Keeping Her, please consider telling your friends and posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated. Shouts from rooftops are great too.
Adeline and Lucien's story continues in Saving Him, the next book in the Keep Me Series.
Saving Him is available on Amazon here: http://myBook.to/SavingHim
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