by Ella Miles
“There is a reason I want it pink, and it’s not because I like the color.”
He frowns. “Why?”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing hysterically. He’s so clueless; he doesn’t even understand what I’m saying. “I’m having a girl.”
I don’t know how he will respond. If I had to guess which gender he would prefer, it would be a boy. A boy to follow in his footsteps and his father’s before him. A boy that will become as ruthless as him. He would have taught him how to shoot a gun at the same time he learned to walk most likely.
He grabs me by the waist and twirls me around before kissing me firmly on the lips. “We are having a girl.”
I nod. “We.” I like the sound of that.
He kisses me again, and his hands are all over my body, feeling my curves like he hasn’t felt them in years instead of weeks.
I moan because I’ve missed his hands just as much. Honestly, I’ve yearned for everything about him. Even the darkness.
I throw my hands around his neck, not thinking of anything but Matteo. I want him, and he wants me. I don’t care that I haven’t forgiven him yet. I don’t care that I still don’t know what I want and he’s still the devil. I don’t care about any of our problems.
I want him. Naked. Worshipping my body. Making it so that all I can think about his tongue, his hands, and his cock.
He gets the message immediately and pushes us back on the bed. We fall in a heap, our arms and legs tangling together, refusing to let go of each other.
I grab for the hem of his T-shirt, jerking it off his head so that I can see and taste his hard skin. He helps me pull off his shirt before his lips land back on mine again, not giving me enough time to ogle his body as I want, but when his tongue sweeps over mine, I forget about hot his body is. I can look later. I only want this. So much more of this.
His hands slide under my shirt, careful over my belly, and push my flowy tank up, as his hands caress my swollen breasts.
Every time he touches me it feels like more. More intensity. More caring. More energy. More love.
He pushes the shirt off my body and stands to remove both of our pants until we are both naked, our bodies pulsing with blood and filled with aches that need satiating.
“Tie me up. Spank me. Whip me. Claim me,” I beg, needing to see the darkest side of him again. He might think that is one of the reasons I ran, but it’s not. It’s one of the things I surprisingly like about sex with him. He’s not afraid to be himself with me. Even the darkest parts.
But his darkest parts allow for me to be free.
His eyes deepen, and his throat growls. At first, I think he’s going to give me what I want.
Instead, he spreads my legs wide, and his head buries between my legs, licking my most sensitive of areas as he worships my body. I grab his hair, needing to touch him, as he drives me wild with his masterful tongue.
“God, yes, Matteo. I forgot how good that feels.”
He grins against my lips as he continues to lick until I’m screaming his name and coming around his tongue.
My legs fall to the bed, exhausted from coming. But I know we aren’t done. I need his cock, and he needs me.
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
I stare up at him with wide eyes, not sure what he’s asking, but if it has to do with tying me up or spanking, then yes. I trust him completely.
“Yes,” I whisper, still in my sex coma from coming once already.
He scoops up my body and starts carrying my naked body. I think he’s going to carry me out of the bedroom to another room where he thinks he can fuck me better. He doesn’t.
He takes me to the couch where he raped me.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as he forces me to face the worse in him. I expect the butterflies and the pain in my heart to overtake me. I wait for the tears to pour. But they don’t come.
He lays me down, ever so gently on the couch and then carefully nests himself between my legs.
“I want to fuck you. Make love to you,” he says, waiting for me to respond.
“Fuck me,” I respond, knowing we both need this if we are ever going to have a shot at moving forward together.
He leans down and kisses me tenderly as his cock slides into my pussy. I arch my back at the invasion, wanting him deeper as he intensifies the kiss and tangles his hand in my hair.
His eyes are open as he kisses me and thrusts inside. I keep my eyes open as well, not willing to miss one moment of the emotion oozing out of his eyes.
His eyes tell me everything as he fucks me sweetly. I’m sorry. You’re beautiful. You’re my everything. I love you.
I never thought that someone could say so much and my heart would melt so quickly.
He kisses my favorite spot on my neck making my toes curl before he says, “I love you, Eden. More than anything.”
I suck in a breath as he starts bringing me to my climax again.
My body convulses exploding around him as he comes inside me. “I love you, too.”
He stays inside me holding me on the couch for what must be hours as we both drift to sleep. The couch used to represent so much pain. He tied me up here. He raped me here. But now, I can’t think of this couch without thinking about what just happened. We made loved and found the first step toward what could be a forever kind of love here. The beginning of forgiveness.
Our love and forgiveness continue to grow over the next month, as our baby grows large in my stomach, making it clear how pregnant I am when I’m wearing anything other than a baggy T-shirt to cover up my bump.
Our days are filled with normal things that normal couples do. Dates. Fights. Cooking. Sex. And a lot of decorating the baby’s soon to be room.
Matteo painted the walls pink for me. I hated it, so he painted it this beautiful gold sparkly color. But then I saw this gorgeous crib that was a silver color that would have been perfect, and he offered to paint it again. He might have to, but for now, I’ve settled on gold with pink accents.
Our life has been simple. Good. But we haven’t talked about any of the big stuff. I figure if we can get through the little things like what we are having for dinner and what movie we are watching on our dates, then the big stuff will come.
Am I ever going back to the US and my old life? Do I want to start a new career here? What are we going to name this baby? What life do we want for her? Is Matteo going to continue killing people? Am I okay if he does? Are Nina and Arlo ever going to be safe to come out of hiding?
I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. All I know is that I’m desperately in love with Matteo. And he’s equally in love with me. And both of us are smitten with our baby that’s due in a few months. What else could we need?
It’s early in the morning when Matteo slips out of bed, throws on some clothes, and sneaks out of our bedroom without kissing me goodbye or letting me know he was leaving.
He rarely does this. But he has done it a handful of times over the last month. He doesn’t tell me where he is going and I don’t ask. But I know what he is doing. Working.
Just one of the many topics we should discuss and be honest with each other, but we don’t. I guess we aren’t doing as well as I thought we were.
I try sleeping, but I know it is a useless endeavor. I can’t sleep with him out of bed.
I get out of bed and put on a robe, deciding I should head downstairs to get some coffee and drink it out on the back balcony to watch the sunrise and think about how we should handle all the things we are too afraid to talk about.
I make it to the kitchen and start pouring myself a cup of coffee when I hear Matteo’s voice ringing through the hallway before it drops to barely a whisper.
I frown. That’s weird. He’s working in his home office instead of the warehouse.
I decide to go give him a kiss, bring him a cup of coffee, and let him know I’ll be out on the balcony if he wants to join me when he is finished with his phone call. I pour another cup of coffee and then ca
rry them both down the hallway to Matteo’s office.
“I have them. I know where Nina and Arlo are,” Matteo says.
I freeze outside the door, my heart sinking.
“Yes, I remember our deal. I’ll be ready to bring them to you by the end of the week.”
I try to calm my breathing and heart, but both are beating so speedily I’m sure that Matteo can hear me lurking outside his door.
“Yes, father. You can do whatever you want with Nina and Arlo. I’ll even help you kill them if you want. But you have to keep your end of the deal. I expect to be paid well for this, and you promise to leave Italy and never return. I don’t want you messing with what is mine now.”
I can’t listen anymore. He’s making me sick. I thought he had changed. I thought he cared about me, loved me. I didn’t think he was ready to give up his entire life and I never asked him to. All I asked was for him to give up Nina. That’s all I wanted. To keep her safe.
He told me he loved her once, but it was never about love. It was always about revenge and money. That’s how he and his father both think. That’s why Nina chose Arlo.
I need a phone.
I run through the house, needing to find a phone to call Nina. The thing that I’ve spent my entire time trying not to do, I now have to do. Matteo figured out where Nina and Arlo are. He might already have men there, ready to take them. I have to warn them.
The problem is there are no fucking phones in this house. I know because I’ve looked countless times.
I see Maximo round the corner. He must be on duty this morning. He’s not my favorite. He doesn’t usually want to help. But today, I’ll force him to help me.
“Maximo,” I shout.
He stops.
“I need to use your phone,” I say, panting heavily.
He stares at me a moment, and I think he’s going to say no. He’s going to revert back to the slave talk and say I don’t get such privileges.
Instead, he pulls out his phone and hands it to me.
“I need to go patrol outside for a bit. I’ll make sure to buy you your own phone after I get done with my patrol. I’m sure Matteo meant for you to have a phone but hasn’t gotten around to getting you one yet,” he says.
Even Maximo thinks highly of Matteo. Matteo has fooled everyone, his trusty employees included.
“Thank you, Maximo,” I say. I don’t tell him that the new phone won’t be necessary because I won’t be staying. I need to warn Nina and then get out of here as fast as I can.
When Maximo has walked outside, I pull up the keyboard and begin typing the number I memorized that Nina gave me for emergencies only. I wait impatiently, pacing back and forth in the hallway hoping that Nina answers. If she answers, she’s still alive.
I hear the phone click over, “Nin—”
The phone is snatched out of my hand, and Matteo speaks, “I have Eden. I’ve had her for the past year. If you want to save her, I suggest you and Arlo get to Italy. Fast.”
“No,” I shout, hoping she hears me before he hangs up the phone.
“She won’t come. You won’t get her.”
He shakes his head, and I swear I see tears in his menacing eyes.
“Nina will come. She loves you. She will do anything to protect you,” Matteo says.
He’s right. And I hate him for it.
“You won’t hurt her. You promised. You won’t turn her over to Enrico. You can’t.”
He swallows. “I’m sorry.”
I back up, sick and tired of his apologies.
“If you do this, we are done. I won’t forgive you for this. I’ll run. And I’ll take our baby with me. You’ll never get to see her.”
“If that is what you think is for the best, then I will let you go. You won’t have to run; I won’t come after you or our daughter. You can be free.”
I narrow my eyes, not understanding him. He’s fought so hard to get me back only to let me go now? It doesn’t make sense.
“When this is all over, I’ll let you go.”
I see the syringe in his hand too late. I feel the sting, and then my eyes grow heavy. If this fucks up our baby, I’ll kill him. He catches me in his arms, and the last thing I remember is him saying, “This is for the best. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”
He could have said those words. Or my brain may have imagined them because I was too desperate to hold onto the thought that he still loves me and we can be a happy family someday. He could have said those words. He could have been protecting me. Or he could not have given a fuck at all.
22
Nina
She’s been gone a year. And I did nothing. I didn’t even know she was gone.
I don’t know why Matteo took Eden. The only thought I can come up with is because he is pissed at me and looking for revenge. He wants to hurt Arlo and me for what we did to him.
He’s had Eden this whole time. Tortured her. Raped her. And now he might kill her if we don’t do exactly what he wants.
I swore I would never go back. That Arlo and I had started fresh. We would run forever if it meant we would never have to go back. But I would do anything for Eden.
I’ll go back to her in a heartbeat if she can be free.
“Can you drive any faster?” I ask Arlo, who’s barely breaking the speed limit as we drive through the curvy roads of Italy.
He rests his hand on my lap trying to calm me. “Dying in a car crash won’t help Eden. Besides, he won’t touch her until we get there. He wants us to suffer,” Arlo says.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I was a horrible friend. I was living this amazing life with you, while my best friend was suffering in agonizing pain.”
“No, you didn’t know. And from what you’ve told me, Eden’s tough. She will get through this. Just like you did.”
I nod. She’s made it a year. That’s a lot longer than I was locked up for.
Arlo speeds up, and we finally pull up in the driveway of the Carini house. It’s long and dark and equally as hauntingly beautiful as I remember.
But we aren’t here to admire the beautiful architecture. We are here to do whatever it takes to get Eden back.
Arlo takes my hand as we pull up in front of the house, both of us knowing that the security team already knows we are here.
“Ready?” he asks.
I pull the gun he gave me and taught me to use, out of my purse.
I nod.
He pulls his gun out, and then we step out of the car ready for an attack at any moment.
Arlo still has hope that he can negotiate with Matteo. Get him to talk to us, and we will get out of here without a scratch. I don’t think we will be so lucky.
Arlo also thinks that the men that now work for Matteo will still show him some loyalty because he used to work with them. Was friends with them. They were like family.
He’s delusional. I remember what family does to each other.
We step into the house and don’t hear anything. Not a person talking. Not the TV or radio on. Not even a deep exhale of breath. Nothing.
We hold onto each other’s hands as we slink through the house, trying to hide in the shadows, but it quickly becomes apparent that there is no one to hide from. No one is here.
“Why would Matteo call us here and then not be here?” I ask.
Arlo gives me a dark look, and I know what he’s thinking.
Dungeon.
He’s in the dungeons waiting for us. I don’t want to go back to the dungeon. It holds too many mixed memories for me. It’s dark, and Matteo will have the upper hand. But we didn’t exactly get to pick the place where the fight will happen.
It will also be harder for us to talk calmly with Matteo.
We don’t have a choice. We have to go.
So we slink down to the dungeon. Trying to be as quiet as possible.
But when we open the unlocked door and it creaks loudly, we know that it was the wrong approach.
I scream as Arlo is knocked out fro
m behind before he even has a chance to fight.
“Seems you’ve lost your touch brother,” Matteo says.
“Matteo, please. Just let us go. I’m sorry I chose Arlo. We never meant to hurt you.”
“It’s been a long time. You don’t understand the trouble you have caused,” he says.
I drop the gun, knowing it’s useless against him. My only hope is to find his weakness.
“Let Eden go. She doesn’t deserve to be here. Take me instead,” I say.
“No!” I hear Eden cry behind me.
I turn and see Eden locked away in one of the cells behind me. She’s still alive. Her eyes are still full of fight. I exhale a little seeing her, but I don’t run to her as much as I want to. I need Matteo to make the trade first.
“You’re right about one thing. Eden doesn’t deserve to be here.”
He grabs me by the arm, and he motions for his men to pick up Arlo’s lifeless body that I can barely look at. I know he’s still alive, but I still hate seeing him like that.
I hear Eden continue to scream behind us, but I tune her out as Matteo walks me away from the dungeon.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To make you good on your end of the deal. Eden will go free, in exchange, I’m turning you and Arlo over to Enrico.”
Everything stops. I would die for Eden. Do anything for her. But I will do anything not to be taken by Enrico again. He raped me. Did unspeakable things. I will not let him be the one to torture and eventually kill me. I’ll die before I let him touch me again.
23
Matteo
I have Maximo take Nina in one of the cars. I can’t be near her and do what I need to do.
I sit in the back of one of the SUVs while Dierk drives with Arlo tied up next to me.
He slowly wakes up. I knew he would on the way to the warehouse.
“You asshole. Nina gave you all this power, and this is how you choose to use it, by turning us over to Enrico?” Arlo asks.
“It beats running,” I say.
Arlo glares. “Running kept us alive.”
