Dirty Obsession (Dirty 1)

footsteps stop, I am safe again. It’s taken me three days to realize that Matteo was telling the truth. That, as long as my foot doesn’t cross the threshold of the door, then I am safe.

But I am also trapped.

Trapped in a charming prison cell with no one and nothing to keep me company. Matteo was right that, if the lack of food didn’t kill me, the boredom would. There isn’t a TV in the room. Not a single book. Not even a piece of art to savor. The only entertainment I’ve had these past three days are the birds in the garden below and the sound of footsteps.

I’ve tried coming up with a plan to escape, but the bracelet wrapped around my wrist concerns me. Matteo didn’t tell me exactly what would happen if I ran. But I believed him when he said it wouldn’t be good. I’d rather die than be someone’s slave even if there is the possibility of freedom again one day. I can’t handle being controlled.

I’ve spent seven years training for today. I’m in the best shape of my life. All I would have to do is slip out in the middle of the night and run into town. The town isn’t more than ten miles away from here. I could easily run that before anyone noticed I was gone.

But then what? Would the bracelet explode and kill me?

Even if it didn’t, I have no doubt that they would hunt me down and kill me. I’m sure I read something in that document about reasons that they can kill me. And running away from them is one of them.

Death. It would be a sweet release compared to whatever they have in store for me. But I can’t do that to Eden. I can’t do that to Heath. I have people who love me. People who are looking for me. I have to find a way to escape that doesn’t end in my death. At least, at first; maybe, later, I will feel differently. But I owe it to them to fight.

I walk to the window as the sun rises. I haven’t slept in three days. The fear of the unknown has overcome any need for sleep. Making me unsure if the memories that keep coming back from that night when Arlo saved me are real or imagined. They are most likely just hallucinations, but still, I can’t get them out of my head.

I see Arlo everywhere.

I see his face from when I took the drink.

I see the worried expression as he lifted my broken body in his arms.

I remember the smell of his cologne as he stayed with me all night long until I came to.

But I remember others, too. The entire family there. I remember signing something. And I remember a date. I think I’ve always known the date. It’s why I was so desperate to get married on that day. I needed to feel in control. That it was my date to claim instead of waiting for them to come for me.

My stomach growls again, and the pains of not eating are real and constant. I know that I can’t survive alone in here much longer.

I just can’t bring myself to venture out of this room. I thought that maybe—

I shake my head. I can’t think like that. Arlo is not my friend. He’s not my lover. He’s nothing. He doesn’t care about me, and he won’t save me. He made that perfectly clear on the plane and then again when he left me alone with his father and brother.

His father scares me to death. I have no doubt that I should stay clear of him. But Matteo intrigues me. Maybe it’s just because he looks so much like Arlo. It’s just the attraction that I feel to them that makes my heart soften just a little toward both of them. But Matteo does seem to have a soft spot. He’s not like Arlo. He might actually have a heart.

He might be the one I should aim my plan at. If I can get him to fall in love with me, then maybe he’ll save me from this mess. Maybe the rest of the family will leave me alone then. I just have to get over my disgust at any man, even a man as good-looking as Matteo, touching me.

My stomach growls again, and I can’t stand it any longer. The sun has just risen, so hopefully, the rest of the family isn’t awake yet. I can sneak down to the kitchen, swing by the library to grab a couple of books, and then be back up in my room before anyone else is even awake. It will give me more time to figure out an escape plan that doesn’t involve selling my body to save my soul.

I creep to the door and listen for footsteps, but I hear none. I grab the handle of the doorknob and slowly turn it, afraid that it might be locked and that I will be trapped in here forever, dying a slow death or at least locked away to weaken me until I’m broken.

But it’s not locked.

I slowly open the door and look down the long, dark hallway. I don’t see or hear anyone.

I start walking quickly down the hallway, my heart beating wildly in my chest and my breathing quick, terrified that I’m going to be caught at any second.

I round a corner and about run into a maid. I freeze, afraid that she is going to hurt me. But she doesn’t. She just ignores me, walking past me down the hallway like I’m invisible.

Maybe I am.

I keep walking down the hallway and then down the stairs toward the kitchen that Matteo showed me yesterday. I gather my nerve, and I walk into the dining room that leads to the kitchen. I’m just going to grab anything that I can and then run back upstairs.

I walk inside, planning on doing just that, when I freeze. Eight pairs of eyes look up at me all at once from the table.

Shit.

The entire Carini family is sitting at the dining table along with a couple of other men I don’t recognize. It can’t be much past six in the morning, yet there they all sit. Like they knew today was the day that I would finally make my appearance. None of them seem surprised to see me.