There’s a faint accent in her voice, but I can’t place it. “Please help me.”
She pauses, and I feel her distress vibrate in the air. At least she’s considering it. “I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Does it matter?” She stands back. “Eat now. I have until he returns with the dog to take the tray.”
“At least sit with me.”
Her lips purse. She doesn’t want to, but there’s not really anywhere else to sit. “It’s not right.”
“None of this is right. He drugged me. He—”
“Mr. Costas is a good man.”
Her loyalty hits me hard—not only because it means she won’t help me. Also because I used to have that kind of unadulterated trust in Giovanni. Not anymore. “He’s forcing me to marry him. He’s going to force me to…” I can’t even speak the words, not where he’s concerned. Force me to have sex with him. As much as I know he’s changed, it’s still impossible to believe he’d do that.
She looks pained, and I have to wonder at the exact nature of her loyalty to him. Giovanni wouldn’t be the first man to use the household staff to meet his needs. My father certainly did.
A pang of jealousy hits my breastbone. I ignore it because that doesn’t matter.
He’s probably been with a hundred women.
And now it’s hard to breathe.
“Senorita, are you okay?” Her voice sounds far away.
I feel her guide me to the chair, and I’m grateful for that. My hands grasp her, keeping her close. I meet her dark gaze, pleading. “Just a message, so my sister knows where I am. So she knows I’m not dead.”
Her lips part, and I’m praying, hoping. Nothing comes out. Her brow furrows. Genuine worry shades her brown eyes, and I think she might actually do this for me.
A sharp yip comes from the hallway, and she jerks back.
Seconds later Lupo dives into the room and under the bed. Romero appears, looking disgruntled, his suit askew. “Let’s go,” he says, not waiting until the girl complies.
She gives me one last worried look before hurrying out.
The door closes. The lock turns.
She didn’t agree to send a message, but she didn’t say no either. I’ll ask her again when I see her. I’ll get down on my knees and beg her. I really do want my sister to know I’m okay. Maybe she can help me escape, but even if she couldn’t, I know she’ll rest easier if she hears from me.
And I am desperate to break free. I don’t want to think that Giovanni will do what he says. He wouldn’t. I’m sure he wouldn’t force me to have sex.
Don’t push me, bella. You won’t like what happens.
I want to believe he wouldn’t, but I’m terrified to find out for sure.
Chapter Ten
The low murmur of male voices bleeds through the door.
Lupo’s ears perk up, and his growl fills the room. He had another walk at lunchtime. I had a bowl of soup and thick focaccia bread, but the girl wouldn’t talk to me again. She wouldn’t even meet my eyes. I may be captive here, but at least they’re keeping me well-fed.
I’m expecting Romero again or maybe the girl with a late afternoon snack.
So it’s a shock when Giovanni walks into the room.
I saw him yesterday, so I should be used to the way he’s changed, his expression harder, shoulders somehow more broad. Is it possible for him to be taller than he was at eighteen? He definitely seems that way. He may as well be a giant the way he fills the room.