“I’m so sorry, baby.”
With that, he placed his hand over her face, holding her close, stopping her from fighting him, until she passed out cold. He couldn’t do what was needed of him with her distracting him.
One day, she’d forgive him. It just wouldn’t be any day soon.
****
Belle came to … somewhere. There was no smell, and as she sat up, she felt something around her wrist. Touching the metal, she knew she’d been cuffed to something. Touching the space around her, she realized she was on the bed.
Alone.
There was no other scent.
Everything was a little hazy, and then she recalled the screaming.
The gunshots, and little by little, it came back to her in a nightmare of sounds and darkness.
Her father.
“Help,” she said.
Getting to her feet, she took a step to side, trying to find the wall. After three steps, she found nothing, so she went in the opposite direction, finding the wall.
The chain on her wrist was embarrassing and not what she wanted to have done to herself.
“Is anyone there?”
No sound.
Silence.
Her mouth was incredibly dry.
Stroking her fingers along the wall, she tried to think of anything she could say to make someone hear her.
Nothing came to mind.
“Hello. Can someone help me?” She turned and the cuff on her wrist had gone as far as it would let her.
She had no choice but to stop.
Moving in the other direction, she came to a stop at the bed. Moving around it, she tried again, getting to nowhere.
The room had to be large, or she was taking really tiny steps.
Finally, giving up on her useless exploring, she sat back on the bed, crossing her legs, wrapping her arms around herself, and trying not to freak out about what was going on around her.
What the hell happened?
What happened to her dad?
Why was she locked in a room?
Rubbing at her head, she tried to make sense of it.
The sound of a door opening had her scrambling to sit up.
She couldn’t make out anything, no scent, no distinct sound. Nothing.
“Hello,” she said.
“I see you’re awake.”
She didn’t recognize the voice. “Who are you? Why am I here?”
“I bet you have a whole lot of questions, and well, my son, he’ll be down to answer most of them, I believe. You’ve just got to give him time.”
She frowned. “Your son?”
“Diego.”
“You’re Diego’s father.”
“Yes, I’m Diego’s father, and you, my dear, have been taken for a fool.”
“What?”
“You really think he was just a lonely guy who owned a bar?”
“He’s not?”
“I have to say I thought his distraction would have been for someone more … interesting. I guess he has a thing for women who can’t see him.”
She sensed the man coming closer, and she took a step back.
“You do know when you’re in danger. It’s a shame those same instincts didn’t kick in around my son.”
“I want to see Diego.”
“It’s good to want things in life. It doesn’t mean we’ll always get them.” She flinched as he touched her hair. It wasn’t aggressive. He merely tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Beautiful. Maybe I do see a certain charm, but it’s still not enough to put all that we had built in jeopardy.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t. Why would you understand? You’ve been kept in the dark. To not be able to see what is right in front of you. Diego has been lying to you. My son is capo of this city. He rules this place, and he took my place because I was ready to step down.”
“Capo?”
“Yes, and I also want you to know, he’s engaged to be married. There is no strength unless there is wealth and power, and the woman he is going to marry will provide all that.”
Diego was engaged to be married to another woman.
He wasn’t just a bar owner but a capo.
She pressed a hand to her chest. Everything was caving in on her, and she couldn’t breathe.
“Calm down, dear. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack.”
She heard the door slam closed, making her jump.
“Wait, wait. What about my dad?” She walked too fast and the chain pulled her back, but she kept trying to move, ending up on the floor, trying to crawl. The metal cut into her flesh, and she screamed, begging for them to let her know what was happening with her father.
This couldn’t be happening to her.
Diego had told her so many lies.
What the hell was she going to do? The man she thought he was, he didn’t exist. He’d not even been real. Everything she had with Diego had been a lie. Giving him her virginity, believing she was falling in love with him. It had all been a trick.
A vicious, nasty lie.
Crawling back on the floor, she rested against the wall, drawing her knees up. They had chained her to the bed like she was some kind of animal.