Captured by the Criminal (Taken)

“Yes, Bishop Blackstone put a capture order out on you,” he says. “And I picked up the contract.”

At the mention of Bishop’s name, I know the severity of my situation. He’s one of the most infamous men in the world, working his way to the top through treachery. He’d do anything to oust the Four Families and rule over all the organized crime in America. I learned recently he had some master plan to kidnap the daughters of the Four Families, but we weren’t sure if anything ever came of it. I guess now it’s true. I clutch onto the mahogany desk next to the bed where my tray of food sits.

Now, I’m terrified. Not because Bishop will soon have me in his clutches. I’m terrified because Costi is not the boy I once knew if he’d kidnap me for Bishop Blackstone.

Now… he’s evil.

Five

Costi

* * *

There’s an old pirate’s saying, Not all treasure is silver and gold.

Bianca’s as much a treasure as any gold bullion or silver piece. And I’ll protect her like she’s the most valuable prize on the planet. Because right now, she is.

Bishop is paying a pretty penny to anyone who can capture the daughters of the Four Families.

It’s a silly ambition. One with many flaws. Mainly the fact he should have snatched all four girls himself, instead of sending people after them.

But I get it. You can’t be in four places at once. So, he needs the help of scoundrels like me.

I’m more than willing to take his money. I’m thrilled to take anyone’s money, if I’m being honest.

There’s no such thing as an honest pirate, and money makes the world go ‘round.

When a contact of mine told me of Bishop’s plans to kidnap Bianca Amato, I knew I needed to grab her.

The contact hooked me up with Bishop and he gave me the task of handling it.

Bishop said to me personally, ‘Don’t touch one hair on her precious head.’

Ha. Who does he think I am?

I know exactly what men like Bishop think of thieves like me. They look down at us with disdain from their skyscrapers. But if you think about it, Bishop isn’t that much different from me.

The Four Families have an enormous problem with him, and I’ll make sure no one finds Bianca.

I have loyal men around me.

Sure, her father already knows she’s missing. And I’m sure a team of men are scouring Miami, searching for her.

But they’ll never find her as long as she’s with me on my superyacht. I had this ship designed especially for me. It’s one of the largest sailboats in the world, however, it’s not really a sailboat per se. It’s actually classified as a sail-assisted motor yacht, a 3-deck mega-yacht that uses massive black sails for added power with the reported ability to travel across the Atlantic with no fuel. The most impressive thing about this ship is the mast rotates which has never been done before. It brings the sails so close together that there’s no space left between them and it acts as a single airfoil and translates into more speed for the boat.

The Dragonslayer is a beast, and this bitch is fast.

“How could you keep me prisoner for that man?” Bianca’s voice cracks a little as she speaks of Bishop.

“I do it for the money.”

Bianca rolls her eyes. “Ok, fine. My father can pay you double what Bishop’s paying.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“You know my father has the money. And you can just take me back, let me go, and no one has to know anything.” She glances around. “It’s not like you need the money.”

“No.”

“Why not? I thought this was all about money for you?”

My jaw clenches. “It is about the money.”

“What’s happened to you? You’re a monster.”

No, just someone molded by a man who never understood the need for society’s regiments, who had his own set of rules, his own code, sped up the process. My dad took the boy floundering in Miami and changed him in all ways possible. I learned a new life. A pirate’s life. A life where I took what I wanted and never cared about anything else but what made me happy.

But nothing made me happy, and my thoughts kept drifting to her. To a woman who doesn’t recognize me. To a woman who despises the man staring back at her.

I turn away from her. “Finish your food.” Before I can step out of the room, a piece of toast hits the back of my head. I turn around slowly and pick the bread up off the floor. “Now that wasn’t very nice,” I say, placing the toast back on her plate.

Bianca pushes her tray of food with fire in her eyes. “I hate you.”

“You need to eat.” When I turn to leave again, the same piece of toast hurls past me and hits the wall near my head. I glance at her over my shoulder. “You missed.” I step out of the room, slamming the door in my wake.