She set her purse and phone on the entryway table then crossed her arms over her chest. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her smoldering attitude filled the space between us.
I took a look around, moving through the limited space. She had pictures of her family on one of her shelves, images of her and Conway along with her parents. My eyes didn’t linger for long before I turned away.
“I have a question.”
I turned around and faced her, seeing the anger in her eyes. I’d seen her enraged before, but this look was different. I knew she felt powerless, frustrated. She always managed to get the upper hand in the worst situations, but this time, there was no solution. The first person she would turn to for help was her father—but now he was off-limits. “Yes, baby?”
Her eyes flared a little when she heard the nickname. “I have to know…that night in the alleyway…was that a coincidence? Or did you plan for all of that to happen?”
It was purely coincidental. I was a lucky son-of-a-bitch that was in the right place at the right time. She was the unlucky one. And I wanted to keep that information from her, to make her feel unsafe. But I also vowed to be honest with her, and since she was such a respectable woman, I didn’t want to go back on my word. So I chose not to give her the answer. “It doesn’t matter. This is where we are, and any speculation on the past won’t change it.”
“Why don’t you just tell me?”
“Because not knowing makes it more interesting.”
“No. It’s just another way for you to have power over me.”
She was absolutely right. “And I love having power over you.” There was no greater feeling than making a powerful woman like Vanessa submit so obediently. Only a very powerful man could get a woman like her to listen.
And that man was me.
“This can’t go on forever,” she said. “I won’t be your slave forever.”
“You’re right. Eventually, I’ll get tired of you.” I found her mesmerizing now, with those full lips and beautiful eyes. I thought she was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever been with. I hadn’t even started to do the dark things I wanted. But like any other woman, she would lose her allure and someone else would take her place. “I just don’t know when that will be.”
“And then what?” she demanded. “You’ll kill my family then?”
I wouldn’t stop until both of her parents were dead and buried in the Tuscan soil they loved so much. “Yes. So if I were you, I would make sure I don’t get tired of you.”
7
Vanessa
My life was no longer the same.
I was back in my apartment, but the four walls that surrounded me didn’t make me feel safe anymore. Knuckles had broken in and smacked me around, and now a viler man had turned me into a prisoner in my own home.
What the hell was I going to do?
I’d witnessed this man’s savage ways, and I knew he wanted nothing more than to torture my parents and kill them. The only thing stopping him was his obsession with my pussy. I wanted to protect my family by keeping my mouth shut, but if they knew my freedom had been stripped away like this, they would be devastated.
I only had one choice.
I had to kill Bones myself.
I could get a gun from my father. All I had to do was say I wanted it for protection. He’d always encouraged me to have one for safety, but I always insisted I didn’t need one.
Looks like I was wrong about that.
I had knives, but stabbing Bones wouldn’t be so easy. He was a huge man. It would be easy to miss, especially when I was that close to him.
My only option was a gun.
After he dropped me off, he left. He said he had work to do, and he would be gone for a few days. But before he left, he inserted a tracker into my ankle. That way he could see where I was at all times.
I fought him hard when he pushed the needle into my skin, but there was no use. He was too strong.
He was the strongest man I’d ever encountered.
Definitely stronger than my father and my uncle. Even stronger than Conway and Carter.
Fuck, how did I get into this?
I tried to keep calm by remembering Bones didn’t kill me. I could be dead and that video sent to my parents. I escaped that threat, so I had something to be thankful for. Not all hope was lost.
I would find a way out of this.
Because I was a Barsetti—and Barsettis don’t give up.
I missed nearly a whole week of school because Bones had me hidden away, and the day I finally went to class was the last one before school ended for the winter break. Christmas was around the corner, and I hadn’t even considered shopping.