Page 14 of Taken By the Mafia King
“A shower too, I think,” he said, his voice clipped and lifted. I looked up at him then, noticing the way his eyes creased sympathetically as he smiled. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“I…” I trailed off. What was he playing at? Did he think he could appease me with hot water and a trip to the doctor? Maybe a lollipop if I behaved? Not likely. “No.”
I faced forward, trembling slightly as he shrugged in defeat and motioned for me to turn down one long, darkened hallway. Runners stretched the length of the wide hallway, lined with art in heavy wooden frames that might have cost more than the art itself. If my hands hadn’t been bound I would have reached out to run my fingertips over the ornate and complicated grooves along the frames as we passed.
“Well, we have a great chef who is on call all the time. So, if you change your mind, just let someone know.”
I swallowed, my mind reeling as I tried to wrap my head around why he treated me so nicely when his bloodthirsty killer of a boss intended to murder me, probably torturing me beforehand in a way that made Gabriele de Luca look like a saint. The Riccis had never gotten along with my family, and that bastard had killed my brother in cold blood for no reason whatsoever.
Maybe that’s what this was about. Maybe I was a trophy to the Hand of Death.Mano Della Morte. Perhaps, with me six feet under like my brother, Killian Ricci could claim he had a matching set of dead siblings.
We reached the end of the hallway and turned. An even narrower staircase filled the space. Darkness prevented me from seeing the top as he led me upstairs into a quiet network of short hallways lined with doors.
I’d never been in a house this enormous or maze-like. After a few more turns in the dark, I became more and more disoriented until we finally came to a stop in front of a door.
“This is you,” he said with a smile as he fished a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked it, ushering me inside. I sucked in my breath to hide a gasp of pure shock as I entered and looked around.
Plush, cream-colored carpet covered the floor, warm and soft to the touch. The walls, rich dark wood, glimmered in the soft light of a crystal chandelier. A large four-poster bed with a wispy, muted white canopy took up most of the space. A dresser, full-length mirror, and a desk made up the rest of the furnishing.
“You’ll need new clothes.” Tommaso moved to the dresser and rapped his knuckles on it. “Hmm, what else? Oh, shit, I’m sorry.”
He turned to me, shaking his head as he used his keyset to undo my cuffs. He made fists, playfully bringing them to his chest like he was preparing to defend himself from me if I madeany sudden moves. But that boyish smile faded the second he noticed a single tear roll down my cheek. I couldn’t help it. This wasn’t at all what I was expecting.
He clicked his tongue. “Uh, well. The bathroom is the door on the left. There’s a call button next to the bed if you need anything. I’ll have someone bring you some clothes and food and clean up your wrists.” He gave me a sympathetic smile as he stepped to the side and walked away.
I turned to him, my lips parting to ask what I’d find behind the door to the right, but I heard the lock click back into place, leaving me all alone. He’d locked me in here. Even though I didn’t trust him, I found the sudden isolation worse than his uncharacteristically pleasant company.
Immediately, I moved to one of the windows, looking down. Three stories up, I had no chance to escape that way. There was no rooftop I could jump out onto and scale. I found myself staring down a straight drop along the sheer stucco side of the mansion. I couldn’t run away on two broken legs.
I walked across the room and opened the door to the bathroom, then moved to the second door. My hand hovered over the knob. It was likely just a closet.
Right?
But when I opened it I found a small office-like space. My eyes roamed over a bookshelf on the far side, a couch, a dormant fireplace, and a floor lamp in one corner. I stepped inside, my heart hammering as I locked my eyes on the side table next to the couch.
A phone! A landline phone. My eyes followed the spiraling cord to where it met the wall. God, the last time I’d seen a phone like this was at my grandparents’ house in Italy. Leo and I had wound ourselves up in the cord over and over again until we got scolded for messing around.
I moved without hesitating, picking up the receiver and pressing it to my ear. The dial tone sounded like sweet music to my ears as tears fell freely from my eyes.
I might have a chance now.
Turning to my right, I noticed a door that might lead into the hallway. I rushed over to it but found it locked, of course. Why hadn’t this entire room been locked away from me? Had they forgotten this phone existed? Had someone been in charge of locking the door and dropping the ball? Someone like Tommaso? Would Killian hurt him if he found out I’d gotten to the phone? Did I care?
Even if I did, it didn’t matter.
I had a lifeline. I could call someone to help me. I could call someone to say goodbye, at least.
I swallowed thickly as I reached deep into my mind for a phone number, anything I could remember. Who could I call that would help me?
CHAPTER 13
KILLIAN
Ipursed my lips as I watched the grandfather clock in the corner of my office. It ticked and ticked away, each second like a breath I imagined Giuseppe de Luca taking as he arrived at his father’s house after a long night with whores and dice.
My mouth twitched into a smile at the thought of what he’d find.
The clock chimed seven, and I looked up as Francesco Abate entered the room, his face twisted in exhaustion. Francesco was a few years my junior. Tall and burly, he dripped with brute force and a violent disposition that had taken years to rein in. He was still working on that, but I was in no hurry to tame him. Terrifying man, truly.
