Page 52 of The Sting of Love
“Well, the cavalry is here. We took care of the situation in Calabria. Now we’re here to help,” Gio says. “Gibbs gave us the rundown.”
I look at Gibbs, and he raises his brows.
“I just don’t know who Willow is,” Gibbs says and eyes me with caution. They all do. And curiosity. This is the first time there would have been any mention of a woman in my life important enough for anybody to have a name. These guys all know what it’s like to have their women in danger.
I don’t know if they did what I did, though, by kidnapping them to keep them safe. So, I’ll leave out that part.
“She’s, um… she’s a woman who should never have gotten involved with me. She’s safe for the moment, but Amadeo wants her dead. He sent men to take her last night at her aunt’s restaurant.”
“Fuck,” Alex curses. “This is Mario’s doing. If I’d known that fucker was going to cause all this trouble, I would have ended him that night we spoke.”
“You and me both,” I agree.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Alex says and looks at each of us. “How about a split?” He looks at Dante because he’s the most senior in rank.
Dante nods, agreeing. “Yeah. Splitting off is best. Me and Gio will take care of Mario and Xiou. That seems a little bit more complex.”
“And I’ll help with Amedeo,” Alex says. “He’s declared war on us, so it’s kill on sight. I’ll get some guys together, and we’ll go hunting.”
“Thank you,” I answer, and Alex nods.
Kill on sight is the right term. In situations like these, it’s kill or be killed. I have to end him before he kills anybody I care about. I can’t allow this to happen to me again. I already feel that helplessness creeping in. It’s made me desperate.
Desperation made me do anything to protect Willow.
I just hope I can.
Chapter Fifteen
Willow
My stomach grumbles as the scent of freshly baked bread wafts into the room.
It’s morning again.
Yesterday, I fell asleep after Donny left, and when I woke up, there was a tray of cooked food waiting for me on the little table near the dresser.
I didn’t touch it. I didn’t know if Donny was still here and cooked for me, but I decided that I wasn’t going to eat.
Now, hunger has gotten the better of me, and I notice that the food is gone. The door is also slightly ajar. It’s a way of taunting me, daring me to go
downstairs. Go to him and I don’t even know what.
My mind has been numb since yesterday. I can’t think straight, and being alone has never done me any good.
My stomach grumbles again. This time, it’s to the strong scent of bacon and eggs. It smells like an omelet, and I imagine Donny making one for me the way he did when I stayed with him last week.
No… don’t do that, Willow.
Don’t remember those things. This guy is bad news. He might sound all noble because he wants to protect me, but he’s not noble. He’s the kind of man who’s bad for me, regardless of how he made me feel.
It wouldn’t be wise to trust him. It wouldn’t be wise to think that I can open my heart the way I nearly did and let him in. I can’t trust him because I don’t know him.
At the same time, I can’t starve. I can’t weaken myself any more than I am by starving and withering away.
Swallowing my pride and my rage, I get up and make my way across the room. I would normally shower first thing, but I feel like I might faint in the shower if I don’t get food into my body. I haven’t eaten since the day before yesterday, and that was at lunchtime. I’d decided to join Lurlene on her Paleo diet, so I was supposed to have dinner with her back at home the night I got taken.
This is the first time that I’d be venturing through the door. It creaks as I open it wider. I step onto marble flooring. The room has a light burgundy carpet that’s soft under the soles of my feet. The marble is cool in contrast. I have no idea where my shoes are, but I’ll have to find them. I don’t like walking around on a stone floor even when it’s hot. It reminds me of being outside. I at least like to wear slippers.
