Page 16 of His Captive
His jaw tightens menacingly.Thisis what his anger looks like. It’s almost enough to take my breath away. It’s also what genuine fear tastes like. Wine. Chicken. They’re bubbling with every tremor.
“A fucking podcast,” he sighs. “Mafia fangirl bullshit? Fuck. How stupid am I? Of course my brother is…” He lets go of my arm abruptly. “That’s all dinner was? You wanted information? Didn’t get what you were looking for, so you followed me? I should have known better.”
It actually doesn’t sound like he’s planning to kill me. I should try to walk away slowly to see if he stops me. Kick off these heels and run once I’m far enough way. But I can’t. The anger is relaxing and the pain is back. It still makes my heart ache and flickers something inside me.
“I-I enjoyed having dinner with you,” I admit. “I didn’t want to go, that’s true. I wanted to pack my bags and get back on the boat when I found out who you were.”
“Who youthinkI am,” he growls. “Trust me,bambina, if you’re getting your facts from a fangirl, you have nofuckingidea who I am. I’m the villain of a lot of stories. But I wouldn’t have been the villain of yours.”
“A-are you going to kill me?” I ask, trembling.
“I don’t kill women or children.” His eyes bore into mine. “I do have standards, you know. A code I try to follow. Sometimes an exception has to be made, but I’d never actually hurt you. You do need to be taught a lesson, though.”
A tiny whisper of relief pushes through pursed lips. I’m not going to die, but what kind of…lessonis he talking about?
“Of course, the phone call you just overheard makes this a bit more complicated,” he continues. “And you sent this to Sarah, which means she’s a problem, too. Or she would be, if my phone didn’t emit a frequency that interferes with recording devices.”
He presses the recording I sent to Sarah and it begins playing. The only audio I hear is a slight hum that makes my ears tingle. I tilt my head like a dog and he stops the recording.
“I-it didn’t record,” I say, my lip trembling. Another tiny whisper of relief. “Okay, so… Can I have my phone back? Can I go? I promise I’ll never say a word about any of this. Ever!”
“Yeah, everyone says that,” he scoffs, shaking his head. “Then as soon as they get somewhere safe, they’re calling the cops.”
“I wouldn’t!” I shake my head frantically. “I swear! I won’t do Sarah’s podcast! I’ll make sure she never does one about your family!”
“Easiest thing to do would be to get rid of you. Sell you to someone in a foreign country where you don’t speak thelanguage.” He nods slowly as if he’s considering it and I shake my head even harder. “But I don’t sell women, either, so you’ll be coming with me. For the rest of this week, at least. It won’t matter after that.”
Coming with him? For the rest of the week? That does sound a lot better than being sold. Much, much better than being killed.
“Come on,bambina,” he growls, taking a step forward, pocketing my phone, and motioning for me to follow him. “Your bungalow just got upgraded to the penthouse suite. I’ll have someone bring your bags.”
Am I… his prisoner?
I swallow hard and do the only thing I can.
I follow him.
CHAPTER 7
Massimo
I don’t like the thoughts that went through my head when I realized Lea followed and recorded me.
It was like every stage of grief all at once while I mourned things that would have never happened to begin with. Now it’s all condensed into a feeling of neutrality and I don’t know which direction it’s going to go. But I have to make sure she keeps her mouth shut for the rest of the time we’re on Isola Selvaggia. I can’t have her running around blabbing about a Mafia hit. There are people on this island who wouldn’t think twice about feeding her to the sharks in the Pacific.
“I-I’m sorry,” Lea whimpers as she trails behind me. “I really am.”
“Oh, you’re going to be sorry,” I growl, pulling her into the elevator and swiping my keycard. I tap out a message on my phone and shove it into my pocket. “I’m not going to sell you. I’m not going to kill you. But Iamgoing to punish you for this.”
“P-punish me?” she questions, her eyes getting wide. “What do you mean?”
“A spanking,bambina,” I state firmly, making sure she hears the seriousness in my voice and sees it reflected in my eyes. “You’re getting a spanking.”
I let go of her arm and watch the color drain out of her face. My expression doesn’t soften.
“What?” she asks, her eyes widening into gorgeous green saucers. “You’re not saying… You can’t!”
I close the distance between us and tower over her. A low growl echoes in my throat. My lip twitches and my jaw flexes. I should put her over my knee right here in this elevator.
