Page 8 of Accidentally Kidnapping the Mafia Boss
I should have guessed Millie would have done what was needed to help her brother. My chest aches for her. So strong, despite being tiny. I’d love to see her use that resilience to deal with more pleasurable challenges, not debt and heartbreak. That strength would be perfect for a mafia boss’ wife.
For my wife.
Would she let me give her a family? I’d like that a lot. Her brother is a gobshite, and she deserves better.
She falls silent again, and eventually sighs deeply.
“You might as well sleep.”
As she directs, I lie down. But I don’t sleep. Just listening to her breathing, catching the scent of her apple shampoo, and feeling her presence close by is soothing in a way I’ve never felt before.
I think forward to when we stop.
She’s going to freak out. She accidentally kidnapped the kingpin in control of the part of London she lives in. I have the luxury of being able to plan, and I need to, since a smart girl like her will try to run from me.
I tried charm and seduction when we met, but she’s drained me of any ability to think in her presence. I’m just a morally-grey kingpin, standing before a girl almost half his age, asking her to love him.
Not likely.
But if I insisted. If she thought I was exactly the sort of deadly mafia boss she took me for when I told her my name…
The seed of an idea sprouts and flourishes. What if I turn this kidnapping around? Would she forgive me?
Probably. Orgasms can wear a person down.
She turns on the radio after a while, and apologises. But it only takes a few songs before she’s singing along to Taylor Swift and I’m lying on my back, grinning.
Listening to her is a new joy. I’ve watched from afar, and kept track of her via a hidden app on her phone that her brother kindly and inadvertently passed on when he messaged her. Being close and hearing her voice fills my tattered soul.
I’ve never been kidnapped before. I’ve been missing out.
This is the most fun I’ve had in years.
4
MILLIE
As I drive up the rough gravel track, the horizon opens, and my chest expands. Then there’s the line of blue on blue where the ocean meets the sky, with streaks of cloud and seagulls wheeling overhead. A light breeze shakes the spindly grasses growing at the edge of the beach, and the sun is gleaming white as dawn creeps up behind us.
This place is a bittersweet memory of childhood. Being neglected, feral kids was a good thing in the long summer break when we spent all day making sandcastles and playing in the waves or the woods beyond the sand dunes.
The track turns and leads to the side of the cottage, and I draw to a halt in the little parking space. Noah still hasn’t sat up. He has totally ignored me since dawn, presumably asleep.
“I’ll be back in min,” I choke out, then throw myself from the car without looking around at him. Noah’s annoyed, I’m sure. Who wouldn’t be after being cuffed and kidnapped? Never mind how furious and difficult this week is going to be while I try to straighten him out.
Will a week be long enough? I push that fear aside. It has to be. And though I don’t have much time, I need a moment tomyself before I start this self-imposed job. Just an opportunity to have a pee and brace myself.
There’s a nick of pain as I let myself into the cottage. This will be my last visit here, and I somehow doubt that helping my brother overcome addiction is going to be a cheery farewell.
I take in the familiar surroundings. The cottage is tiny, just two rooms upstairs and a bathroom that has seashells and white wooden boards with dusky-blue tiles. It’s perfectly clean since the fab local lady we employ—employed—has sorted everything after the last rental guests. When I’ve washed my hands, I check the kitchen cupboards and fridge, and it’s all ready. Plenty of fresh fruit and veg, some protein and cupboard basics, plus bags of good microwavable stuff to munch on when we don’t want to cook, and the waffle maker I bought a few years ago. The perfect indulgent, quick hot food.
We’re all set for what I know will be a difficult week, but I’m certain we can change the life of the man I kidnapped, because I care about him. He’s my only family, even if he has messed up.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.
Back outside, I breathe in the clean scent of the sea and ignore the butterflies in my tummy. I love it here. So, so much. It’s beautiful, wild, and untamed.
“Alright! Wakey-wakey!” I approach my car with false chirpiness. “Ready for your beach holiday? Very wholesome!” I pull open the door and look down.
