Page 17 of The Mafia's Captive

“Put me down!” Corina screams.

“Vera, pack Corina’s suitcase. Colin, bring me duct tape.”

Vera looks at me like I have lost my mind and maybe I have. I’m not thinking rationally, I know, but I can’t stop myself. I take Corina to the living room and put her down onto the couch. The moment I let go of her, she bolts up, attempting to flee, but I grab her by the waist and pull her back. She struggles in my hold and kicks my shin. “Fuck!” That hurts. I ignore the pain as I try to stop her from struggling, but she keeps on fighting me. Her body rubs against me and her thigh brushes my groin. I stifle a groan. If she doesn’t stop, we might end up flying later than sooner. “Put me down!” she screams in my ear. Colin comes in at that moment, not only with duct tape but rope as well.

“There!” I throw her down on the couch with her face down and her ass up. Her dress rises, exposing her thighs. She tries to struggle up, but I hold her down and grab the tape from Colin and bind her hands. She kicks so hard, Colin comes over to help me hold her down. I take the tape, tie her legs, and when I’m satisfied that the bonds are strong, I lift her up and make her sit.

“I should have done this a long time ago.”

She spits in my face.

I take the tape and cover her mouth.

♠

The trip is not as long as I thought it would be. Most of the time I spent working interspersed with Corina screaming some curse at me. I had removed the bonds when we got on the plane after she promised to behave herself, but she couldn’t stop cursing me from time to time.

“Strap in,” I say to her. “We’re about to land.”

“Land where?”

“Rio de Janeiro.”

“Brazil? You trafficked me to Brazil!”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re more of a liability than anything. Strap in.” She pulls the seatbelt with the aggression of a pit bull. I’m surprised it doesn’t break. A few minutes later, we land in Rio’s private hangar and a car is already there waiting for us.

“Compliments of Mr. Silva,” the attendant says as he leads us into the Mercedes V-Class. Pedro, one of Silva’s closest confidants, is already inside when we enter. After the requisite greetings, I say, “I was afraid, with everything that has happened, Silva would not want to entertain me.”

“He is angry, but he values your friendship. You are your father’s son, after all.” Corina and I are sitting opposite Pedro and his gaze shifts from me to her. “And who is the beautiful woman? I rarely see you in the company of any unless you are, you know…” We’re speaking in Portuguese, which I assume she can’t understand, judging by her blank expression. “She’s my assistant.”

“Just an assistant? Nothing more?” Pedro is a handsome man. And a known philanderer. He’s already looking at Corina as a potential conquest. I better get that notion out of his head. “Don’t get any ideas.”

He gives me a meaningful look and in English he says, “Welcome to Rio, miss eh…”

“Corina. You can call me Corina. Thank you. I’ve never been here before?”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” She blushes when he says so, and I almost want to roll my eyes. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay here. We have many wonderful places to visit if you’re looking for a tour guide.”

“Corina is only here for work,” I say to him with an eye that says, ‘lay off.’

He chuckles and seems to get the hint.

“I wouldn’t mind having a tour of Rio,” Corina says. She enjoys inviting trouble.

“Trust me, you will be constrained,” I say.

Her glare says she gets the double meaning and looks away from me to the window. We drive on in silence until we reach the hotel where Pedro ushers us to our rooms. “Silva reserved the best rooms for you. The penthouse suite.”

“Thank you.” Behind us, Colin and Rob stalk in, directing the bellboy where to put the suitcases.

“As for your assistant…”

“She’ll be staying here.”

“Great. Silva will contact you.”

After he leaves, Colin and Rob begin a sweep of the suite looking for bugs.

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