Page 57 of Taken By the Underboss

"You're taking me home?" I asked hopefully.

We reached Alessandro's car, and he looked back at me with a hardness I hadn't seen before. "My home."

“Why are we going to your house?”

“Because that's where I live,” he said flatly as we climbed into the car, and he started the engine.

“But we've been staying here at the compound.Iwas supposed to be going home today.” I felt a slight panic, not knowing what was going on and feeling completely out of control of the situation.

Alessandro was not giving me enough information. The short two-syllable answers were making me desperate for more.

“You'll be living at my house now.”

“Living? I never agreed to stay here. Alessandro, I need to go home. I need to see my father. He was meeting us at the airstrip. You know he gets confused without me around.”

“He’s still at the facility here. I will take you to visit in a few days as long as you can assure me that you will behave yourself.”

“Behave myself?” I bristled at his words. “What do you mean ‘behave myself’?”

“We have a lot to discuss and a lot of arrangements to make.”

“Alessandro,” I snapped, and he glanced at me before returning his eyes to the road. “What is going on? I need you to talk to me in more than short answers. I need you to tell me what’s happening here?”

“And I will.” His voice sounded gravelly and gruff. “As soon as we get home.”

Home. The word usually gave me a warm feeling but for some reason, in that context, it sent a cold shiver down my body.

The drive to Alessandro’s house was too long and too short all at the same time. While I was anxious to finally get the answers, I wasn't sure that I actually wanted the answers at all. Something told me that once we got there that things would never be the same.

We pulled up at a nice sized Villa not far from Teo’s compound. As soon as we entered the house, the first thing that I noticed was a lack of people. At the compound there were always people around: guards, housekeepers, valets, but everything at Alessandro's seemed empty and quiet. It gave an eerie feel. I wasn't sure how a house could seem lonely, but it did.

I wondered,when was the last time that Alessandro had even been home?He had been staying at the compound with me most of the time. And I knew that he had been in Tuscany before that. I was surprised to see that the house was still neat and tidy without any dust.

Alessandro led me through the entryway and into a small parlor. “Sit. I'll pour us a drink.”

He walked over to the drink cart and poured two glasses of bourbon.

“Isn't it a little early for that?” I asked with a raised brow.

“Trust me.” He looked at me with a grave expression. “We're going to need it.”

If my gut feeling hadn't been enough, those words certainly were. I was completely and totally convinced that whatever he had to say wasn’t anything I wanted to hear. And it was something that was going to change my life forever.

“Enough build up,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. “Tell me what's going on, Alex.”

He studied me for a moment before giving a nod, coming to some silent conclusion. He took a seat across from me and scooted the chair up so that we were almost knee to knee.

“First, I want you to know that I care about you and that is why I’m doing this.”

“Doing what?” I asked anxiously.

Alessandro straightened his shoulders and his tone hardened. “You will not be returning to your life in Tuscany. You will be livingherenow. You will be under my protection.” The way he said the words felt off.

“Under your protection? What does that mean?”

“It means that you are mine. You belong to me now. To protect, to take care of, and to make sure that you stay in line.”

I sat up straighter, pushing my back against the chair as if trying to put more distance between us.

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