AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You'll find bath oils and salts, and of course, bubbles. Or if you prefer, there's a shower. I think you will find everything that you need."
It’s surreal the way she's giving me a tour as if I am a guest of honor at a resort and not a prisoner, a pawn in a dangerous game Niko is playing with my father and Tiberius Abate.
"This is all very lovely. Thank you."
“Of course.” We reenter the bedroom. “You have clothes in the dresser and closet.” She opens the closet, and I’m surprised by the amount of clothing hanging in it. “Don Leone arranged for clothes. I hope they fit, but if not, we’ll provide new ones.”
"How is it that he has all these women’s clothes?" Are they left over from other women he has taken? If so, what happened to them?
"Some of them I believe were Aria’s. But a delivery came in today. I have put them away here in the dresser and hung them in the closet."
I frowned. "Aria?"
Rosa nods. "Yes, she's Don Leone’s little sister." She shakes her head as she looks down. "Poor man. She's all he has left."
She says that like Niko is capable of love. "Where is she?"
"She is safely away from all this business."
I don't know what to think. Everyone in Niko's life is a pawn but also a potential target in this life. Is it possible that he cares enough about his sister to get her away from his world? If so, he recognizes the terrible toll the Mafia life takes on the members of the family, particularly the women. Perhaps that's the key for me to deal with him. If he does care about his sister, would he wantanother man to treat her the way he's treating me? Would he see the correlation? Would he care?
“Ah… Carmena. Come set that here.”
I turn to find another woman entering carrying a tray of food. She sets it on the table where Rosa indicates.
"Maria indicated you didn't have a chance to finish breakfast. So we brought you lunch. She said that she thought you're under the weather, so we've brought soup and toast. But if you'd rather have something else?—"
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry."
"You should try to eat something. It's important that you eat."
She doesn't say it, but I get the impression that Niko has told her, as he'd apparently told Maria, that I needed to eat more.
"We will leave you to eat and settle in. I should warn you, though, that Don Leone has asked that you stay in this room. If there's anything you need, just let me know." She smiles, and the two of them leave the room.
I’m not hungry, but knowing that I have a baby growing in me, I sit down to attempt to eat the soup, hoping it's gentler on my stomach than the eggs were.
I manage to eat half the soup and a piece of toast before my stomach revolts. I'm on the floor of the bathroom when Rosa finds me.
"Oh, dear. You are sick. I'll go call the doctor."
I shake my head and wave my hand at her. "No, you don't have to do that." I don't know why, but I don't want Niko to learn about the baby. I suppose it's because if I get away from here, I want the baby to grow up in a different world. Not one surrounded by violence. Not led by men who only care about power and control and see their children as pawns. If he doesn’t know about the baby, then I have a better chance to keep him out of my life.
Then again, if he kills me, he kills our baby too. I probably should consider that being pregnant might be a way to save myself, at least until the baby is born. But that would assume that Niko would be interested in being a father. I shake my head. There's nothing about Niko that suggests he wants to be a father. Up until the mention of his sister, I didn’t think he was capable of love. Maybe he isn’t. Maybe he sent her away to get her out of his hair.
Rose's eyes turn sympathetic. She helps me off the floor and to the sink where I wash my face and brush my teeth with a new set of toiletries.
“Perhaps you should rest.” Rosa guides me to the bedroom. "You will be expected for dinner tonight, but in the meantime, lie down."
The minute I lay down, fatigue overcomes me. I’m exhausted emotionally and physically.
As Rosa is about to leave the room, another man enters carrying a garment bag. "The Boss asks that she wear this to dinner tonight."
Rosa takes the bag from him. "I'll see to it." She turns to me. "I'll hang this in the closet. It looks like there's a note, though." She pulls the tag from the hanger and hands it to me. While she goes to hang the garment bag in the closet, I open the small envelope.
Don't disappoint me again,cara mia. You wear this, or nothing at all.
14
