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Let alone a girl I’d known when she was growing up. I had seen her as a kid, and the thought of something like that happening to her … No way, not a chance in hell would I have allowed it. I would do anything to stop that. Anything.
Even if it meant putting myself in the line of fire for one of the most dangerous men in the city.
"He’ll come after my family," she continued, her eyes widening as the realization hit her. "Oh, God, Alex, he’ll come after my family—"
"I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe," I promised her. "I’ll take the fall for all of it. No harm will come to them."
"How can you be sure of that?" she demanded, head snapping around to me. "How can you be sure of it? He might already have my mom, my brother. I …"
She shook her head, and the tears began to fall from her eyes at once.
"I can’t let anything happen to them," she whispered. "I did all of this because I thought it would be the only way to protect them, and if something happens to them now, I …"
"Hey," I told her, grabbing her hands, cutting her off before she could go any further into this spiral she was losing herself to. Her eyes were hazy, distant with panic, like she couldn’t wrap her head around all of this.
"I promise you that nothing is going to happen to your family," I swore to her. "Do you believe me?"
"No," she muttered. "I don’t think anyone can protect them, not really. Not against him."
"I can," I told her, and I meant it. I would do anything it took to make sure he didn’t get his hands on her again, no matter what it took. I knew it might be hard for her to believe, but she had to try. She had to try and convince herself that there was a life outside of him, a life that was far removed from the nightmare he had put her through.
She stared up at me, her mouth set in a hard line.
"You’re going to have to," she told me, and she crossed her arms over her chest, staring into the fire. The reflection of the flames flickered on her face, and I knew she was well and truly done with this situation.
And I was starting to wonder if I had done the right thing or if I had just dragged her into the kind of mess she might never be able to get out of.
Chapter Seven – Morgan
When I woke the next morning, it took me a moment to remember exactly where I was.
I sat bolt upright in bed, tossing off the soft covers that had been clinging to me. Where was I? It wasn’t the guest room at Gregor’s place, that much was for certain. Had they—had I spent the night with him?
But then, as my panicked mind began to clear, the reality of the situation began to sink in once more. I breathed out a long sigh, trying to ground myself in the moment and not let the panic get the better of me, no matter how tempting it might have been to let that happen. There was a part of me that wanted to just scream into the pillow, so scared about what Gregor was going to do to my family when he got the chance, but, at the same time, I was so damn relieved to be away from him, I could hardly keep my head screwed on straight.
He wasn’t here. Not anywhere in this mansion. And he probably had no idea where I was right now. I didn’t know how long it was going to stay that way, but for the time being, I was more than willing to enjoy it as much as I could. I was sure it was only a matter of time before Gregor tracked me down and dragged me back to the life waiting for me on the other side of all of this, but, for now, I’d earned a reprieve from what had seemed inevitable the night before.
I swung my legs out of bed and saw a small pile of clothes on the chair opposite it. I tentatively went through them and chose a sweater and a simple pair of jeans to wear today. I had felt so on display last night, I just wanted something that would cover me up, provide me with somewhere to hide out as I tried to figure out what I was going to do next.
I could have left last night, gone back to Gregor before he had even really registered that I was gone—maybe it would have been the smart move to play it that way. I could have returned to the mansion and played this off as nothing more than some sick game Alex was trying to play, instead of the reality that this was a way for me to get out, a way for me to escape the nightmare he had trapped me in. It would have protected my family, ensured their safety, but I …
I couldn’t do it. Not when I knew what he expected of me. One night was all it would take—one night for us to be together, and I would get pregnant, and be tied to him for the rest of my life. I couldn’t stand the thought of it. Not just him touching me, having sex with me, that was one thing, but planting his seed inside of me, making me bring the next generation of his family into the world? It was too twisted, too sickening for me to even consider.
But here? Here, I was safe. I didn’t know how long it would last, but I didn’t have to deal with Gregor, and that had to count for something. I knew it was only a matter of time before he sent his men out here to get me back—or worse, after my family, to try and scare me into returning—but I wanted to drink up every moment of freedom from him while I still could.
Freedom. It felt strange to call this freedom, given that I had been kidnapped, snatched off the street by a man who was a virtual stranger to me. Alex and I might have known each other when we were growing up, but there was a huge difference between what we’d shared when we were younger and the people we were now. He was the head of a whole mafia empire, for God’s sake, not the playful young man I had known him as all those years ago.
And I … I was different too. I was marked by the pain of what my father had put our family through. I had spent my whole adult life trying to cling to a little of the control I longed for as my father spun everything out of my grasp. I would have done anything to take control of my life, but I’d never had the chance. The marriage to Gregor was the closest I had come to it, even though it was so twisted and horrible. At least I got to make that choice for myself.
But here, now? I didn’t know. Was I trapped again? I could feel that prickling at the base of my spine, running along the palms of my hands, as I tried to figure it out. What if he wouldn’t let me go? He had talked a good game the night before, about wanting to keep me safe and get me away from Gregor, but he was as much a part of this world as Gregor was. How could I be sure he really meant it? How could I know that for certain?
I slipped out of the bedroom and glanced around the mansion; it was quiet, none of the staff bustling around like they were at Gregor’s place. I had gotten so used to it, it felt almost strange not to have someone lurking around, keeping an eye on me.
I didn’t know what I was meant to do while I was here. I could try and make a break for it, but I was sure Gregor would have his men on the ground already, looking out for me, ready to snap me up and take me back to his bed in a matter of seconds. While this place wasn’t exactly home to me, it was the closest I had to safety right now, and I wasn’t going to do anything to let that slip through my fingers.
I padded down towards the kitchen, or at least, where I thought I had seen the kitchen when I had arrived the night before. My stomach was grumbling, all the appetite I had been resisting this whole time starting to rise up and demand my attention again. I should eat something. A lot of somethings, probably. I didn’t know if I was going to get into some kind of trouble seeking out food like this, but if Alex really wanted to help me like he said he did, he should be glad I was eating.
I arrived in the kitchen, glancing around furtively as though someone was going to be there to catch me in the act. I eyed the refrigerator like it was a threat to me and then dived towards it and pulled it open. It was practically heaving with food, so many options I didn’t know where to start. I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on top of it and started munching, and damn, I didn’t think I had ever tasted fruit that good in my life before …
