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I descend the stairs tentatively, frightened of who else might be lurking. The first thing I do before greeting the cook is inspect the long windows at the front of the house. No cars outside… and two armed bodyguards out front. Not good.
“Ms. Ellie, please take a seat. I hope you like eggs and toast with some orange juice.” The woman rubs butter on the pan over a fire, and I nearly salivate.
I nod.
“Good. That is good. I try to clean you up without waking you. But you were very twitchy in your sleep.” She’s comfortably pudgy – at least the Valentinos don’t starve their prisoners.
I smile weakly. “Thank you… Uhm, where’s Donny and friends?”
“Not here.” She sniffs like what I asked is comical.
I don’t know whether to be relieved or upset. No Donny means no vehicle, and no Donny means no protection if Gio decides to stop by and finish what he started yesterday.
He stalked my entire life, I recall from last night. How long has he been watching me?
The smell of eggs cooking almost makes everything alright.
“So, Ms.—?”
“I am Sabrina,” she says while flipping the eggs.
“Sabrina… are you a prisoner here like I am?”
“No, Ms. Ellie. I am privileged to be here. Mr. Donny saved my life from the cartel.”
“Of course he did… Did he also happen to set you up with the cartel in the first place? He seems like the kind of guy to hold a gun to your head, then ask you to say thanks when he pulls it away.”
Sabrina chuckles lightly. “No, no. I am very serious. Mr. Donny avenged my family not knowingly, and took me in when I had nowhere else to go.”
How noble, I mock him in my head, but dare not say it. Then I feel horrible for the soul in front of me. Plucked from one captor’s grasp just to land in another’s.
I thank Sabrina again, and scarf down the eggs. Eating like a cavewoman is fine if I’m already dressing the part. I have no shoes on, scraped legs, disheveled hair, and cuts all over my body. Not to mention… I probably stink.
“So. What are my restrictions? Do I get to bathe?”
“Of course, Ms. Ellie. You may use any one of the four showers on the first and second floor.”
I eye her suspiciously.
“I am no kidding. You can also watch TV anywhere you like too.”
Sucking my lip between my teeth, I look around. There are no sharp knives anywhere in sight, and setting the place ablaze is probably a longshot since the two gigantic men out there would put a bullet in my head before I could say ‘Ha!’ Might as well stick to the basics for now.
A few distractions from this nightmare might not be so bad.
Chapter 7
Ellie
The next few days went so smoothly, the terror of my first night at the Valentino safe house could almost be forgotten. Certainly, a defense mechanism of my colorful upbringing. Sabrina has been nothing short of a saint. She cleaned me up to the point my wounds scabbed over, and feeds me to perfection. Even though she shied away from me whenever I started asking too many questions, the interactions were still pleasant.
Maybe I can convince Donny not to sell me, a sick thought enters my head. Would it be so bad? another part of me whispers. The other day, Donny came by the house in the afternoon, just him. I’d been so caught up memorizing how many steps there were on the stairs and wondering how fast I could fly down them without faceplanting, he snuck up on me.
The jerk nearly scared me right out of my skin. And in the next heartbeat, flooded me with confusion and yearning. He laughed. An honest, deep, rolling laugh.
“Didn’t mean to scare you, little rabbit. Just wanted to see how the fort was doing,” he’d said.
I was still reeling, having half a mind to hit him. So I did… right in his rock-hard chest he insists on flashing around. The bastard caught my hand, the edges of laughter still assailing him, and he just stood there, a stupid smile on his face.
