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“We’ll see,” he said.
I heard him stand up from the bed and take a few steps to the bathroom door. I covered my chest again and was about to tell him to go away, but he didn’t come inside. He lingered near the doorway, and I could see his shadow on the white and gray tile floor.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I asked, my voice soft.
“You may not realize it, but I’m doing you a favor. You witnessed a mafia hit last night, Colleen. I can’t think of a single person that’s ever walked away from something like that, but here you are, still alive and breathing. The Don would never allow that if you were out there on your own, but so long as you’re mine and you’re useful, he’ll allow you to live. So you should feel lucky that I decided to take you last night instead of calling an ambulance.”
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Yeah, I feel so lucky.”
“Enjoy your bath, Colleen. I’ll get some more clothes for you soon.”
I heard his footsteps recede and the bedroom door shut. I heard the padlock click into place.
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling again, my heart racing. When I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, I saw one single image staring back at me.
Steven’s eyes moving down my body, lingering on my lips, on my breasts, the pure lust in his expression driving me wild.
I tried to shove that image away, but I just kept seeing it play behind my eyelids over and over again.5StevenAll that night, I kept thinking about her at the bottom of the tub.
I don’t know why I reacted that way. When she didn’t respond to me, I just thought something bad was happening.
I had that feeling deep in my gut, and I reacted way more forcefully than I thought I ever would. I kicked down that door and saw her under the water and just lost it.
As soon as I pulled her up from under the water, I knew I made a mistake. But I couldn’t risk it, I couldn’t let her stay down there at the bottom of the tub and let her hurt herself. I was wrong, obviously, but the image of her under that water kept coming back to me over and over.
I slept like shit. I got up early, worked out, went for a run, made breakfast, and sat up on the roof deck drinking coffee while the sun rose up over the city. I let Colleen sleep in, figuring she could use the rest. But around ten, I came back inside and knocked on her door.
She didn’t answer at first, so I knocked again. I heard some movement inside, so I knew she was still in there and awake.
“If you don’t answer, I’m going to assume you’re trying to hurt yourself again,” I said. “Might break down the door.”
“Good,” she said, her voice muffled. “I hope you do.”
I laughed and unlocked the padlock. I left it dangling and turned the knob.
She was sitting in bed, the sheets pulled around her, with her knees up to her chest. She stared at me, her pretty eyes shining in the morning sun as it lazily rolled in through the window and wrapped itself around her skin. She seemed like she was glowing, and for a second I had the urge to walk over to her and slip into bed.
But I stayed in the doorway instead.
“Good morning,” I said.
She just narrowed her eyes at me and didn’t speak.
“We’re going for a ride,” I said. “Get up and get dressed.”
She tilted her head. “Where are you taking me?”
“To meet someone,” I said.
“Oh, another one of your mob friends?” she asked. “No thanks, that’s okay. I’ll stay here.”
“I’m not asking,” I said.
“You just want to parade me in front of a bunch of dangerous men as a threat,” she said.
“Dante isn’t going to hurt you,” I said, rubbing my face with my hand. “Just get up, all right?”
“No,” she said.
“Colleen. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” I stared at her, starting to feel frustrated. “Dante is a friend, okay? He’s on our side.”
“That’s not the problem.” She looked away and I could see her cheeks turning red. I tilted my head and stepped closer.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s embarrassing.”
“Just tell me.”
She took a breath and looked at me again, her cheeks bright red.
“I need new underwear,” she said. “I can’t keep wearing the same underwear every day.”
I stood there for a second and blinked in surprise.
“Shit,” I said. “I thought… shit. All right, I’ll get you some.”
“Thank you.” She stared down at the bedding, clearly embarrassed.”
“Look, go shower. I’ll come back with clean underwear, okay? When you get out, it’ll be on the bed.”
“Fine.” She turned her head, looked at the window.
