A woman with short dark hair and a large purple dress. Her eyes were blazing, her arms crossed, and her fangs showing through her snarl.
28
The music, now that I heard it with a clear head, was jazz. The band was quite good, actually. Desi and I danced at a more relaxed pace as if we were the only people in the room. We laughed, talked, and had a rather enjoyable time.
A slow song came on, and we moved in close. “Want to call it a night?” I asked, leaning against him and swaying. He was holding me up at this point.
“Sure. It’s been a long night.” He smiled softly, melting me completely.
“I didn’t know the drinks were spiked.”
“I know. It’s an unspoken thing around here, I guess. She told me only after the party had started. I think you getting a taste of her lifestyle was her true intention.”
“Why?” I just didn’t get it. He kept saying that The Seven Sins were bad people, but I still didn’t understand what that meant.
“Because she wants to prove that you shouldn’t be here. With me. The Sins don’t get serious with people. She was warning me.”
“I was with Arsenio for almost two years.” I pointed out. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“Yeah, but you guys had just about as much chemistry as two dead pigeons. Your relationship wasn’t something anyone cared about.”
“How do you know?” I stood up straighter in his arms as we danced. “Just because we weren’t a good match doesn’t mean we weren’t serious.”
Desi rolled his eyes and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “If you were a good match, I would have been sent to kill you two years ago. And I would have.”
His words chilled me to the bone. He stood back up as if he didn’t just threaten me in a weird, roundabout way.
The song ended, and I sighed with relief. I needed to lay down. Desi stepped back and was tapped on the shoulder. He turned, and we saw Ludovica smiling up at him.
“Desiderio, Scout,” She tilted her head at me. “Did you have a good time?”
“I did, thank you,” I said curtly. Desi had already told me not to mention the spiked blood. She was fully aware of what she did and didn’t care what I had to say. “We’re actually about to go upstairs before the sun rises.”
“Oh, Desi, can I steal you away before bed? Scout, darling, you don’t mind, do you?”
I didn’t have a choice. We both knew it. I bowed slightly and watched her loop her arm through his and pull him away. He threw a small smile back at me, and I did the same. I turned then and started toward the stairs. It was difficult, as the party was still going strong.
I made it up the stairs to the second floor. I passed by doors and was close to my suite when a door opened, and I was snatched right off my feet!
I tried to scream, but a large hand went over my mouth just as quickly as he had grabbed my middle. I kicked and punched but whoever it was in the darkroom was easily three times my size.
I was thrown down into an armchair, and a fabric bag was put over my head and synched at the neck. I tried to leap up, but my captor grabbed my arms and quickly bound them behind me. My legs went next, causing me to drop to the ground, hitting my chin hard on the floor.
He had forgotten to gag me, and with the bag over my head, I screamed. He lifted me over his shoulder and went through a door and then another one.
“Where are you taking me, you stupid fuck?” I shouted as loud as I could.
“No one is going to hear you,” he snarled. I pounded my tied wrists against his back, but if he felt them, he didn’t react. It was harder to kick. “We’re underground.”
“How? Why are you taking me? I didn’t do anything!” I cried. “Help!” I screamed over and over, but my cries for help were echoing back at me. The more we moved, the more I started to believe that he wasn’t lying. We were underground.
“Are you sure you even got the right person?” I whimpered. “I’ve only been here one day.”
“Yes. You’re Desiderio Amato’s girlfriend. I’m not stupid.”
Oh, I think you are.
Finally, he stopped moving. I heard the tell-tale beeps of him keying in a code for a door. It chimed, and he opened the door, going inside. Or rather, outside. I could feel the shift in air pressure and the temperature drop.
