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“I don’t know why you still have that thing.” He chuckled. “I’m surprised it hasn’t… I don’t know… disintegrated by now.”
I turned to face him, arching an eyebrow.
“I know we aren’t that old.” He always could read my mind.
I rolled back into position and held the wolf tighter. He tapped my foot three times before heading out the door. I heard the door close behind him.
Eli had given me the wolf when we were younger. While I couldn’t remember exactly what prompted it, I was crying, and Eli came over and handed me the little wolf to make me feel better… and it worked.
The smell of bacon hung in the air. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate something. I was mostly just drinking water. I couldn’t even remember being hungry, until I smelled the bacon. It smelled crispy, just like I liked it.
I sat up, put the wolf back on my bedside table, and sauntered over to the desk. Martha had piled all of my favorite foods onto one plate—bacon, eggs, bagels, avocado, and some fruit salad.
I probably shouldn’t have started with the greasiest thing on the plate, but the bacon looked so good and crispy… too good to pass up. But the more I ate, the hungrier I got. I ate slowly, trying to savor every bite. When I was finished, there was nothing left but a few pieces of fruit and half a bagel on the plate. After washing it down with some orange juice, I climbed back into bed.
The day ticked by slower than usual. After I woke up from what was probably my second nap, there was another knock on the door. I half-hoped it was Eli. There was always something reassuring and calming about his presence. Just being in the room with him always made me feel better. Well, not better, but in this case, it eased my mind. Quieted my thoughts.
The door opened and I rolled onto my back to see who it was. Nate stood in the doorway with a large bouquet of flowers. He stepped into the room and slowly walked toward the desk. He set the round vase on the desk.
The bouquet must have cost someone a fortune. The metallic teal vase was home to bright fuchsia orchids. When I sat up, Nate removed a card resting between the stems and crossed the room to me. He handed me the card and then silently left the room, closing the door behind him.
Eying the high-end vase and the flowers, the first name that popped into my mind was Lucian. This was his style. Everything top-notch. Maybe he sent me a card and flowers to ask how I was doing. And since he probably knew I wasn’t talking, he probably saw no point in coming over.
I hurried to open the envelope and removed the card.
Looking forward to a long-lasting partnership.
Can’t wait to see you again.
Lenny
My blood went hot as my pulse pounding in my neck. He sent me flowers. They thought I was weak. They thought their gangbang would break me. Keep me in my place. Make me step down and let the men go back to running things.
And it wasn’t just Lenny and his gang who thought that. It was the Kingsley family, too. Anthony, Peter, Kent, and Reggie. They thought I was a little girl playing Mafia, and this incident was going to put me back in my place. My skin was as hot as my blood boiling in my veins.
I didn’t remember ripping it up, but the pieces were all over the bed like confetti. I swept them into my hand and threw them in the trash. The sun was gone now. But instead of sitting in darkness, this time, I turned on the gold lamp on my bedside table.
I felt dirty. I felt empty. Useless. I felt like a failure. Like I had let everyone down by being so stupid. How disappointed my father must be in me.
I wanted to stay in bed, but now, it was time to get up and fight. Show them who the Don really was. And I had a lot of shit to do to prove it again. I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I was going to take a shower, but decided to sit in the bathtub. Steam rose from the water as I eased myself down into the tub.
The water was hot, my skin turned red as soon as it touched the surface, but it felt good. I stayed until my fingers were pruned and the water turned lukewarm. My bedroom door opened and closed. After wrapping a towel around my body, I opened the bathroom door and found Eli was sitting on my bed.
I followed his gaze to the flowers on the desk. “Beautiful flowers.”
I just stared at him.
He cocked his head. “What do you need, Addie?”
That was what I needed… that question. He didn’t remind me of the incident again, didn’t tell me to do anything. He just asked what I needed. He knew me well.
I let go of the towel and let it fall to the floor, and he smiled.
“Okay, Little Red.”
I didn’t know what I was hoping for. Well, I knew what I wanted. I wanted him to erase the perverts from my memory, which was impossible. I wanted him to erase them from my body. Erase their smell. The feel of their hands on my body.
I wanted him to wipe them away. To erase my body’s memory of them and replace it with someone who loves me. Someone who would never hurt me. Someone I chose… him.
