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“How did you escape them?”
“I took a chance.” She sighs heavily and her pinched face tells me this is not going to be a happy tale.
“Mario had arranged a road trip, as he called it. It meant we were being shipped out to a house somewhere in the middle of nowhere to entertain paying customers.”
I was right. This is not a happy tale, but I grit my teeth and say nothing.
“When we got there, I was locked in a room with about six other women, all there for the same reason. Diana was with Mario as usual, no doubt arranging her own private party with the most powerful man there.”
She sighs heavily. “Unlike me, the girls were willing, excited even, anticipating a huge pay out and enough drugs to feed their habit. You see, that’s what Mario loved. Drugs, women, and alcohol mixed with depraved sexual acts that would make a whore blush.”
I’m not sure I want to hear any more of this sadistic story, but Flora says in a dull voice. “One by one, we were selected to wait in a room upstairs. Apparently, the men weren’t keen on being seen by others and wanted privacy to carry out their sordid act with no witnesses. It didn’t bode well. While I was waiting, I paced around and heard a commotion in the room next door. It sounded as if there were several people in there and then my door opened and a man ran inside, sweating like a pig. I asked what was wrong, and he told me to shut the fuck up and pretend he was here all along. I watched him snort some cocaine; he was agitated and didn’t even appear to remember I was there. In his haste, he had left the door open and when he went to the bathroom, I seized the opportunity and ventured outside.”
She shivers at the memory and whispers, “As I passed the room, I saw one of the girls had collapsed on the floor. At first, I thought she was unconscious, but when I went to help her, I could tell she was dead.”
“How?” I growl and Flora says sadly, “There was a needle sticking out of her arm. I’m guessing they tried to drug her, and she reacted to that. I could tell she was gone. Her empty eyes stared up at me and there was no pulse or heartbeat. Then I noticed she was wearing a wig, and I spied her purse on the floor by the bed. I hate saying this, but I wasted no time and grabbed her wig and pulled it over my hair and took her purse. Then I edged my way downstairs, thanking God everyone was busy partying and paying no attention. I made my way into a room on the ground floor and escaped through the window, heading for the bushes before anyone could notice me.”
She looks so proud of her escape my heart fills with pride for my brave girl and she laughs softly. “I walked to the nearest town. It took me hours, but I have never felt so free. I kept to the shadows and if a car approached, I hid until it passed. When I reached the town, I went directly to the bus station and hopped on the first bus out of town. Luckily, there was money in the girl’s purse, and I used it to buy my ticket to freedom.”
She turns and grins and for some reason, a surge of love washes over me as I register the excitement in her eyes.
She laughs softly. “I did it. I pretended to be Maisy Edwards and headed to Vegas. I was certain nobody would discover me here and my first stop when I arrived was the convent. You know what happened there and when I left, I used Maisy’s name to rent an apartment and look for work, which I found in the Barrington gallery working with Desdemona Gray.”
We reach the lake and I pull her down onto the grassy bank and sling my arm around her shoulder, loving how she rests her head on my shoulder. “This is nice.” She says sweetly, and I squeeze her a little tighter. “It is.”
My thoughts return to her story, and I say with confusion, “Then why give your name as Flora Corlietti on my guest list if you were known as Maisy Edwards?”
“Because Desdemona did some checking and told me that apparently, I was dead.”
She shivers. “Turns out my new employer wasn’t shy of turning my problem to her advantage and she told me she would protect me; it would be our secret. She said it would be better to use my own name in case the authorities thought I had something to do with Maisy’s death and I could hide out in Vegas and start again.”
I remember the phone call that Desdemona received from Diana and wonder if I should tell Flora about it. However, I decide against it because she has dealt with so much already in such a short space of time and if she knew that Diana discovered where she is, she would be on the next bus out of here, protection or not.
We must sit by the lake for well over an hour, just kissing, talking, and making plans. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, that I felt like this. I’m so happy, so free and at this moment in time I am sure nothing on earth can break us apart.
As it turns out, I was completely wrong about that.
CHAPTER31
FLORA
Ihave never been so happy. Being here with Dom is surprising in the best possible way. If anything, I fall in love with him at the edge of the lake and when he stands and tugs me with him, I know exactly where I want to go next.
We head back to the mansion with our arms around each other and chat like any normal human beings. As we approach the garden door, Pasquale is there to meet us and something about the expression on his face makes my heart stop beating.
“Boss.”
He addresses Dom and there is a dark expression on his face as he says in a low voice, “You have a visitor.”
“Who is it?”
Dom doesn’t release me from his arms and Pasquale winces as he says in a low voice, “Your stepmother.”
If Dom wasn’t holding me up right now, I would have fallen and my legs almost give out on me as he hisses, “What the fuck? Who let her in?”
“She’s in the visitor’s room. Enrico is guarding her with Vittori and Ryan on the outside.”
Dom glances at me and the retribution that flares in his eyes gives me hope at least, and he nods toward Pasquale. “Take her to my room and stay with her. Lock the door and only open it for me.”
