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As the footsteps enter the room, I shrink.
The fight is gone.
50
Daniela
My feet are unshackled first, and I’m yanked upright by the arm.
A familiar scent slowly breaks through the stench of concentrated urine. My heart clenches.
Antonio.
It’s your mind playing tricks.
A sliver of hope slices through the despair, but I don’t open my eyes right away. My spirit won’t survive the blow if I’m mistaken.
When my hands are free, I slowly open my eyes.Just a tiny peek.
“Antonio,” I gasp, tears falling again.
He doesn’t say a word as he drags me up the stairs and off the ship.It’s still docked. I thought—I don’t try to understand it.
Antonio doesn’t even look at me. The vitriol that surrounds him is like a shield. A black cloud so dense it’s impenetrable. But I have to try. Iwantto try.
“Thank you for saving me. I’m so sorry.”
I’m starving for a human connection. A small touch to remind me I’m alive. I reach for him as we get to the pier.
“Don’t you dare,” he growls, swatting my hands away. He’s rough, but the sting on my skin is nothing compared to what I feel in my heart.
Without a word, Antonio shoves me into the backseat of a waiting car and slams the door. He doesn’t get in. At first I’m scared of what’s going to happen to me, but Cristiano slips into the passenger seat, and I relax a bit.He won’t kill me.At least that’s what I tell myself.
Cristiano hands me a bottle of water over his shoulder. He doesn’t look at me either. But I don’t feel any rage from him.
“Do you have something I can sit on?” I ask, embarrassed that I peed myself, especially now that I’m going to get it on the car seat too.
He shakes his head but doesn’t turn around.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “Thank you for coming.” It sounds so ridiculous, but my emotions are on a wild ride, and that’s what spills out.
As we drive through the deserted pier, I remember Isabel is waiting to hear from me. She’s going to be beside herself if she doesn’t hear anything, and she’s going to frighten Valentina.
“I realize I’m not in any position to ask for favors,” I say earnestly. “But please contact Isabel, like you’ve done in the past. Tell her the plans have changed and to go home. Please don’t say anything to worry her.”
Cristiano doesn’t respond at first, and I worry about what’s going to come of them in Boston. They can’t afford to stay in a hotel forever.
“That was done shortly after you spoke with her,” he says finally.
“Thank you.”
I stare out the window, seeing nothing. Errant thoughts, mere fragments, run through my mind, chasing one another.“That was done shortly after you spoke with her.” What does that mean? Did they know where I was all along?
My pulse begins to race. “Were you tracking me?”
He doesn’t reply. And I don’t ask again.
As the car exits the pier, the driver makes a sharp right. He isn’t headed toward Antonio’s house in the valley. “Where are you taking me?”
