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Of course it’s true. It sounds exactly like something my father would do. He doesn’t take his time with anything. If there is something he can achieve by throwing money at it, or using the proper threats, he would much rather do it that way, whether it’s just or not.
I’ve never known a man with as little conscience as my father, so I believe every word that Jay has told me. It’s exactly the sort of thing he would do. A fury boils inside of me the longer I sit and contemplate it. I cannot let this be. My fatherliedto me about Edoardo.
It was never Edoardo who was the bad man. The real danger has always been my father, for my entire life. He simply had me fooled into thinking that he was the one who was right.
“How do I get off this island?” I ask. “I’m bored and I have a bone to pick with my father.”
Jay’s eyes widen as large as they can and he nearly spits out his coffee.
“Oh, no no no,” he says. “There’snoway I am letting you do that. I’m under strict orders to protect you and that seems wildly unsafe.”
“Then send me home so that I can speak to Edoardo,” I demand. “I need to tell him something important, and I need him to know that I am on his side.”
“Just text him,” Jay says with pleading eyes.
But he has not met my stubbornness yet. And I don’t know if it is the motherly instinct that seems to be brewing inside of me, or my tiredness of being shunted around by my father. But I simply won’t take no for an answer.
“It isn’t exactly the kind of conversation to have over text,” I say bluntly.
“Then it will have to wait until he is back, I’m afraid,” Jay says. “Because I will not let you leave this island.”
It takes one brief walk to the village and back with the cash he left me to book two tickets back to Chicago. I waste no time packing my bags.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jay asks.
“I’ve bought my own ticket back. Don’t you dare try to stop me,” I say. “And if you don’t like it, then you can wait here.”
Jay sighs loudly and pinches his eyes shut. “I can’t let you leave on your own. I’m supposed to protect you,” he says, doing a terrible job at hiding his annoyance.
“Good,” I say as I hand him his ticket. “Then you’re coming with me.”
Chapter 12
Edoardo
Anhourpassinginthis cell feels like a day. There is no clock that I can see, and my watch has been taken from me. There’s no good way of knowing how long I have been here. All I know is that the sun has set at least once.
The gray walls sometimes feel as if they are creeping in on me. And then other times they feel like they are miles apart and I am completely alone in a large cavern. It smells of dust and metal. The concrete carries a different kind of cold, one that I had hoped I would never feel again.
It seems absurd to be back in this situation at the hands of the same man … a man I have tried desperately to avoid for all these years, only to fall right back into his trap by accident. If I hadn’t gotten to know Aria these last few days, I would have suspected that she had lured me in on her father’s behalf.
It will be days before anyone comes looking for me, and another few more days before they find me here in this cell. This is a mess and there is nothing that I can do about it.
The sound of footsteps gets my attention. It’s the only sound I hear other than my own breathing and the beating of my own heart. I know what those footsteps mean. They only approach if they carry with them the dismal meal that is supposed to keep me alive in here.
The guard arrives at my cell with his smug face peering through the bars.
“Here’s your food,” he says gruffly before shoving the plate lengthways through the bars, spilling the food all over the cell floor.
I keep my head down as I approach the plate to pick it up. But as soon as I am close enough, I leap forward and reach through the bars, gripping the guard by his shirt.
“How about you let me out of here,” I growl. “And I won’t kill you.”
The guard looks terrified for a moment, but then starts to laugh.
“Sorry,” he chuckles. “Gabe’s got more pull in here, unfortunately. Boss can buy a Bentley for doin’ all this.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before releasing my grip on him. I know that he won’t kill me. No amount of money can cover something like that up. But he certainly won’t let me go; he definitely isn’t as afraid of me as he is of Gabriele.
