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She isn’t swayed by my plea. It would be dangerous for her to be. “You will learn all you need to know when the Boss wants you to know.” She moves to the door but looks over her shoulder at me. “My advice is to do what you’re told.”
Tears prick at my eyes as the door closes behind her. I feel like I’m in a type of purgatory. Not living, but not dead yet, either.
With that said, I’m happy to be able to wash away the wedding and the ride in the trunk. I undress, the passport I’d hidden falling out. A new wave of panic slides through me as I worry someone will walk in and find it. I shove it under the mattress and pray it’s not found.
Then I go into the bathroom to clean up. I step into the steaming shower, letting the water cascade over my body. I have light bruising, mostly from the ride in the trunk.
I let the hot water cascade over me, letting my mind go for a moment. I’m afraid, and yet, I’m also aware that I’m being treated differently. Why? Is it because of our night together at the club?
I shake my head. A man like this doesn’t care about a woman. It was odd that he recognized me at all, considering how little care men like him have for others. But I know it doesn’t mean anything. My value is in getting back at my father and Don Abate.
As my hands wash over my breasts, it occurs to me that my captor may plan to touch me again. What better way to humiliate my father and Romeo and Don Abate than to defile their daughter and fiancée? But he’s already done that. Will he do it again?
The memory of how his fingers pinched my nipples or rubbed that secret spot between my legs sends warm sensations through me.
I curse myself for that. The man kidnapped me. He’ll likely kill me. Why am I thinking about the pleasure he’d given me?
8
NIKO
The door to my penthouse clicks shut behind me. The scents of garlic and tomatoes waft from the box of pizza I discard atop the marble countertop in the kitchen. The pizza is delicious, but the revenge is sweeter. Blood still pumps hard through my veins, the aftermath of my victory today.
I stride toward my office and head straight to the bar, pouring myself a scotch.
Donovan appears in the doorway, his presence unannounced yet expected. “The woman is in your room as requested. Maria brought her clothes.”
“Did she give you any trouble?” I pour a drink for him, handing it to him.
He smirks. “She asks a lot of questions, but no. She wasn’t any trouble.”
My memory flashes on the night in the club. She’d asked questions then too, but she never resisted. Then today in the church, she was frightened, protecting herself, but she didn’t scream or beg when I snatched her.
Unsettled by the uninvited memory, I take a long pull of my drink. I should be thinking about her value to me in this war.She's a prize to exploit, a way to humiliate her family further. But something about her distracts me, which isn’t good. I need total control and focus to run the Family and take revenge on my enemies, something she could threaten with the way she can divert my attention.
And there is the matter of why her father was really marrying her off to Romeo Abate. I look at my knuckles, still red and raw from the beating I gave Fiori’s man we held captive in the basement of the pizza restaurant to get the information.
"Get someone to guard the room. No one goes in or out."
“Already done. You planning to keep her long?" Donovan sips his drink as he sits on the couch. He’s my right-hand man, but also my confidant, my friend. I don’t have total trust in anyone, but if I did, it would be in him.
"As long as it takes." I down the rest of my drink. "She's not going anywhere."
The door to my office opens, and Liam Rostova saunters in, a smirk on his face. “Stealing brides now, Niko?” Liam is another friend, nearly a brother. We grew up together. It’s a friendship that should have never happened since his father was a Russian mob leader until he was killed when we were kids. Liam’s life took a right turn when he decided to go into the FBI. My men think I’m nuts to keep Liam close, but what they don’t know is that while Liam is technically a good guy, he was instrumental in helping me take out my cousin. I got information to kill him, and Liam got evidence to put my cousin’s supporters in prison. Liam has my back, that I know. But I also know he has limitations in what he can do and concerns about my business.
"Word travels fast. Or did they come crying to you?" It would be a cold day in hell before Fiori or Abate would go to the FBI. Then again, it was a cold hell in the church today for them.
"Please. Like they'd admit to being humiliated. But shooting up a church during a wedding? Taking the bride? Only one sortof man has the balls for that kind of statement. Only you have a hard-on for Fiori and Abate."
More like for his daughter, but I held that bit of information back. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
He pours himself a drink. “You're playing with fire here."
"Fire cleanses, purifies." I grin at him, knowing it irks him when I don’t heed his warning.
"Or it burns everything to the ground, including you. You know this isn’t a game."
"Isn't it?"
