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"And Kasey is here too?"
"You did say you couldn't live without her, so we snagged her. She's finding her stay to be rather... relaxing."
"How long have I been out to miss the excitement?" I worried.
"You slept off the drugs within the first day, but your body has been rundown. It took the opportunity to rest another day."
Feeling insane, I laughed and shook my head. "This can't be real."
"I know I'm no Prince Charming, but I'd like the chance to show you I can be your prince."
"Aren't you in a relationship?" My mind remembered the secrecy of when he told me he had a boyfriend.
Right then, a slight knock came from the entrance of the room. Antonio stood shyly like he was afraid to enter my room after helping in my demise. In his hands, he held Whiskers. My cat purred in his hold, loving the attention he'd been receiving during my sleep. "Hello, Emilia."
"Is your name even Antonio?" I gasped, understanding I had been duped.
"It is, and I did have business in the city, but I will confess our run ins were not organic. Draven asked me to meet you after he understood he had more than just friendship on his mind. After meeting you, I rather liked you too." Setting my cat down, Whiskers made his way to me, so I scooped him up in need of his comfort.
"You followed me?" Bile rose in my throat.
"Somewhat, but I had one of my most trusted keeping an eye on you while I handled work meetings."
"Ohmigod! Astrid is your cousin, and you're another mafia prince, aren't you? That's why she got so freaked out when she saw you!" Fanning my face, I didn't know if I'd come back from this conundrum.
"Correct. As I promised, she gets to live her life. I have a local friend who I trust to watch over her, but he doesn't even know her true identity. She'll be safe and away from this life like she wanted."
Overloaded by it all, I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed my face into Whiskers's fluff. Even though I hated what just happened and felt violated in a new way, they remembered what I'd said. "Thank you for not forgetting my cat."
"You said Kasey and Whiskers were the two things you couldn't live without, so we made sure to make your stay as pleasant as possible," Draven answered, proving why I loved those damn meetings with him.
"Why don't you rest a little more and come down when you're ready? We can send you and Kasey on a shopping spree for better clothes. Costas could only manage a few outfits when he... picked you up."
"Picked me up?" I scoffed. Lying back on the bed, I curled into a ball with my cat nestled against me. Turning away from them, I needed space to clear my head. When they comprehended that, they said their goodbyes and left me alone. In the quietness of my room, I felt shut off from the world. Missing everything back home already, I wouldn't have my spot where I felt close to my mother. There'd be no reading group at the prison or book club with the ladies.
Starting to cry, I knew I had my answer before I even thought it over. There was just no way I could logically stay. My life was back in Chicago, and I was all my dad had. Yet, a small piece of my heart begged me to reconsider.
***
Later that day, a small knock came from the hall outside my room. I still hadn't left. It felt too real if I did, and this new reality wouldn't be substantial to my health. Before I could respond to whoever sought me out, my door opened, revealing someone I never expected. Not just any man, though. No, I found the new guard from the prison before me. The man who walked me to most of my visits with Draven. He had been there for a few weeks, and he'd been at the coffee shop when I bumped into Antonio. Now that I could place all the pieces, I recognized him that first day at the prison because he'd been at the coffee shop when Tony first found me. Trying to steady my breath, I couldn't. "Constantine?"
"Emilia Carmichael," he greeted me. "My true name is Costas. I'm sorry for the confusion the last few weeks has plagued you with."
Holy shit. Trying to breathe, I began to hyperventilate, falling into the comfort of my bed again. How in hell's name had I wound up in this world? I came to calling it another world because it felt that unbelievable. Comparing it to my typical life wouldn't do it justice.
"So you were staged too?"
"Yes." He didn't even try to deny it. His honesty felt nice, but I noticed the bite in his tone. The hairs along my arms stood up, and goosebumps rose on the back of my neck.
"You're who abducted me." There was no need to make it a question. Holding my breath, I sat in the same room as the man who had been watching me for longer than my mind could process, and I had no idea. I just thought our run ins were unforced.
"Yes," he answered again in the same tone. "I do apologize for any injuries or soreness. My excitement for things like that becomes all consuming, and I was on a tight timeline."
His accent resembled more of Antonio's Italian one. Trying to think it through, I figured he came from Tony's side of the business. Before he could say anything else—answer anything else—a woman stepped out from behind him. Kasey walked in with a shit-eating grin, too excited for my comfort.
"Get off your ass! We're going shopping!"
thirty-four
