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My heart hammered in my chest as my gaze trailed over and landed inside the box, taking in the one thing inside it.
A woman.
A naked woman.
A woman who looked like she’d been starved to almost death.
A woman who was going to be sold and traded, just like Bailey had.
No one was going to come and save this woman though.
Or so she thought.
This was it. This was the final piece that we needed to take him down.
His arrogance was his downfall. Gio had just shot himself in the foot and thrown himself to the wolves. He was in for a world of hurt, and I’d make sure I was there to witness every last second of his pain.
CHAPTER 14
BAILEY
“I don’t care. I want to see her face.”
I frowned, tilting my head at the shouted voice coming from outside. I recognized it as the woman from next door. My stomach rolled, nerves flashing through me as I thought about what had happened five days ago. I’d been taking the trash out and she was bringing in her groceries at the same time. We barely spoke a handful of words, but it was enough to know she wasn’t to be messed with.
“I already told you.” That was Rafael, Romeo’s brother. “She’s fine. He hasn’t hurt her.”
A laugh echoed from beyond the front door as I took the last step of the stairs. “You think I’m gonna believe you?” I grinned, imagining her shaking her head and smiling at him in that way women like her seemed to do without even trying. Silently berating them with one look. “I haven’t seen her for five days. I want to see her in the flesh right now.”
Pushing my shoulders back, I held my head higher, finding a newfound confidence thanks to Romeo. He’d pleasured my body in ways I never knew possible from the moment he’d dragged me away from her and into his house. But he’d done more than that. He’d confessed things to me, he’d confided in me. He’d told me things that I knew he’d rather keep buried deep down.
We were building something, whether he realized it or not.
I adjusted the dress I was wearing—yet another addition thanks to Romeo. Two mornings ago, he’d given me his laptop to choose clothes, and twelve hours later, they’d turned up. Only, there was twice as many as I’d written down, and I knew then that Romeo would never do the bare minimum. He’d go above and beyond, just like he had to get me my freedom.
“Listen here, lady.” Rafael paused, his tone more pissed off than I’d ever heard before. My shaky hand reached for the door handle, the cool metal sitting against my palm, not sure what I was about to witness as I opened the door. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but this is none of your business.” He paused and I took that opportunity to crack the door ajar, even though every fiber in my being wanted to keep it closed. The outside world was starting to feel scarier than anything else. I was creating a prison for myself. The irony wasn’t lost on me. “Now back the fuck up.”
I smiled as the door opened all the way, the creak alerting them both. “Hi,” I squeaked out, feeling the burn on my cheeks. “I…I’m okay.”
My gaze trailed over her face and her chin-length wavy hair. “You sure?” she asked, a frown on her face, clearly not believing me.
“I’m sure.” I took a step back. “Do you want to come in?”
“Romeo won’t like that,” Rafael warned. I snapped my attention to him, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was staring at the woman, his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared. She’d really pissed him off.
“Romeo isn’t here,” I reminded Rafael. He’d been gone since six this morning, and it was already seven at night. He’d said he wouldn’t be back until late, but dammit, I missed him. I hated to admit it, but the house was so empty without him in it, and I didn’t know what to do with myself.
For two days he’d acted…different. Ever since getting that message in the middle of the night, he’d been weird with me, like he was hiding something. The problem with Romeo was I was starting to get a read on him, which allowed me to see when something was bothering him. I just hadn’t gotten up the guts to ask him what was going on yet.
“It’s okay,” the woman said, waving her hand in the air. “The kids are waiting in the car anyway. I gotta get them inside and into bed.”
“Kids?” I asked, perking up and taking a step outside the door. “You have kids?”
“Bailey,” Rafael warned, this time more firm. His arm came out, blocking me from going any farther. “Don’t.”
I blinked rapidly, knowing I needed to listen to him but also wanting to just be normal for a few goddamn minutes. “I know, Rafael,” I told him. “I’m not going anywhere, promise.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” the woman asked again, this time taking a step away from us. Her body was listening to the danger that was surrounding us with Rafael, but her mouth wasn’t done. “Because if you’re not, I can get help.”
