AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And the cook,” she adds. “You must be Alma. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the wedding, but it was my daughter’s birthday. You understand.”
“Of course.” If I could have missed my wedding too, I would have.
Nan goes back into the closet, where I hear her shuffling things around. “I’ll be out of your hair in a minute. Just gathering the dirty laundry. This boy has never managed to get it in the basket.”
I peek in when I hear her groan to see her bending to pick up several articles of clothing that have managed to miss the hamper by a few inches. She tosses them in, and that’s when I notice not only my soiled wedding dress in there, but the balled-up sheets stained with my blood as well.
Embarrassment flushes my cheeks white-hot, and I cringe. “Thank you for cleaning my…uh…”
She stands with her load and turns kind eyes full of understanding to me, and for a moment, I wonder how much she knows. Did she come up here out of concern? Had she been aware that I’d been cuffed to the bed and left there for hours?
I flick a quick look to the post where the cuffs Luca secured me with still dangle.
But whether she knows my full circumstance or believes we simply had kinky sex, she doesn’t let on.
Instead, she widens her smile, reaches for my hand, and squeezes it. “Before you came, he told me you were very shy. He worried about you settling in.”
“He did?” I ask in surprise.
“I know my boy may be…” She pauses as if trying to figure out the right word. “He might have a hard exterior, but he’s a good, kind man.”
I almost laugh out loud but contain it. A good, kind man? Never mind that he’s a criminal, but the things he’s done to me have been far from kind.
Still, her adoring expression tells me he’s been kind to her, at least. Then it hits me. She called herself Nan.
“Were you his nanny?”
Her smile turns into a look of outright shock. “Nanny? Do I look that old?”
Mortified, I say, “No. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
She laughs, cutting me off. “I’m kidding. No, I wasn’t his nanny. Nan is short for Nancy. But I’ve known Tony, Luca, and Sofia since they were children.” Then her face grows sad. “I mean, IknewTony.” Shaking her head as if she needs to clear her thoughts, she smiles again. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be in the kitchen for a few hours.” She walks to the door but stops short of leaving. “I almost forgot. He asked me to bring your purse up.”
She tilts her head toward a chair on the opposite side of the room, then leaves.
After drying myself and making a mental note to ask about clothes again when I’m forced to don another one of Luca’s white T-shirts and nothing else, I grab my purse. To my surprise, my things are still in it. Although I suppose that could be because they are actuallymythings and not Alma’s. Otherwise, I’m sure I would’ve been divested of it like I was the luggage.
I sit on the edge of the bed and tug my cell phone out of my bag to check my messages. There is only one from my sister.
I’m sorry, the text reads.Please don’t hate me.
I begin to type an angry reply but stop short of sending it. I’m not stupid enough to believe this was left here without having been inspected. There’s no doubt in my mind that anything I do from now on will be closely monitored. The phone may even be bugged.
Unsure of what level of technology the Sinacores are armed with, I turn off my device. Besides, I’m not sure how to respond to her.
Please don’t hate me.
I love her fiercely. Enough to do this for her. But at the moment, I can’t honestly reassure her the way she wants me to. My sweet, fragile sister, who would never have survived being with a man like Luca. Or would she have?
Nan said he has a kind heart. Alma said something similar.
Maybe he’s just cruel to me. Maybe it would have been better if Alma had kept her word. Maybe he would have treated her like a queen, making love to her instead of fucking her and keeping her like a prisoner.
Maybes don’t matter now, though. Almadidn’tkeep her word, and Iamhis captive.
Sighing, I put the phone in my purse and toss it all aside. Then I move to the window seat and wait for him to return.
And when he does, I know what he’ll do. He’ll take me again. He’ll torture me with the promise of pleasure and leave me in pain.
