I sighed as I played around with my food. Friday had come and gone and still no Ricardo. It was as if I was missing him, which seemed weird because I didn't know him. Even though he was the reason I was here. The brief time we'd spent together, he'd turned me on and scared me at the same time, so maybe this was why I was so intrigued by him. No one had ever had this effect on me. Never in my life, but then again, I'd never met a mobster up close and personal until now. "You should go explore the grounds. I don't know why you stay inside like an injured dog," Lourdes said, the only one person who did speak to me in the house as I sat down for breakfast. She had a way of making me feel good and bad at the same time. She reminded me of my Aunt Brenda, my dad's sister-in-law. We used to see her all the time as kids, but as soon as Dad left, her appearance in my life did, too. They even dressed alike, flamboyant, as if they were always going to a party. Lourdes had a cute blond bob and I'
Finally, I made it home. I told Lourdes what time I would arrive, and she told me dinner was ready and waiting for me in the dining room as Juan parked the car. As he came to a stop in the driveway, I remembered I had company. The whole flight the only thing on my mind was Vedova. Why was she playing on my mind when I had Adrianna waiting for me? I hated the way Vedova had treated me, like a little boy on the playground who needed direction from her to know how to play. No, I didn't need direction from anyone, especially the likes of her. "Jefe, you want me to stick around?""No, go home. Get some rest."He smiled. “Sure thing."That kind of surprised me, Juan seemed a little disappointed when I told him we were leaving, yet he was quite happy once we did arrive back. As I opened the car door he asked, "Jefe, como estas?" I didn't answer him as I sat up and stepped out of the car. I needed to have a shot of something and go to bed; no more did I feel the need to eat. We didn’t use t
I was tired, wet and cold. I didn't know what the time was, or even the day. With what little strength I had in me, I ripped my dress, so the part below my knee was covering my bare shoulders as I laid on the stone ground. The only light in this cave, was when Ricardo was here; as soon as he’d left, I'd had all of five seconds to take in my surroundings to know everywhere was brick, including the floor. It was cold and damp, and there was a bucket at the side of the wall. One I assumed was for me to urinate or even shit in. I wanted to so badly, so the next time Ricardo came in here, I would throw it at him. How dare he?I crashed into his fucking car, and he treats me like this!He might as well have killed me, it would have been better than this, anything would have been. I was dying to pee, so I crawled because I couldn't walk. Nearly every part of my body was hurting me. I had been drinking so much wine out of nerves before he arrived, that I had been slightly light-headed when h
I watched as she stripped and changed in front of Diego. I could have set her free, seeing as she'd realized the error of her ways, and let her go to her room. The one she was given on the first day she stayed here—but I had no intention of letting her go back to the room as it was. I made Lourdes strip the handmade Turkish rug, the queen-sized bed, all clothes, toiletries, and furniture from the room. She would only have wooden floors and a small single bed. Nothing more. She'd have to wear the same thing every day: black leggings and a matching shirt. No television. No access to Wi-Fi. Nothing. She would feel like a prisoner, until the day came when she would be allowed to go out, and she would obey knowing if she rebelled then her fate would be one of two options: death or the dungeon. She would welcome both with open arms. After her twenty-three days were up, then she could go on with her life, pretending she had never met me, or that I'd done nothing but treat her well. If all w
I'd slept ever since Diego left the bread and water for me. Whenever I woke up, I forced myself to drift off to sleep again. The idea of having nothing to do and being watched all the time made me think of unpleasant memories. Such as Dad leaving, or the way my sisters behaved after the funeral. Or rather, Alice not coming, and Rebecca pretending I didn't exist."You didn't eat or drink anything after I left?" a male voice said.I was feeling disoriented and for some reason, it took a while for me to realize Diego was talking to me, not Mom. For some reason, I was caught between my reality and my subconscious. He'd either come to change the bucket I hadn't used, or he'd come to get me out of here. It was then I smelled it and realized I hadn't used the bucket because I'd pissed myself. I was sitting in my own urine, and it didn't bother me. "Adrianna, don't try to move. I'll lift you up." I didn't argue as he gently held me and I wrapped my arms around him. It was as if I couldn't f
My phone chimed as I sat down to lunch; I hadn’t seen Adrianna since I spent last night in the guest bedroom. Diego had done a disappearing act, too. I seemed to have alienated everyone and anyone since Pa died. Need more time. VThis meant she didn’t want Adrianna yet, I’d planned to give her to Vendova in two days. She wanted more time; I had no choice but to make it up to Adrianna and see if I could undo the cruel treatment I’d given to her. “You sent for me,” Adrianna pouted as she came into the sun lounge. I enjoyed my time in this room, especially when the weather was sunny like today. It hadn’t happened often lately. Winter had come early this year. Not that I was a fan of Autumn, but the grey clouds seemed to stay in the sky a lot longer than they usually did this time of year. She was wearing the black leggings and polo I’d left in the closet. I should have replaced them with the clothes I’d originally bought for her, but then I remembered what Diego said to me, about me g
I hated being disturbed, especially first thing in the morning, but my phone was ringing like crazy and I knew whoever it was, wasn’t going to wait. I was about to pick it up, when I heard a thumping on my door. “Mierda!” I shouted out as both Juan and Diego appeared in my room, uninvited, Diego switching on the light without warning. “You need to get dressed and get downstairs quickly. The gang’s waiting for you!” Diego commanded, as if this was his house and he was running things. I knew something was bad, and he meant by everyone’s presence, this was an intervention. It happened from time-to-time when a boss went off the rails. Everyone kicked in. The truth be known, I wasn’t sleeping, I was lying in bed but mainly because I didn’t want to get up and face the world or even worse deal with Adrianna, my sweet temptation. Before I could even respond or say anything, as quickly as Diego had entered the room, he left again. “Sorry, jefe, it’s bad.” Juan followed Diego. I found myse
I decided I’d had enough and would look for him. Find out where he was and ask if I could go and see Jen for the day. I hadn’t spoken to her lately and I was feeling guilty about it. She’d tried to be in touch, but I’d spent most of the day eating, reading with Ricardo, and the rest of the time fantasizing about him. He knew I had no money, yet he’d given me a choice. I reflected back to dinner nearly a week ago and decided maybe there was a way to get to him. Part of me felt sorry for him. His dad was dead and maybe he was the only one he could relate to, and now he was alone trying to figure out his place in life. I didn’t even know how old he was, or anything about him apart from him being part of the mafia.I wandered around the house like Alice wandering in Wonderland, wondering where he was or what he was doing. I must admit for a mafia king, I didn’t think he would be inside this much. I thought he would be out and about like he’d done the first moment I came to live here. “He