Chapter 42

It was only then that her eyes dropped to the bruises on my neck. Her face tight with concern, she started to lift her hand toward me, but then seemed to remember where she was and who I was and let it fall back down to her side. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?"

Walking around her, I sat down on one of the chairs and started fixing my coffee. "I slapped your boss across the face."

"No, you did not," she burst out, both hands flying up to cover her mouth. Then she joined me at the table, sitting in the other chair, her lips pressed tight and her eyes flashing. "That still gave him no right to do that to you."

I was surprised she sat down with me, but honestly, I was starved for any company other than Luca's. I wasn't stupid, though. She worked for the mob. And that meant she was completely loyal to them. Not me. I didn't expect her to help me, but it was nice to have another woman to talk to. And maybe I could get some kind of information out of her as to who I was dealing with here. "I assume you know him well."

"Mr. Morelli?" She shrugged. "I know him as well as anyone could, I guess. He gives me free rein around his house, and honestly doesn't care if I use his pool during my break. I can watch TV while I'm fixing dinner. FaceTime with my mom. Whatever. But otherwise, he keeps things pretty business-like."

"You know he's monitoring everything you say and do here, right?" I watched her over the rim of my cup as I took a sip of my coffee. It was still hot, and really good.

"Pfft." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air. "Of course. But that's fine. If he wants to listen in to my mom talking about her hemorrhoids, that's his prerogative."

I almost spit out my coffee. Carefully, I swallowed and then started coughing as Lisa grinned at me.

"It's true, though. That's about as exciting as our conversations get."

"Should you even be talking to me?" Immediately, I threw up one hand so she didn't get the wrong idea. "I mean, won't you get in trouble?"

Lisa shrugged. "I don't know. Mr. Morelli hasn't ever kidnapped anyone before." Before I could expound on the look of disbelief that had to be written all over my face, she nodded. "Yeah. I know he took you against your will. And all I'm going to tell you is unless you have a death wish, you won't try to escape, because you won't make it. And as for our talking, I'm sure he'll let me know if he doesn't want me doing it."

"Aren't you scared of him?" I asked. Her blasé attitude about it all both fascinated me and pissed me off.

"I don't give him a reason to scare me," she answered in a serious tone. "I do as he tells me to do without question, and he pays me some serious money to work in his home."

"Do you live here or somewhere else?"

"Oh no, I live in my own house about forty-five minutes away with my husband and our dog."

The look on my face must've told her I found that hard to believe, for she elaborated. "We both had to sign an NDA in order for me to work here. And Mr. Morelli interviewed us both himself and did background checks." She paused. "Actually, it was a little more intense than that. He knows everything there is to know about us, along with our friends and our families."

I understood then. She would never rat him out because he would go after people she cared about. "You don't worry about his enemies coming after you? Breaking into your house?"

She looked down at her hands, linked together on her lap. "I do." Then she looked back up at me. "But I'm treated well here. He's generous with time off. And with my paycheck. Mr. Morelli makes my life much easier in a lot of ways, and to me it's worth the risk because I know he'll take every precaution to make sure nothing happens to us."

Money. Of course. It's what makes the world go round these days.

"Would you like a tour of the house after you get dressed?"

I'd already wandered around a bit by myself the night before. That's how I'd found Luca in the gym, beating the shit out of that punching bag. But it would be better than staying cooped up in here alone. And maybe I could get some more information out of Lisa. Something that would help me either get out of here, or at the very least, live through this experience. "Sure. That would be nice. Thanks."

She got up. "Take your time finishing your coffee. When you're ready, just come find me in the kitchen. It's down the stairs, across the great room, and through the doorway to your right."

"I'll find you."

Lisa smiled. "See you in a bit." Then she let herself out of the room.

After she was gone, I took another shower, wanting to wash Luca's smell off of me after sleeping next to him in his bed all night. Even with the bathroom door locked, I jumped at every little noise—real or imagined— thinking it was him barging in. Something as insignificant as a lock wouldn't keep him out. I knew this in my gut. But I locked that damned door anyway. If nothing else, it would let him know I preferred to be alone.

This time I was able to appreciate the luxury of steaming hot water hitting the back of my neck and shoulders with just enough pressure, the stunning view of the lake from the window across from me on the far side of the bathtub, and the warmth of the floors and towels when I got out. Much as I would’ve liked to linger under the spray and imagine I was anywhere but where I was, I didn't dare take too long. It didn't matter to me that Luca had already seen everything there was to see of my body. Last night I was hurt, both physically and emotionally, and running on my instinct to survive. Today, I was still running on that instinct, and it didn’t include providing a peep show for my kidnapper.

Five minutes later, I was dressed in another plain black T-shirt and a pair of gray cotton gym shorts I'd found in one of Luca's drawers. My hair wet and my feet bare, I went to find Lisa to get my tour of the property and see what other information I could weasel out of her.

And try to get together a plan to escape.