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Domenico Eleven
I wasn’t sure how many petals a rose held, but I guessed somewhere between thirty and fifty. More than half the petals were gone, and I began to wonder what would happen when the last petal fell.A pit formed in my stomach as I looked at the number of men. Something had shifted and Domenico’s crew had either surged in membership, or they were all converging on that building.Most of them were familiar faces that I’d at least seen before, but out of the more than twenty men around, there were one or two I didn’t recognize.All day I’d watched, listened, and waited. Even Marco seemed on edge as he sent men out on different jobs. Domenico had been gone for almost the whole day, and I vibrated without him near.The increase of testosterone had led to a few scuffles, and my anxiety increased as the day progressed. There was a safety I’d begun to feel with Domenico, but when he wasn’t around I felt a darkness stirring.He arrived late in the afternoon, but if it wasn’t for the s
Domenico Twelve
In the days that followed, I spent more time out of my cage and chained up close to Domenico. The atmosphere held more tension than usual, even with fewer men.The rumble beneath the surface was obviously unusual, especially because I’d seen both the fear and reverence for la Bestia. The atmosphere created a buzzing in my veins, an anxiety of what would happen when it came to a head.Domenico entered the room carrying a box. It was evident by the flex of his muscles that it had some heft. It clanged when he dropped it to the ground near me.“What’s that?” I asked, but as usual I received no response.A groan left me when he released my arms from the shackles, but when I stood, he pulled me to a stool and sat me down. He handed me a sandwich and drink that were sitting on top of the box, then stepped to the doorway. It was just a blink that he wasn’t watching, a blink that I was fractionally free, but with a small window and no level of real strength, there was no use even t
Domenico Thirteen
I stared up at him, my brain trying to process his words. My gaze bounced between his eyes, confusion flooding me. What was he talking about?I had less than two seconds to decide what my response was. Go or stay? And which was the right answer?Did I trust him enough to leave? Or was he simply dragging me to another level of hell?The silence made up my mind. There was nobody around, not even Marco. We were alone.He slipped my shoes on as I sat up, then pulled me to my feet.His hand sat in the space between us. I looked from it to his eyes and made my decision—I slipped my hand in his.“Why are you helping me?” I asked as we raced across the open space to the door leading to the fire escape.“Because I’m your knight in fucking black armor, princess. Now let’s go before they notice your cage is empty.”My muscles were stiff, and his arm wrapped around my waist to help hold me up while we descended the stairs.There were a couple of beat-up cars in the gravel lot, inc
Domenico Fourteen
The next day I was feeling better. While not the healthiest, pizza was definitely higher in nutrition than my sandwiches. By noon I had managed to eat three slices. I also drank and drank and drank. Dehydration was part of my issues, it turned out.The more food and water I was able to get in me, the better.Domenico was different. Still dominant and grating, but now his touch set me on fire. I knew more, understood why.He was not a sadist. He was my savior.“He told me to do whatever it took to keep you safe.”Whatever to keep me safe included how he had to hurt me, because the alternative was far worse.“How long are we going to be here?” I asked, nibbling on the crust of the last piece I’d gotten down. Even full, I felt a surge of energy that I hadn’t felt in weeks.His lips formed a thin line. “I’m still working out a plan.”“You planned out the whole escape, didn’t you?”He nodded. “But there wasn’t time to plan past this point. There are those loyal to me who in
Domenico Fifteen
Sex was so much better after I admitted how much I wanted him. After he told me how much he needed me.For three days we’d remained locked in the hotel room. There were many hours that he kept watch out the window while I read one of the books I’d picked up from my apartment. I’d finished Domenico’s War and Peace while still in my cage and I was ravenous to read more.Oh, how I’d missed reading. I was elated to read again.“Isn’t your car conspicuous?” I asked as he stared out the window.“It’s not there.”I blinked and turned to him. I knew it was a bad neighborhood, but wow. “Someone stole it?”He gave a small shake of his head. “The motel owner has it in a storage garage in the back.”“Do you trust him?”“Not particularly, but a grand in hand and no questions were asked.”Based on his car and his status, money didn’t seem to be much of an issue for him. He was paid well. “So your little gang…what does it do for Ferrante?”His brow furrowed. “Why do you ask?”“From
Domenico Sixteen
The weight of Domenico’s arm around my waist along with his chest pressed against my back gave me the best night sleep I’d had in a long time. The bed was shitty and hard, but the safety I felt lulled me into a deep sleep.I stared at the drab walls with the dirty, peeling wallpaper and waited, snug in his embrace, for him to wake up.His arm flexed, pulling me tighter to him.For days we’d been holed up in that small motel room.My strength had greatly improved with the increase in calories and fluid. My skin no longer looked like a corpse. My eyes were no longer encircled by darkness. Even my weight had begun to bounce back a little.After five days, the biggest secret had been revealed. We were both part of the same family organization, only I was a deserter. That was why my treatment was different.Later in the day, I was reading when a question that nagged at me sprang forth. “That Russian girl was only there a few days. Why was I given a rose and she wasn’t?”He lo
Domenico Seventeen
When we got off the interstate, we were still alone. The anxiety that one of them was going to suddenly pop out had me still clutching the door so hard my hand hurt, but I couldn’t let go.The area shifted, no longer dirty and run down—everything was pristine and well-manicured.The Northbrook neighborhood I grew up in was still marked by massive mansions with a few smaller, older homes mixed in. Many of them had been torn down to have the giant structures replace them.My stomach knotted at the wrought-iron fencing, and I took a deep breath before I stared up at the stone facade, noticing how little had changed in three years.My hands shook as we pulled up to the house that I had once called home. It was the property my father purchased when he’d climbed his way higher into the organization. A veritable fortress, a gilded cage.As soon as we stepped out of the car, there were half a dozen men outside, half of them with their hands on their guns. I recognized the man in f
Domenico Eighteen
It had been years since I’d been cut off from my mother’s family, and there was one man I knew who would help. My only hope was that I could reach him before his men opened fire on us. Thankfully we were only about ten minutes away.“Stay with me. Please,” I said as I bit back tears.Nearly a decade had passed since I’d visited, but I still knew the way. My mother had made sure of it. She’d even made a song of it, a rhyme. It was a little like “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” but with street names. Maybe she knew one day I would need him and that was how I would remember.The estate was larger than I recalled but held more warm memories than my father’s house. A tall stone-and-iron fence surrounded the property and the gate was open, one guard in the shack, but there was no time to stop.It had been so long since I’d last seen my grandfather. Would he recognize me? The years apart were not by my choice, but the tighter my father wound the leash around my mother’s neck, t
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