Semua Bab Taken by the Mafia King: Bab 271 - Bab 280

TommasoI paced back and forth in the main sitting room in the guest wing, trying to enjoy the sweeping Byzantine arches I’d requested instead of worrying about what was going on the bedroom down the hall. Dr. Martinez had told me on the way in that she thought a private area would be important for the check-up, but that she didn’t think it should be the bedroom Paige would be sleeping in long-term so as not to form immediate bad memories. I’d sent her all the way down the hall, as far from the guestroom with the kitchenette as I could manage, had Olivia show Natalia the kitchen so they could talk through Paige’s favorite foods, and immediately posted up here with my scotch. It sat, untouched, on a mosaic coffee table. I couldn’t risk letting my guard down with Paige in my house for the very first time.I wanted to be excited to be home, wanted to run around seeing how all my designs turned out, but my every thought bent toward her and what nightmares Dr. Martinez might be uncovering.

PaigeThe kitchen, like every other room in Tommaso’s house, looked nothing like anything I’d seen before. High, light-wood ceilings with exposed beams loomed over a terracotta floor and butcherblock countertops of the same wood as the ceiling. Glass French doors showed a terracotta porch. I sucked in a deep breath and got a lungful of rich, buttery caramel and chocolate.Memories washed over me, but for the first time in a long time, they were happy ones. Saturday mornings, making my favorite caramel-chocolate chip cookies with my mom to the tune of Dad’s old Rat Pack records. She would croon along with Sinatra over the whirring of the hand mixer, and I would try to hit the lowest notes I could hear until both of us collapsed in giggles. Dad would always take advantage of our distraction to steal a spoonful of dough or a cookie from the cooling rack, so hot he puffed little dragon-breaths to keep from burning himself while Mom and I only laughed harder.I sagged against the wall, tea

PaigeThe bastard loomed over me. Something in his hand caught the light and shone with the sharpness of a well-honed blade. My body ached and burned.“You stupid bitch,” he growled. “I can’t believe you thought you could get away.”If this one didn’t kill me, the next one would, or the next one. Tears spilled down my cheeks in tracks of fire. For every tear I shed, another part of my body lit up with pain.“Stop fucking crying,” he hissed. “You’re having the time of your life.”I sobbed, and I burned.Then, out of nowhere, another man entered the room, knocking off my attacker. Panic continued to wash over me as he carried me away.***I gasped in a breath and shot up. Where the fuck was I? Tall, thin windows showed a view of the night sky which matched a painting on the ceiling. Soft, cream-colored sheets slid under my legs. My legs were clothed in sweatpants I’d gotten out of a catalogue in high school.The events of the last few days snapped back into place. Tommaso. The plane rid

PaigeI opened my eyes to find the sun well over the horizon, much later than I usually slept when I’d had a choice about when to get up. I blinked, feeling sleep crusted in the corners of my eyes. My mouth was dry, and my thoughts fogged. What happened last night? Was the medicine messing me up? I remembered having the dream, Tom coming in, and then…nothing. No more dreams, at least.I sat up and stretched. All my muscles burned, and as I rubbed my eyes, I spotted a throw blanket spread across the biggest of the tiny couches in the room.My face heated as the rest of the night clicked into place. I’d grabbed him, on purpose, and begged him to stay. After I’d pushed him away a thousand times, I’d relied on him to be here so I could go back to sleep. What had I been thinking?Had he stayed the whole night?I didn’t care. I got up, ignoring the aches, and headed for the massive ensuite bathroom I’d discovered the day before. The bathroom was full of girly-smelling soaps and shampoos, it

PaigeI curled my knees into my chest and stared out through the narrow windows at the yard. Now that I knew it was there, I could just make out the shine of afternoon sun on the duck pond, hidden amongst the trees. My days had begun passing in a cycle of sleeping, staring out the window, and trudging down to the kitchen at mealtimes to eat some of the best food I’d ever had in my life. It was dead boring, but after the last few months, I wouldn’t mind never being excited again.Someone knocked on the door, and my heart stuttered. He almost never visited in the middle of the day.God, what was I thinking? Tom was just the latest bastard. He’d made that clear over the last few days. Sure, he slept on my couch at night, but other than that, I barely saw him outside of the kitchen. Not that I wanted to see him, anyway. It was just a big change from the constant contact of Cairo.And anyway, Tom didn’t knock like that.“Mom?” I called.The door opened, and Sera Bianchi stepped in wearing