Page 18 of Death

He leans down until I’m able to see the chat, and my eyes greedily fly over the words.

Grace: How are you?

Ciara: I’m okay. How are you?

Grace: Very happy. I’m busy making dinner. Roast chicken with the cauliflower and cheese sauce you love so much. It made me think of you.

Instead of giving me the device, Nolan types a reply on my behalf.

Ciara: I’m jealous.

Grace: Why don’t you come to visit? I can ask Dominik. Or maybe I can meet you somewhere. It’s been months since we’ve seen each other. I miss you.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he taunts me before he types a reply.

Ciara: I’m busy right now. Maybe in a month or two?

Grace: Is everything okay?

No! I’m in hell, Grace. I can’t take it anymore. I’m losing my mind.

Ciara: Yes!!! Totally. I’m just getting ready to go out and have friends waiting. I’ll talk to you later.

He turns off the phone, then sets it down on the floor right in front of me. Before I can reach for it, the heel of his boot smashes into the screen. With horror, the last hope I had that Grace would realize something is wrong and come looking for me evaporates.

An intense loneliness wraps around me, the dark shroud weighing a ton and forcing my head to lower.

I suck in a shaky breath, and when I exhale, I wish it was my last breath.

Nolan takes hold of my chin and forces me to tilt my head back as he brings the sandwich to my mouth.

“Eat,” he orders, a sadistic look darkening his eyes.

Maybe I should just rile him up so he’ll kill me and get it over with. But I don’t think he’ll take things that far. He’ll just beat me.

I automatically take bites until he feels I’ve eaten enough, then I’m allowed to drink the usual glass of water he holds to my lips.

I remain kneeling with my broken phone in front of me while Nolan cleans the kitchen, then he takes hold of my arm and pulls me to my feet.

Locking eyes with me, the sadistic look is replaced with affection. “Now that Grace can’t bother us anymore, I’ll have all your attention to myself.”

He leans his head down and presses his mouth to mine. I stand frozen while he proceeds to kiss me, his tongue invading my mouth. The taste of tuna mayonnaise makes my stomach roll with queasy waves, and I wonder if he would snap and kill me if I vomited into his mouth.

Chapter 6

SANTIAGO

Sitting out by the pool, I look at the horizon as the sun comes up.

I’ve been so busy the past year, but I always make time to sit on the veranda during the early morning hours so I can watch the sun rise.

At least all the hard work is paying off. I’ve formed an alliance with four powerful people. Dominik Varga, the biggest arms dealer, who’s quickly becoming a trusted and close friend. Leo Toscano, the head of the Italian Mafia. Enzo Oliveira, who’s in charge of a syndicate in Portugal, and Cassia Dimitrou, the head of the Greek Mafia.

A while back, we all bought an island together and built nothing short of a fortress slash resort on it that acts as a safe haven for us. Situated just off the coast of Chile, it’s not too far from my home here in Peru.

I grin when I think of the house I bought in Chile for Dominik and his wife, Grace, a few months ago. It was a token of how much I value our friendship.

I also grew closer to Cassia after she married one of my friends, Knight. The man suffered after losing his sister to sex trafficking, and seeing him happily married to Cassia brings a smile to my face. He now lives in Greece with her, and I don’t hear from him as often anymore, but I still see him whenever the alliance has meetings on the island.