Page 4

CHAPTER

FOUR

ADALYN

“ W ow, you look like shit.” Jesse whistled as I walked into the garden room the next morning.

“Thanks, asshole.” I muttered on reflex.

My lifetime of submissiveness seemingly smothered in only one hundred and twenty hours.

Part of me said it was survival, but a bigger part of me knew I had always been this way—audacious and strong-willed. It had just been beaten out of me. Trampled on until my instinct was no longer to assert my opinion, but to bend to the wills of others. It wasn’t tolerated in the Cosa Nostra: women having an opinion on their lives. After all, who were we to question the will of men?

It was why I had always felt like I didn’t belong. Like I was a square peg being forced into a round hole half its size. It's funny how being trapped in this cage had also made me feel free. Perhaps not physically…but in other ways.

Troubled by that thought, I settled into the same chair I had commandeered the previous morning and poured myself a coffee.

“Couldn’t sleep? You didn’t have nightmares about Hannibal Lecter, did you?” Jesse mocked, bringing his own cup of black coffee to his lips.

I flipped him the bird and took a bite of the warm, syrup covered pancake that was already laid out for me.

“You need to try and keep your head down today, Adalyn.” Jesse’s serious tone caught my attention. “There are visitors coming to the house this afternoon, and it would be wise to stay out of their way.”

His tone was ominous enough for me to decide that the meeting wasn’t going to be a good one.

“Does it have something to do with the ransom?” I tried my best to sound nonchalant.

“Yes and no,” He responded airily, shoving a load of bacon into his mouth and refusing to continue.

Realizing that Jesse had already told me more than any other person in this godforsaken house—or rather mansion —I dared to ask another question. “Do you know what is going on with it?”

“We’re in talks. That’s all I know.”

I nodded and pretended to look bored while a small bubble of hope erupted in my chest.

Jesse finished up before jumping out of his seat and shrugging into his black blazer. “Right, I’ve got to get security tightened before the visit. If you need me, just ask someone to radio me.”

“Tighten security? I thought you were my babysitter,” I yelled after him. He stopped at the door to shoot me a look.

“Babysitter? No, Bandit. I’m head of security.” He winked at me before exiting.

I sighed into the now silent room.

My babysitter was head of security...

It felt a bit excessive but made sense given I was effectively a fugitive within the Don’s family home. It also wasn’t that surprising given the death-glares I frequently got from the meat-head Mafiosos that paraded the halls.

A chill ran down my spine realizing that most of them probably fantasized about killing me.

I ate the rest of my breakfast alone, running through fictional scenarios on how to defend myself should any of the lackeys decide they’d had enough of me. Even if Marco had given them a direct order…one could never be too careful.

After about half an hour, Lucia came in to clear the table, and I jumped on the opportunity to ask her for a tour around the mansion, secretly praying she would keep me company for at least some of the day. To my intense relief, she accepted the invitation.

As it turned out, the mansion was set over three main floors. The basement housed a cinema, commercial kitchen for events, a gym, and indoor pool complete with a sauna and jacuzzi area. On the first floor, there were four beautifully decadent living spaces, a formal dining hall as well as numerous other rooms, some of which I had already been in. The top floor consisted of over six guest bedrooms with luxury on-suites, without Jesse’s or mine included in that figure.

The entire upstairs East wing housed rooms belonging solely to Don La Torre. Lucia only gestured to the ornate, polish wood doors I had stood before the previous night, and I was somewhat grateful we didn’t venture inside.

We then stepped outside, exiting through the garden room veranda to walk the grounds of the home. There was an outdoor pool, numerous formal garden spaces, as well as a large, terraced area that was designed for hosting large family gatherings. By the end, I was in total awe of the place—not only by the sheer size of the property, but by the eye-watering wealth that saturated its walls.

I had once considered my family extremely rich, especially prior to our move from Las Vegas to Boulder…but this? This made my family look like mere street peddlers.

This was wealth in a league unto its own.

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed my time with Lucia. She had a motherly, warm way about her, and I couldn’t help but feel reassured with her mere presence by my side walking through the mansion’s halls. If someone as gentle as Lucia could survive here, then it meant there was a chance Jesse was right about Don La Torre not being entirely monstrous in how he managed the family business.

When she left for the kitchen, I skipped upstairs to ‘my’ room and found a neon pink bikini amongst one of the many drawers in the closet. I quickly changed and threw on a sheer black cover up with some sandals before raiding the bathroom for a large towel, content to spend my day by the pool. I headed back outside to one of the rattan loungers by the pool and set down my various items, stretching out and basking in the blazing midday sun.

After only thirty minutes, the heat had started to become suffocating, and I decided it was time to take a dip into the water. The pool was cool and refreshing as I swam several laps along its length before floating idly along the surface a while.

After I had cooled down sufficiently, I heaved myself onto the side and laid back against the hot stone.

I wonder if there are any inflatables ? —

A shadow stretched over me.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

My eyes jolted open in surprise.

I gulped when I saw whose shadow it was.

The Don stood over me, hands on his hips in an obvious display of exasperation. He was glaring and if looks could kill…then this man could have had the world on its knees in less than thirty seconds.

Heat that didn’t entirely originate from the sun lit my skin ablaze.

“Do you ever say anything else?” I asked absentmindedly, like my stomach wasn’t doing nervous somersaults at his sudden presence.

Despite the heat, he was wearing the same outfit I had seen him in before: black slacks and a black, collared shirt. The only difference now was that the cuffs of his shirt were rolled to his elbows, revealing two muscular forearms that were covered in intricate black ink.

I pulled my sunglasses down slightly, raking my eyes over his body in a way that was intended to unnerve him.

“You know you would be quite handsome if you ever stopped scowling.” I said as acerbically as I could.

Men rarely looked bored when surveying me. I wasn’t exactly Margot Robbie , but my toned waist and bubble butt weren’t wholly uninspiring, especially when I was in a skimpy-ass bikini like I was right now…and yet, I had seen flies look more interested. I swallowed back my irritation.

“I wouldn’t have to scowl if you just behaved.” His voice was as bland as his face.

“What is your problem? I’m not doing anything!”

He was being completely impossible.

“The problem is that I have some… difficult visitors arriving in a few minutes and you are pissing about in a bikini.” His words were calm, but I could hear an undercurrent of anger seeping through.

I looked down at my bathing suit, inspecting it. It was a cute pink string set and while it did leave little to the imagination, it concealed all the important parts of my body.

“There is nothing wrong with my bikini.” I protested, crossing my arms angrily while glaring up at him.

“Oh, really? Because that there,”—he pointed over his shoulder to one of the nearby windows—“is my office and I can assure you that it hasn’t covered up a whole lot since you got out here.” His lips twitched as if he found that information humorous somehow.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment.

The Don’s gaze suddenly dropped from my face, roaming down my neck before settling on my chest. He quirked a brow and I glanced down.

Frustratingly, my crossed arms had disturbed the material of my bikini, revealing the dusky pink of my nipple.

“Perv,” I muttered and yanked the material back into place.

His gaze fell to the side, and he smirked before picking up my towel and tossing it at me.

“Go inside. Now.” He ordered, smirk vanishing as quickly as it came.

I huffed, lifting my legs out of the pool and rose to my feet. I marched over to the lounger to collect my things, anger simmering to a boil when I felt his judgmental glare brush against my skin.

Unable, or perhaps unwilling, to restrain my searing temper, my smart mouth opened before any sense of self-preservation could kick in, “Whatever, Marco. Fuck you.”

I held my breath and prayed that the ground would swallow me up and take me straight to hell, or perhaps a plane would fall out of the sky and hit the yard, but it was too late. The words were out of my idiotic—apparently suicidal —mouth.

Moron .

One second. Two sec?—

His hand latched onto the back of my neck, yanking me around to face him viciously. The Don’s furious face was suddenly only inches from my own. His depthless coal eyes piercing me to my soul.

I didn’t dare meet them, dropping my gaze to his prominent and closely shaved—but stupid, definitely stupid —jawline.

“What was that?”

His words were as lethal as a razor and in that moment, I got a flavor of what it would feel like to die by this man’s hand. It felt like all-consuming power and smelled like rich spice.

“Speak to me with disrespect again and I’ll?—"

“Kill me?” I interrupted.

I knew that he couldn’t. That he needed me alive in order to broker this deal with my family and to avoid an all-out war…and if Jesse had been right, too…then that meant the hot-headed Don before me didn’t have any real intention of hurting me. It was an empty threat…and judging by the muscle ticking in his jaw, my guess was right, and he knew it.

“There are fates worse than death, Ada.”

Ada?

My heart stuttered at the word, but I quickly recovered. I couldn’t allow myself to analyze that right now. Not with his firm hand still wrapped around my throat and his threat lingering in my ears.

“Yes, there are,” I agreed. “But you wouldn’t do that to me would you, Marco?” I cooed, much like a lover would.

I did it to provoke him, to set him off or make him uncomfortable, but once again, his expression remained unaffected and cold.

And yet… hidden away in those opaque irises swirled something. Exactly what that something was though, I didn’t know.

I wasn’t sure who was winning this game, but I felt an odd sense of satisfaction seep into my blood as his hand dropped from my neck, falling to his side.

It was made all the sweeter when I felt his gaze lingering on me as I pulled away and walked the path back toward the house.

I was getting under his skin whether he liked it or not.

Trouble was, he was also getting beneath mine.

After my encounter with Don La Torre at the pool, I stayed in my room like he had asked. Thankfully, Lucia brought up a delicious, toasted ciabatta roll to keep me from starving, and I washed it down with some fresh lemonade. I took a bath shortly after, pampering myself with some lotions I found in a cupboard and stuck on the television while I lounged on my bed.

Three episodes into a new true crime documentary, Jesse came barging into the room and collapsed unceremoniously beside me.

I laughed at the stupid expression he wore. “Meeting over?”

“Over,” He confirmed. “What the fuck are you watching?”

“It’s a true crime documentary. You should really try watching things other than porn sometimes, Jesse,” I teased.

“Na, I’m good.” He grinned. “Boss wants to see you in his study.” He added, picking up the remote and flicking off the show.

I sighed.

Guess I’ll be going now then.

Jesse’s eagerness told me that the meeting had been about my ransom, which meant there was a good chance my family could be coming for me, and I would be free soon.

The thought made me both excited and nervous at the same time.

I walked somewhat slowly to the study door, stopping and waiting patiently outside the familiar room for the guards to let me in. It was the same two as before… Layton and Wyatt I think Lucia said their names were. I kept my eyes surreptitiously away from the one I thought was Layton, recalling his snarky remark in the study a few days previous. The other, Wyatt, held open the door and gestured inside.

Just like the first time I came into the room, Don La Torre was sitting behind his desk as I entered. The room smelled of him—like sandalwood and spices.

It was pleasant and masculine…so I breathed through my mouth instead.

A small smile graced the Don’s face as I took a seat opposite him, sending a tingle along my skin and my earlier confidence dithering. That smile made him look boyish and charming…and was infinitely more dangerous than his usual indifference.

“What?” I asked, suddenly nervous.

“Nice hot pants. They are better than a bikini though, I suppose.” He said sardonically.

Crap.

I hadn’t even considered what I was wearing—a pair of gray shorts that more closely resembled underwear and a black crop top. Once again, I was completely underdressed and mentally kicked myself for not realizing it sooner.

I scowled and muttered an insincere “Thanks”.

A moment of uncomfortable silence bubbled between us before I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Is there any news from my family?”

His face soured and his eyes grew tight. “We are still in discussions.”

“Discussions? It’s been days,” I scoffed bitterly.

“These things take time.”

I shook my head in disappointment. I knew my family had enough money or property to pay whatever price the man before me could demand. It meant that there were other factors at play besides that…didn’t it?

I eyed the man before me suspiciously, “You are dragging your heels then. My father would have paid anything to have me back by now. You must want more than money,” I accused.

He let out a cold, humorless laugh. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. There seems to be some resistance between your family members.”

I wasn’t entirely surprised by the news. My family weren’t exactly a harmonious bunch at the best of times. But this…this was undoubtedly the fault of my cousin Leon.

My cousin was an asshole that had infuriated me since the day I was born. To be frank, he was an idiot who used our family’s money to get away with whatever he wanted. Despite that, he had a reputation for being reckless that no amount of money could bury. He was forever bragging about ‘holding the keys to the kingdom’, what with him being the closest male heir and my chances of inheriting being as possible as aliens landing on the pentagon. After all, I was ‘just a woman’ as he so eloquently put it.

In essence—I hated his ass.

But unfortunately for me, my father didn’t. He doted on my moron cousin as if he were the son he never had. Of course, Leon would be the one to question paying. I had no doubt any resistance was coming squarely from him. He probably got my uncles to weigh in on it, too. It was no secret he’d been trying to push me out of the family or marry me off since I was eighteen.

I guess he saw now as his opportunity.

“Fucking Leon,” I muttered.

“There should be more progress in the next few days,” The Don offered. His rough voice sounded softer somehow, but then a scowl marred his features, and I thought maybe I’d imagined it.

He collected his phone from the desk and started texting away on it.

I pursed my lips. “Is that it? Is that all you called me in here for?”

“Yes,” Came his terse response as he continued on his phone.

How would someone who was valuable to them respond to that?

I swallowed back my anxiety and levelled my gaze, determined to maintain my ruse.

I forced indifference into my tone. “I’ve been here for days, and I’m bored. I want my phone back.”

“No.” His response was immediate. No hesitation whatsoever.

“It’s not like I can ask for help, I don’t even know where I am!” I protested, getting to my feet.

“You’re in Chicago and you can’t have your phone back because I’m using it.”

Chicago ? How the hell did I get to Chicago without realizing it? Then I remembered how groggy I had felt on my first day here, and it all made sense. They had drugged me .

Then my cheeks warmed as I processed the second half of his sentence. If he had been using my phone to broker the ransom…hopefully that had been all he was doing on my phone.

I turned on my heel to leave, unable to hide my embarrassment.

“Your boyfriend Jason hasn’t called if that is what you are worried about.”

I froze mid-step. Dark humor lilted his words, and I all but choked on the oxygen in my lungs.

“ Not my boyfriend,” I corrected.

“All these pictures suggest otherwise.”

I swung back round with a jolt.

He now had what was obviously my phone in his hand and was scrolling obnoxiously through it. That stupid, heart fluttering smile of his pulling at the edge of his lips.

My heart thudded in my ears as I fought to control my unease. I had no need to feel it. There wasn’t anything on my phone but naughty lingerie shots… and I knew I looked hot as hell in them or else I wouldn’t have sent them to Jason. The thought was enough to allow my unease to ebb away into a languid self-assurance.

I crossed my arms, with faux annoyance. “Pervert. And it’s called a fuckbuddy .”

His eyebrow raised in quiet question.

Clearly, he wasn’t expecting me to be so flagrant about sex, but I wasn’t in the mood to play the Virgin Mary when on enemy turf—even if it was frowned upon. He also didn’t have to know that it was a bold-ass lie .

“Well, enjoy rubbing one out over my nudes,” I said sardonically. “Oh, and speaking of weird sexual fetishes, please tell your pet banshee to keep it down in future. I thought an animal was dying in the halls. Terrible noises…”

I turned back on my heel as I saw his head fly up in surprise.

My comment had caught him off guard and hit its intended target.

Feeling very much like I had won another round with the most powerful man I had ever encountered; I smirked the whole way back to my room.