Matteo cocks his head to the side, drumming his fingers against his chin. “And why would he steal your precious little girlfriend?”
“Because he’s been looking for her for ten years… I don’t know why, but I know he plans to use her for something. He claims it’s your fault that he wants her dead, but I haven’t figured out the connection yet.”
“Interesting…so this girl, he assumes I know her?”
I nod. “But we won’t be able to figure out how or why until we get her back.”
A spark of curiosity fills his eyes, and I know I’ve hooked him.
“Fine. I’ll help, but you’ll be indebted to me, Zane. Indebted till I say otherwise.”
Hope springs in my chest. I don’t care what it is, or what he needs me to do. I’ll do it. All that matters is Dove. My sweet Dove.
“Fine, just help me find her.”
25
My bones are aching, every muscle in my body is stiff. My whole body is sore, and there is a permanent crater, an ache in my chest, that’s accompanied by a never-ending emptiness. I’m so exhausted, my body and mind.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been here or how much longer I can take this. There are no windows, and the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling is always on. Someone brings me food, but the times are not regular. I know because sometimes I’m so hungry, my stomach is rumbling, and a pit of pain fills my belly.
Of course, it’s nothing compared to the pain of losing Zane… William. I still can’t wrap my mind around it. How did I not see it before? How could I have been so blind? He wasn’t the boy I thought died all those years ago, but he still made me feel safe all the same. I should have known. Now I’ve lost him all over again.
Wiping the tears off my cheek with the back on my hand, I stare at the same wall I’ve been looking at for the last few days. I’ve counted every brick, memorized every crack because I have nothing else to do. Nothing to keep me sane.
The room I’ve been kept in only holds a dirty mattress, a thin blanket, and a bucket in the corner for when no one is there to take me to the bathroom. So far, that’s the only time I’m allowed out of my cell—to go to the bathroom down the hall. I know I’m in some basement, a heavily guarded basement, but that’s pretty much all I know.
I still don’t understand why Christian is keeping me here, why he wants me in the first place, or what he is going to do to me next. All I know is that it can’t be good. The days blend together. Night and day. I’m terrified of the unknown. Of what’s to come.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrap my arms around them, hugging myself tightly as if that would somehow keep me from falling further apart. Letting myself sink down onto the mattress, I curl up in the fetal position.
The rusty springs beneath me dig into my side, but the pain is only minimal. Forcing it away, I close my eyes and try to pretend I’m somewhere else… anywhere else.
Funny to think how I felt like a prisoner in the apartment, Zane kept me in. The whole time I was there, I tried to get out. What I wouldn’t give to be back there right now? To be locked away, safe and sound from the world. Locked away with Zane by my side.
Another sob wracks through my body, leaving me a shaking mess. A sound from outside my cell has me quieting down in an instant. I sit up straight and wipe away the tears with the back of my hand. If they come in, I don’t want to look vulnerable. I’m not giving them the pleasure of seeing me cry. It’s something small I’m holding on to, the one thing I’m not going to give up easily.
A key enters the lock, the mechanical of it fills my ears. The door is unlocked and opened a moment later, and one of the men who has been guarding me appears in the doorway.
“Time to come out and take a piss,” he growls. “Unless you prefer to go in the bucket?”
It doesn’t warrant a response. Pushing myself off the dirty mattress, I get up and walk toward him on shaky legs. He hasn’t touched me, other than jerking me around by my arm when he takes me out of the cell. Which I’m thankful for, but the way he looks at me is enough to make shivers of disgust skate down my spine. Like I’m some piece of hanging meat that he’ll eventually be able to take a bite of.
Creep.
He drags me down the hall and shoves me into the bathroom. I close the door behind me, grateful for the privacy. There is no window in here either, so it’s not like I can go anywhere. I do my business quickly, so I have a minute to wash up, and because the last thing I want is for him to walk in on me with my pants down. I splash water on my face until he opens the door and wraps a mammoth hand around my arm, tugging me out of the closet-sized bathroom.
“Dinner will be here in a little bit. My men eat first, and you’ll get the leftovers… if we have some. Unless you want to eat now? I’ll let you sit on my lap, and you can eat all you want.” He grins, and the look in his eyes tells me he is anything but joking. He’s serious and while I’m hungry. I’m not hungry enough to take him up on that offer.
“I’ll wait,” I mumble.
The guy starts laughing like the whole thing is funny to him. I feel like anything but. I feel like screaming, crying, and destroying this place with my bare hands if I could.
His laughter is suddenly cut off when the sound of some commotion carries through the long hallway. I can’t see anything, the brute’s oversized body blocking my view, but I hear the ringing of guns off in the distance.
What the hell?
“Fucking shit!” The guy with the death grip on my upper arm growls as he starts walking faster, dragging me right along with him. He moves me like a rag doll, my legs barely making it possible for me to keep up with him.
Then something hits me. I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t even think. I just react. Normally, I don’t fight him, but something about this moment tells me I should. Digging my heels into the ground, I try to slow him down.
I start struggling in his hold, hoping to get away from him, but all he does is pick me up like I’m a stubborn child. He throws me into my cell, and I land on my back against the cold hard floor. My bones rattle, and the impact knocks the air out of my lungs.
The door is slammed shut before I can get back on my feet, and the guy walks away. It takes me a moment to stand up, but when I do, I rush to the door and hold my ear to it.
For the next few minutes, I hear men fighting, more guns going off, and then silence. When I don’t hear anything at all for a few seconds, I realize that no matter what’s happening, no matter who saves me, good or bad, I need to get out of here.
If they leave me here, I will starve to death in this cell. I can’t die yet. I refuse to let my life amount to this.
“Help! I’m in here, please, help!” I yell at the top of my lungs while banging my fists against the metal door. It rattles only a little bit beneath my harsh raps. “Anyone, please! I’m begging you, please, save me!”
It feels like I’ve been banging on the door forever when I finally hear someone approaching. The footsteps are muffled through the door, but I know whoever it is, isn’t going to be good. The door is unlocked, and I step back toward the center of the room. Even if I wanted to hide, I’d have nowhere to go.