166

Blood… so much blood. I shout—Mikey! Joey! Daddy! Momma! The blood is everywhere. They’re not moving. It’s like they’re asleep with their eyes open. WHY WON’T THEY WAKE UP!?
My dress is drenched in red. It’s my favorite one. Momma said daddy thinks I look pretty in this dress.
I’m terrified!
WAKE UP!
I’m alone! I don’t… I don’t know what to do!
SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!
Don’t leave me alone…
WAKE UP, MIKEY!
WAKE UP!
Please… please wake up…
I jolt awake, flipping around so quickly it feels like I might get whiplash!
“Whoa!” It’s Antonio, one of the guys from yesterday. He’s sitting beside me on the bed. Damn, that wasn’t a dream. “You were having a nightmare. You were crying and talking in your sleep.”
I rub my eyes, “I’d ask if I said anything embarrassing, but at this point, who cares, right?”
He chuckles softly. “You slept through the night. I tried waking you for dinner, but you didn’t wake up. It’s morning now. I need to head to work, but I thought I’d check on you first. I brought some breakfast.” He gestures to a tray on the nightstand. It looks like something from a fancy restaurant or hotel—not that I’ve ever stayed in one.
I sit up and take in the room. Antonio opens the curtains, letting in bright sunlight. I shield my eyes.
He grins, “You didn’t look around the room last night?”
“I think it was the bourbon.”
The room is enormous. There’s thick, plush carpet, a four-poster bed, a vanity, and a balcony with a view, complete with a table and chairs. There’s a big screen TV on the wall with couches around it, and I can see the entrance to a fancy bathroom.
It feels more like a hotel suite than a bedroom.
“You really should eat something,” Antonio says as he removes the silver dome from a plate, revealing scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
I smile, “How did you know?”
“Every time Jax stayed in the city, you had breakfast at the diner where you work. This is what you usually had.”
Too late to act surprised. Vincent said he’d been watching me for months. “I had it because it was free,” I reply with a smile, “not because I preferred it.”
“Well, I took a shot,” he strokes my shoulder with care, “you can have anything you like from now on. Call Carlo down in the kitchen, hold #3 on the phone.”

I shoot my brow, “Does the phone dial out?”

He chuckles deep in his chest and gives me a half-grin, “Not yet, we’ll get there, Chelsea.”

Chelsea.“That’s going to take some time—the name.”

“Not as long as you might think. She’s who you’ve always been…and now you know the truth.” He stares into my eyes like he’s trying to convince me.

He’s not bad looking. I guess he must be about forty if I go by wear and tear. He’s got enough scars. He’s about 6 foot, thick and muscled with dark, slicked back hair like his dad, Vincent. He carries himself like a leader.

I do like the day-old stubble. It suits him more than a full beard and won’t shock you when…if…he shaves it off.

“Chelsea?”

I’m daydreaming.I almost laugh. “It’s been a while since someone brought me breakfast in bed.”

He smiles, genuinely, from his eyes…just like his dad—again!“Nice to see you’ve kept your sense of humor.”

“If you can’t laugh at the madness, you’d go crazy, right? I learned that a long time ago.”

He nods, knowingly…perhapstooknowingly. He sits on the bed and puts his arm around me, “Chelsea, the last sixteen years…”

“Yes?” I like how he’s holding me.

“Sixteen years is a long time. I can’t take it away, go back in time or do anything to erase it, but going forward, your life can be anything you want to make it. I want to help do that for you.”

He means it.I think I smile, honestly…for the first time in alongtime.

“Yesterday, my father shared secrets with you against my better judgement. Secrets that could hurt this family. He trusts you because he loved your father. I knew your father too, as a boy. He was a great man and I want to trust you too.”

“But?”

“But, for now, I don’t want you leaving the grounds. You’ll be chaperoned when you leave your room and I don’t want you contacting anyone outside this family. If you need me or my brothers, phone Carlo and he’ll patch us through.”

“Am I a prisoner?”

“Of course not,” he stands and takes a few steps away, “this is simply a precaution. We’ve brought you into…this thing of ours. Something that’s endured for a hundred years. You need to know how to conduct yourself outside these walls before you’re given free rein. That’s all.”

“Fair enough.” I still don’t know if any of this is real yet or an elaborate prank.

“Have your breakfast, get cleaned up, maybe take a long soak in the tub if you want, then hang out and watch some TV or something. I’ll be back later, alright?” He ends by lovingly caressing my cheek and giving me a kind smile.

He doesn’t wait for a response, he turns and lets himself out of the room. I hear the door lock after he closes it.

Hmm.

I wonder if I can climb down from the balcony?

I eat my breakfast while I watch the news—there was nothing about me being missing on it.

I investigate the bathroom and find that it’s almost bigger than mine and Jax’s apartment in Bedford. That place was such a shithole.

I take a steam shower and get the booze out of my system—I read somewhere that that’s how rich people recover from a night out—and then I take a long soak in the hot-tub.

After that, I take another shower then check out the clothing that’s been supplied.

Everything is a name brand, but do fancy labels on clothes detract from the fact that I’ve essentially been kidnapped? Maybe. No reason to let everything go to waste.
I pick out a pair of jeans, thinking they’ll be durable if I need to make a quick escape, and I should get them broken in. I also grab some good sneakers, a t-shirt, and a denim Jaxet.
I choose dark colors. If I try anything at night, I’ll need to blend in.
After watching more TV, getting bored, and wondering if Christian had Jax castrated, then contemplating whether I should have lunch before deciding I’m not hungry, I decide to check out the balcony.
The view is stunning—an endless expanse of green, rolling meadows, but strangely, no trees.
I’m three stories up, and the drop is significant. Not exactly a place Rapunzel would want to stay, but falling from here would definitely break something.
Maybe if I tie some bed sheets together, I could make a rope and climb down?
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”
I turn around, nearly jumping out of my skin!
It’s Daniel.
Daniel
“The guards would just catch you and bring you right back.”
She has the awkward body language of someone who’s been caught. It’s almost amusing. “I… uh… don’t see any guards out there.”
“That’s the point. Notice how there are no trees?”
She shifts nervously. “Yeah?”
I smile to reassure her. “No place to hide. Don’t worry, it’s to keep people from getting in, not to stop you from getting out.”
We stand there in uncomfortable silence for fifteen seconds until I ask, “May I join you?”
“Join me in doing nothing?”
“Sure.”
“Please,” she gestures to a chair on the balcony.
I’m still struck by how beautiful she is—a true Italian princess. I sit at the table across from her. “How are you adjusting? Anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable?”
She smiles, her eyes sparkling. My gaze lingers on her cupid's bow lips, tanned skin, long dark hair, and chocolate eyes. I find her incredibly attractive. “Comfortable is all I’ve got up here. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much nothing in my whole life!”
Curious, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve either been cleaning, washing, scrubbing, cooking or picking up after people for as long as I can remember. Having nothing to do is kind of weird.”

“Wow. I don’t know what that would be like. I grew up like this.” We share another long silence. If I want her to open up to me, maybe I should open up to her first. “Can I tell you something?”

She raises her brow. “Sure?” she drags out the word uncertainly.

“I’m only one year older than you. My father and my brothers wanted me to go to university. The reason I didn’t is because I grew up wanting to be my brothers.”

She looks at me with confusion. “Why? When you could be anything you wanted?”

“Yeah, but this is the life that I know. Maybe you’ve got it better because you’ve grown up a different way. You haven’t seen the things I’ve seen.”

She squints at me, “I’ve seen plenty.”

Damn. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“What did you mean then?”
I stand up, exhale, and walk over to the balustrade. “Come here.”
She rises with a sigh and joins me at the railing, placing her hands next to mine.
I gesture to the expansive view, “Isn’t it stunning?”
“The view?”
“Yeah, the whole thing.”
“It is,” she turns to me with a smile that feels like watching the sunrise.
“Well,” I clear my throat, “in this family, we have to do some really harsh things. That’s why we surround ourselves with beauty and comfort. Chelsea, you’re our chance to make all the ugliness worthwhile.”
“How’s that?” When she turns to face me, we’re inches apart. I find myself holding my breath as I look into her eyes.
“Because you have the opportunity to use everything we’ve built. You have access to our resources without having to be involved in the ugly aspects of it. You’re not tainted by our past. You’re still pure.” It’s hard to breathe—I’m captivated by her. The words come out as a whisper, “You can create something beautiful. You’re… beautiful.”
Her scent is intoxicating, and an animal instinct is taking over. I feel her breath catch, and I gently turn her so her back is against the railing, positioning myself on either side of her—it just happens. She closes her eyes and leans in, and I follow suit.
BZZZZZ!
I jump back, startled. It’s my damn cellphone! I see the mix of disappointment and surprise on Chelsea’s face.
I pull out my phone and check the caller. “I need to take this. Give me a moment.”
She nods.
It’s the guy who runs my private high-roller card game. I step inside and answer, “What’s up?”
“Hey, Dany. Remember that thing we discussed last night?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“You told me to give him the fifty-cannolis. Well, he’s all out. He’s talking about checking out. He’s begging. What should I do?”
What a worthless gambler. Takes the money and then wants to off himself. Guys like him are my bread and butter. “Tell him ten points this week, increasing by ten every week after that.”
“That’s it? What if he can’t pay?”
“I don’t want him disappearing without a trace. I’ll check in a couple of weeks. They’ve got that nice place in town. Certain items.”
“Got it.”
“Give him one last chance and send him off with a smile. Tell him Dany said—we’ll work something out.”
“Will do.”
“Okay,” I hang up. Either the guy pays up, or I sell everything he owns and make a bigger profit. We use code on the phone in case the feds are listening. The guy runs a luxury furniture store.
I return to the balcony and see Chelsea has been watching me the whole time.
“Hey, want to do something? Get out of here for a bit?”
“Sure,” she gives me another dazzling smile, “what do you have in mind?”
“I’m in the mood to shoot something.”