“I’ll have a lot of fun forcing you to do it,” he says, licking his lips as his eyes roam over me.
I don’t doubt him, but I have to at least try to use the little bargaining tools I have. “I’ll do it if I can see my daughter first.”
“He figured you might say that. He said that your little brat will be there for your little family dinner, but only if you comply. So, are you gonna play nice? Or are we gonna have some fun?”
I scowl at him, picking up the lingerie and the dress and stomping over to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.I’m not surprised that there’s no lock on the door. I just hope that Chuck is afraid enough of Zeke not to try anything. As before, someone has laid out everything I need for me while I’ve been out of the room. To my disappointment, I’ve been provided with hair removal cream instead of a razor that I could have fashioned into a weapon. I reluctantly get to work, doing as is asked of me. I hope Zeke doesn’t find out whether I shaved everything or not, but I don’t risk disobeying his instructions, especially when he has Mia.
I decide that it’s best if I make myself up as Zeke likes, if he’s happy with me and believes I’m coming around, he might let his guard down enough for me to escape. When I’m finally ready, my hair blown out and heavy sultry makeup applied, I resemble the kind of trophy wife Zeke wants me to be. I emerge from the bathroom to find a bored Chuck waiting for me.
He nods with approval. “You scrub up well. Come on, the Prez doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
I follow him without complaint, filled with hope at the prospect of being reunited with my daughter. Once I have her in my arms, I’ll never let her go again.
My heart sinks when I enter the dining room to find Zeke alone at the head of the table. The massive mahogany table is scarred and stained, despite the poor cleaner’s efforts to polish it. I walk over to him, my head held high, heels clacking on the wooden floor. If he wants me to be the lady of the manor, then that’s how I’m going to act. My first instinct is to demand to know where Mia is. However, I stop myself. If this is some sort of test, I need to play along.
“Welcome, Lena, you look good enough to eat,” Zeke purrs, standing up to greet me.
I try to hide my revulsion as he takes my hand and presses his cold lips to the back of it. “Thank you.”
“Leave us,” Zeke barks at Chuck, who nods and silently leaves the room. “Please, sit,” he tells me, gesturing to the seat beside him.
I do as he bids, pulling the heavy chair out and sitting down. I look around, taking in my surroundings. What once must have been an opulent dining room is now a crumbling shadow of its former self. The tall mirrors along the walls are cracked and dull, reflecting a flickering, hazy light that comes from the many candles that adorn the room in brass candelabras. Zeke probably thinks they’re romantic, but it only highlights to me that he has yet to wire this room with lighting.
The grand crystal chandeliers hang crooked and tarnished, their prisms broken or missing. The velvet chairs are torn and sagging, some missing cushions entirely. Heavy, dusty drapes hang limply in front of the grimy windows, blocking out the outside world. Or more accurately, hiding from view the guards that patrol the grounds to pretend I’m not a prisoner here. The air is thick with the smell of old wood, neglect, and something far darker—faded memories of wealth and power now long gone.
I fight the urge to look away, trapped here against my will, and can’t help but feel nothing but disdain, despair, and a deep sense of decay in this ruined relic of a former empire. Zeke thinks he can restore this place to its former glory and, in the process, propel himself to a higher status, to become the Mafia Don he sees himself as. If my situation weren’t so dire, it would almost be funny how pathetic this charade is.
Before I can ask about Mia, Zeke anticipates my question, answering it. “Mia will join us shortly. First, I wanted us to have a little grown-up chat.”
“Of course…” I say hesitantly, taking a sip of the red wine that Zeke pours into my glass.
“You see, I’ve heard some rumors about you and the Soaring Eagles, horrible rumors that no woman of mine would do. Rumors that, if they turned out to be true, would change everything.”
He knows about me and the guys. Mary Beth must have told him. Zeke’s voice is eerily calm, his eyes black like the ocean before a storm. If he doesn’t believe my lies, I know he’ll kill me right here.
“What rumors?” I ask, trying to suppress the tremor in my voice.
Zeke’s voice turns vicious. “You can imagine my surprise when I heard that you whored yourself to half of the clubhouse, you, the girl who refused my advances for a year, the girl who lost her virginity to me, would fuck a whole group of men within mere weeks.”
I try to hide my surprise, not that he knows about me and the guys, but that he thinks I was a virgin. I wasn’t, and I never told him I was. Not that I’m going to correct him on that now.
“Zeke, I didn’t—”
He leans forward and snatches my wrist in his hand, squeezing it tightly and yanking my arm painfully toward him. “Look me in the eye when you’re speaking.”
I force myself to look at him, tears welling up from the pain. “Please, Zeke, it’s not true. Whoever told you that is lying.”
“They’d better be. You’re my perfect, pure woman, unsullied by anyone else—one hundred percent mine. If I find out that those men took what’s mine, I’ll castrate them,” he threatens. He stares at me, his grip getting harder, before he finally releases me. I pull my arm back, stroking my sore wrist. “Chuck!” he bellows, making me jump, his voice echoing off the cavernous walls.
“Yes, Prez,” Chuck says, appearing immediately. I can only assume he’s been standing outside waiting by the door this whole time.
“Fetch Mary Beth and my daughter.”
Chuck nods, leaving as quickly as he arrived to obey Zeke’s command. My heart soars with the prospect of seeing Mia, even if it means I have to face Mary Beth. Once again, under very different circumstances, my future will be determined by which of us is more believable.
I can’t give up now. I have to play my part, my life depends on it.
Chapter 27
