I’m not familiar with their businesses, but in all the years I’ve heard about Dominick and Matteo from my parents and brother, it’s like the Antonovs and Russos are invincible. So, why are they not out yet?
Matteo: Avoiding my last question tells me he’s hurt you. That fucker is going to die. We’re still in here because our bail was denied. Unfortunately, Lorenzo signed POA over to you, at Michael’s insistence, which confirms he’s been compromised. Dominick is working on finding out who Henry bribed or blackmailed to put us in jail, and once we get out, we’ll fix everything. Now, answer the question, Little Russo.
I sigh. The guy is too intuitive for his own good. Which doesn’t surprise me. Lorenzo has always looked up to Matteo, bragging about how smart he is, saying he doesn’t know what he would do without Matteo.
Me: Can Lorenzo see my messages?
Matteo: No.
Me: You can’t repeat anything I say.
Matteo: I won’t.
Me: Not even if you think my brother should know. He’s behind bars, so he can’t do anything, and I don’t want to stress him out more.
Matteo: You can trust me. I might be your brother’s best friend, but I’m still a man of my word. I won’t repeat anything you tell me.
Me: I feel so stupid. I know I was mourning my parents when I met Henry, but how could I be so naive not to notice the wolf in sheep’s clothing? He was so sweet and patient, but now, he’s volatile and on edge. Not once did he ever lay a hand on me, but since we’ve been here, he’s hit me a couple of times. He took me to some house that he said is surrounded by his men, who will shoot me if I try to escape. He flat-out said he’s only keeping me as leverage, and once he no longer needs me, he’s going to kill me. I can’t believe I married him. And now, because of my stupidity, he has complete control over my family’s company, and my brother and you are both stuck in jail.
I hit Send and release a sigh of relief. It felt good to get that all out. It won’t change anything, but not being able to vent to anyone about what is going on has been hard. I don’t want to risk involving my friends or chance them deciding to play hero and running to the police. At least with Matteo, I know anything I say will stay between us, and he most definitely would never do anything to put my brother’s life in more danger.
I wait a few minutes for Matteo to reply, washing my face and scrubbing my body. Since I have my tablet, I open my Kindle app and start reading a book, relishing in the momentary escape from reality. After I finish a chapter, I go back to the Messages app and find a new text.
Matteo: First of all, that piece of shit is going to die a slow and painful death once we find him. And I promise, we will find him. I already have my men on it. Second, none of this is your fault. I don’t know who his parents were, but it’s clear he preyed on you. That doesn’t make you stupid or naive. It makes you a victim. You were correct, and he was able to follow through with his first threat with your brother. Before I knew Lorenzo was in here, he was attacked, but I stepped in, and he’s okay. I have your brother’s back, and nobody is going to hurt him on my watch. We’re working on finding you and getting you out safely, but until we figure it out, don’t fuck with him. And if anything else happens, let me know.
“Daniella!” Henry barks, making me jump and almost drop my tablet in the water. “Open this fucking door!”
Me: I gotta go. I’ll text soon.
“I’m in the bath!” I yell back. “Give me a second.”
I hop out of the tub, wrap the tablet in my shirt, and shove it under the sink when Henry swings the door open. He glances around, and I grab my towel to cover myself. I don’t care that he’s seen me naked before. Things have changed, and the last thing I want is to expose myself to this psycho.
“Now, you’re hiding your body?” He scoffs, reaching out and ripping the towel off my body. “You’re my fucking wife! If I want to look at you, I damn well will.” He pulls me into him. “Hell, if I want to fuck you, I will. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
He grabs my face, and I flinch in pain.
“Don’t you get it,wife? Your family might’ve fucked mine over, but now, I own you, and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with you.”
9
Matteo
“Has she reached out?”
Lorenzo is staring at my phone, willing it to go off with a text from Daniella, but it’s been twenty-four hours, and I haven’t heard from her. During that time, my guys have been searching for her, but haven’t had any luck.
I reached out to Dominick to get Lorenzo a temporary phone, and he assured me he’s on it. I don’t know how long either of us is going to be in here, and I want to make sure I have a way of getting ahold of Lorenzo. He’s been cornered twice when I wasn’t around him, which tells me these guys have been offered good money to fuck him up. Whoever this Henry guy is, he isn’t messing around. He did his homework and is looking to fuck up the Russos.
“No. Have you heard from Hillary?”
I know he hasn’t. If she had come by, I would’ve seen him talking to her. But the only person who’s visited is Michael, spewing some bullshit about trying to get us out. I was itching to punch him in the face, but I kept my cool, not wanting him to know that we’re aware he’s working with our enemy. Meanwhile, Dominick is handling shit behind the scenes to get us a new lawyer since ours has been compromised.
“No, she was freaked out by my arrest. I told her I’d be out soon, so she probably doesn’t know what’s going on.”
I raise a brow, calling bullshit. He’s been in jail for over two days now. If she was worried, she’d have come by and asked to speak with him.
My phone goes off, and when the nameLittle Russocomes across my screen, Lorenzo looks over my shoulder while I click play to listen to the text.
