He swears that I'm going to be his good little wife, that my father paid a heavy price for his silence, and he intends to enjoy every second of it.
Antero. He told me his first name. Antero Cilento, and he expects me to live with him from here on out.
I won't do that. I won't be his wife or his captive. Even if Marcus doesn't come, I'll find some way to get out of here or call the cops.
And still, behind everything else, is the fact that my father agreed to this. He gave me to this man, this mafioso.
Whatever happens, Reginald Kendrix is no longer my father. As soon as I get out of here, I'm moving out of his fucking house and never looking back.
I just have to hope I survive long enough to get free.
Sometime later, I'm woken up after finally falling asleep in the chair, uncomfortable as hell and getting increasingly sore by the minute.
Booms and thuds ring out from outside my room, and I can see light spilling across the floor from the bottom crack. Something is going on out there, and I'm still stuck to this damned chair.
"Come on!" I yank on the binds again, squeezing my hands back to see if I can pull them through, but it hurts too much to keep going. "Fuck!"
I know I need to get out of the ropes. If this is some turf war or something going on between rival families, I want no part of it. But how do I break free?
Years of watching movies flash before me, and I get the bright idea to try to knock my chair over, hopefully breaking the arms or legs.
There's no part of this that won't suck. I'm going to land hard. I brace myself for the pain as I rock the chair side to side until it careens over, smashing into the wood.
Lightning rips through my shoulder from the impact, and I groan low, not wanting to make any extra sound. That was loud enough.
Pulling against the binds again, I notice that one of the arms is wobbling. I yank hard at that one until it comes flying off the chair, nearly hitting me in the face.
Thankfully, I ducked back in time, and now I have a hand to work with. It takes a bit, but I'm able to untie my other hand and then the one still attached to the chair.
My legs are next, and I stand up just as a loud boom rings outside the door.
What the hell is going on out there?
I could take advantage of the situation, though. So I decide to sneak out of my room and into the hall. The door is locked, of course, but it's nothing that a few bobby pins can't solve.
I've gotten out of my room more times than I can count, and that tiny rebellious spark is saving my butt right now.
Outside in the hall, chaos reigns. Loud shouting and men rushing through the corridor from random places in the house. They all appear to be going to the front, so I stick to the shadows, hopping from corner to corner as I follow them.
The commotion is enough that they don't notice me, at least for now.
When I reach the front foyer, just behind the men rushing in that direction, I finally see what all the fuss is about.
"Marcus?"
My voice is quiet, but he hears me, looking up from holding one of Cilento's guards in basically a headlock.
My heart beating furiously, I can't look away from him. He did come. Marcus really did come after me. Tears begin to blur my vision, and then someone yanks my arm from behind.
"Ah!" I pull against the hold. "Let go!"
A shot rings out from in front of me, and I see Marcus pulling his hand back, gun in his grip. The guy he was holding is on the floor, clutching his leg.
"Let her go unless you want a matching hole with your buddy."
"You? You're what's causing all this!" Cilento's voice blares from behind me, and he stalks past me until I'm staring at his back as he glares at Marcus. "You're Kendrix's new fucking lap dog!"
"Hardly. I was hired to protect the girl." Marcus levels the gun at Cilento. "And I plan to uphold that. I'm not looking to disrupt your entire organization, but I have no problem doing so if you don't release her."
