I look at the water bottle he’s holding out for me to take, unsure if this is some kind of sick joke or if he is serious about helping me. I can’t trust my own gut feeling anymore after all that has happened.
“You’ll really do this? You really want to help me?” I ask, my hand trembling as I grab onto the water bottle to take it from him. We both stand there, holding on to the bottle, eyes locked on each other.
“Yes.” Is all he says as he lets go of the water, putting his hands in his pockets and making his way towards the door.
“Don’t forget the camera.”
He jerks his head in the direction where the camera is as he unlocks the door and storms out. I bring the water bottle to my lips and tilt my head back, drinking the fresh water and looking up to the corner of the room.
He wasn’t lying, there’s a red light blinking back at me on the camera to signify that it’s been turned back on.
A seed of hope grows in my heart that Nero really will help me escape, but then what will my reality be once I’m away from here?
Chapter Fifty Four
Willow
It’s been a week and I’m still here in the same room, going over everything in my mind and slowly starting to go insane.
Everyday, Nero has the same guy, who I now know is called Silvio, bring me a sandwich and some water. On the days Nero has been able to come in with the cameras turned off, he’s brought me soup as an extra meal for the day as well as fresh clothes, allowing me to change while the cameras are off.
I haven’t been able to clean myself so even with the fresh clothes, I’m still filthy but I will take what I can get. When I need the toilet, Silvio escorts me to a room across the hall from this one and waits outside to escort me back when I’m done. There’s no room for escaping on my own, so I have to trust that Nero is doing everything he can to get me out of here and away from his dad.
Speaking of his dad, he hasn’t once come to see me himself, making all of this even more confusing.
I’m getting changed into today’s fresh clothes, another jumper and joggers that are three sizes too big as Nero stands in his usual spot facing the wall.
“What’s going to happen to me?” I ask, my voice no longer wavering as I’ve grown comfortable talking to Nero over the last seven days. I even felt brave enough yesterday to ask him about my drink being spiked at the club and he told me the truth about what happened.
He had nothing to do with it and told me he received quite a punishment from Dragna and his men. He assured me that itwas normal in their world and to not let it scare me away from Dragna.
My head is all over the place as I learn more and more about the man I thought I knew, yet I still wish he would walk through the door any second to save me.
“Mypadreis getting impatient. He was hoping the Russians would pull off a big stunt trying to save you and he would be able to take them out in one go.” He says with a sigh. He looks just as defeated as I feel.
“Why would they think they would try to save me? If they shot Dragna and he’s dead or by some miracle still alive he still wouldn’t be in any state to plan to rescue me, so why am I still here if I was supposed to lure Dragna out?” I ask and Nero lowers his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“He wasn’t supposed to of been shot. Mypadreis working with the Irish, it was their job to get you to Boston where my father has been running our men here, running the trafficking business behind Marco’s back, and because of everything that happened with the Russians getting you girls away from the Irish, Tommy has taken it a bit personal. They were supposed to grab you and in turn Dragna would have come for you. Now however, since Tommy couldn’t help himself and shot Dragna, all we know is Lev and the others found him lying on the road after you were taken. We don’t know anything about whether he has survived, but my father is still waiting to see what happens next.”
My brain feels like it’s melting with the information Nero has just given me.
“You can turn around now.” I say as I sit on the floor and take a bite of the sandwich Silvio brought in for me hours ago. Nero walks over to me and sits against the wall, bringing his knees up and resting his arms on them.
“I’m so sorrymia cara. I wish I could tell you whether he made it or not.”
I’ve gone through all the emotions the last seven days of whether Dragna is dead or alive. I have cried, a lot. I busted my knuckles open because I punched the wall out of anger which is completely out of character for me, but I guess being kidnapped definitely changes you.
I have fast tracked the stages of grief because I haven’t had time to do anything else, and right now, I’m on the acceptance stage.
“If Dragna is dead, then nobody is coming for me. That’s the only explanation as to why I’m still here.” I say sternly and Nero narrows his eyes at me before shaking his head in disbelief.
“You have no idea do you?”
I just blink at him, waiting for him to explain.
“Dragna has never shown love for a woman before. It’s why as soon as my father got a whiff of you being around, he targeted you. I’ve seen all the footage from him stalking you, all the photographs he’s taken and a lot of them aren’t just with Dragna, but with Lev, Mikhail, Anton and Ivan… All of Dragna’s closest men. It isn’t just Dragna who loves you. You were accepted by them all and when that happens with the Russians, they will protect you for life.” He rests his head back against the wall and sighs loudly.
“It’s why they are so goddamn hard to take down, they move as one strong unit. They would die for each other no matter what, and once you are family to them, they would do anything for you. So even if Dragna is dead, don’t think for a second Lev hasn’t taken over as his second in command and is planning something.”
