It takes me a long moment to realize what's happening.
"Give me your money, and no one gets hurt," says a deep and terrifying voice.
I turn to see the gun aimed right at my heart, and I shudder in fear. "Giovanni," I whisper in a trembling voice.
A man not much taller than me, but much bigger in width, stands a few feet away. He's dressed in black with a ski mask over his face. I glance past him and see at least two more men all in black waiting nearby in the shadows.
Giovanni's grasp on me tightens for a moment before he releases me and whispers, "It's all right, Adeline." He puts his hands up defensively and turns his attention to the gunman. "Hey, man, you don't have to do this. Just turn and walk the other way, and we'll forget this even happened."
The men walk out of the shadows towards us while the gunman takes a step closer to me. There were more than two lurking in the dark. My head spins as I realize there are four men now standing behind the gunman. We'll never be able to fight all of them off.
"Give me your money, bitch," the leader hisses, waving his gun at me to emphasize his point.
I glance down at my dress and realize I left my purse in the car with the bodyguards. The streetlamp above us lights my diamond ring up like a beacon, and I quickly pull the ring off my finger. My father bought it for Giovanni to give to me, so I have no qualms about giving it to this man in exchange for saving our lives.
The gunman steps forward. And just when I think he's going to snatch the ring in my outstretched fingers and take off, he grabs my hand and yanks my back against his chest, pushing the gun hard against my temple. My ring slips out of my grasp and bounces on the dirty street before disappearing into a muddy puddle.
"Please!" Giovanni begs the man. "Let her go!" He pulls out his wallet and starts throwing hundreds on the ground as if they're worth nothing. "You want money? I have money."
"I want more than money," the man replies, and an icy chill freezes the blood in my veins.
All of a sudden, my fight or flee sense kicks into high gear…and so I begin to fight. I squirm against the man's hold, throwing back my elbows and kicking him hard in the shins. A whoosh of air escapes him with a bitter curse when one of my elbows lands in his stomach.
Regaining his control of me quickly, the man's hold on me tightens to the point that he constricts my breathing. Struggling for air, the last word I hear him spit out is "bitch" before he slams the butt of the gun against my temple.
I hear Giovanni calling my name, but it sounds like he's far away…and under water. Suddenly, I'm doused in a sea of darkness, drowning in it and not knowing if I'll ever resurface again.
CHAPTER 5
LUCIEN
THE ANTICIPATION OF their arrival is the hardest thing to deal with, especially withNumber Seven.
Jackson, my cousin and most trusted friend --- hell, myonlyfriend, will be flying the girl in today. Judging from the radar on my computer screen, they should be arriving within the next hour.
Minimizing the tracking screen, I bring up the email from my supplier for probably the fiftieth time today.
My eyes flit over the message even though I have it memorized.
I have what you want, but it's going to cost you. One-hundred percent pure, virgin, 5'4", around 125 pounds, beautiful with dark hair, as you requested.
Virgins are the most valuable in the flesh trade. I should know. I pay top dollar for the ones I buy. But I know I need to eventually stop all of this and do the right thing. And the right thing is bringing down Salvatore Valenti's empire and all the men under him, including my current supplier, Giovanni Morello. Then, when the mafia empire crumbles for good, I'd be saving all the girls, not just some of them like I have been doing.
I pull a stack of bright green post-it notes and place it in front of me. My hand trembles as I grip a black marker and write the wordsEliminate Salvatore Valenti and Giovanni Morello.
I tear off the note and stick it to the edge of my computer desk, along with dozens of other notes of things that I want to do or need to do after I rid myself of this sick obsession of buying women to fulfill some overwhelming need inside of me.
I've tried everything over the years to find some sort of miracle cure for my transgressions --- medication, hypnotherapy, psychological testing --- and nothing worked.
As one psychiatrist put it one time while he stormed out of his very own office, "I'm too fucked up to cure."
Never were truer words spoken.
My childhood did a number on me mentally, and I don't think I'll ever truly be cured. In all honesty, I agree with the numerous therapists on one thing --- my unconventional behaviors are the only way my brain can block out all of the horrible things that happened to me and allow me to function as a semi-normal adult. If I somehow find a cure and rid myself of these obsessions, I'm afraid of what will happen to me.
Feeling even more anxious than before, I place the unused stack of notes back in their proper place and return my attention to my computer.
It's almost time.
