~ MM~
May 17, 2019
I can’t stop the tears. The shit that bastard did to her makes me fucking want to vomit. Nobody believes me, and nobody gives two shits that the golden boy of the family is hurting his cousin. I couldn’t even get through the video, I had to turn it off. That motherfucker was sick as hell, and I’m going to fucking hurt him for hurting her. She’ll never be the same because of him. All that innocence she had has been stripped away from her, and she’ll always be haunted by these perverted men who confuse love with physical touch. That’s not love… that’s pedophilia. I’ve tried going to the cops… but they just laughed in my face. Everyone was on the Leone payroll--the cops--the FBI--even the fucking govenor and mayor. All of them bowed down to Francesco Leone, and because of that, what Marco Leone's doing to poor Valentina will continue to happen unless I intervene. Tonight, I’m going to put a stop to this. He won’t hurt her again, not while I’m in charge of her. I’m all Valentina has. Francesco and Marco don’t give two shits about Valentina, only I do, and once I confront her abuser, I’m going to get Valentina out of here, not caring one bit if they try to charge me with kidnapping. Somebody somewhere has to care about this little girl as much as I do, and I’m determined to find them. I will not stop until Valentina is safe.
~MM~
May 18, 2019
I’ve failed her. I’ve failed Valentina. I thought I could eradicate him from existence and free her from this hell, but I couldn’t. I just wasn’t strong enough… that man… god how I fucking loathe him, is the most vile human being on this fucking planet. At least for tonight, I saved her from his torment. His dick was satisfied enough after he was done with me to leave her alone, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try again. I can barely fucking move, and I think the only reason I’m still alive is because they need someone to watch Valentina for the night while they run their shady business dealings. But I fear tomorrow I may not have a job or a life, so I have to get out of here, despite being unable to walk or breathe without feeling tremendous amounts of excruciating pain. But I have to do it. It’s the only way to save her. Yes, Marco Leone may have won this round. I'll never be able to sleep again without remembering the horrors of what he did to me tonight, but at least I’ll be getting her somewhere safe--somewhere they will never find her. He may have thought he had broken me, but you can’t break a girl born and raised in Brooklyn. We’re as tough as nails, and you don’t hurt the ones we love. Marco and Francesco Leone will rue the day they ever hired Meg Mazano to work for them. Valentina is mine, and where I’m going they’ll never think to look for her. It’s the only connection I have… I just hope she’ll help me.
~MM~
It was obvious that she had managed to get out of town safely that night because she ended up here, and from the letter I briefly read, brought Valentina with her. Although, she wasn’t in Rising Star, so she must’ve stashed her somewhere along the way. The pain I felt inside for both girls had me overwhelmed with rage. If I ever met this Marco Leone face-to-face I’d torture his ass then murder him for everything he did to these two girls.
In order to keep my mind off the torturous images playing inside my head, I started to think about Juliette, wondering when I’d get to see her beautiful face again.
I started humming to myself, James Blunt’sBeautiful.But it was like my song manifested her out of thin air, because the door to the cell block opened, and in she waltzed, looking restless, and even prettier than I remembered.
I didn’t stop my humming, in fact, it got louder the second I saw her.
“Can it, Buchanan,” she growled, stomping into the room.
The dumpy dude behind the desk exchanged a few words with her before he begrudgingly stood up and walked out of the room, leaving us alone.
There was a long silence that followed her slumping into the chair at the desk before she started rubbing at her temples. She looked stressed out, and all I wanted to do was bring a smile to her face.
I absentmindedly started humming again then opened my mouth...
“You're beautiful…”
“Buchanan…”
My smile widened.“You're beautiful…”
“I’m fucking warning you,” she snapped, her head shooting up to glare at me.
“But It’s truuuuuuue…”I over exaggerated the word true, holding it out.
“Goddamn it, Buchanan, I’m not in the fucking mood today.”
“I could put you in a good mood, if you let me. All you have to do is give in to the temptation that is Duncan Buchanan.” I gestured to myself, and she frowned.
She growled aggressively and threw up her hands. “You’re fucking impossible. Just leave me alone.”
I was kinda liking how my little song game was getting under her skin. It was fun watching her beautiful ivory skin tinge an angry pink tint. It was also helping me forget about Brooklyn and her journal.
“So, what’s got your panties all bunched up your asscrack today?” I asked her, noticing the stress in her eyes.
“Well, I’m stuck babysitting you for one.”
“There are worse things…” I suggested, my voice trailing off.
She smirked. “Yeah, like what?”
“Well, you could accidentally drop your tits into a boiling vat of hot acid. I can honestly say, that would break my heart. I kinda love your tits.”
She looked down at her shirt and blushed. “Stop staring at my tits.”
