Cold water startles me out of my dream, and I’m confronted with reality instead of the cozy dream I was enjoying. I’m freezing, not warm. IknowI’m not safe. I’m not comfortable, wearing a scrap of a scratchy nightgown and strung up, standing on my tiptoes to try to relieve pressure on my shoulders. And Leo…The sob I can’t stop from escaping catches the attention of my captors.
“Ah, look who’s awake. Wedidn’t expect you to pass out on us so soon, Elia. You’re not exactly malnourished, are you?”
Laughter echoes, and I squint to try to see exactly how many people are here, watching me squirm. I really need to pee, and it’s not going to be long before I can’t help myself and they have something else to laugh at.
Focus, Ellie. Papa didn’t train you for hostage situations for nothing. Figure out who they are and think of ways to manipulate them.
This time, as I gaze to the corner of the room where the voices are congregated, someone flips on a harsh light. It burns, but it allows me to see that…
“Dominico?”
Fucking Dominico de la Rosa, the one and only. I told Papa I hadn’t appreciated it when he blindsided me by inviting him to Nikki and Gabri’s game, and that of all the things I was willing to do for this family, marrying myself to this asshole was where I drew the line. He apologized and said he understood, then stalked off mumbling about how he’d have to find another way…
Clearly, he didn’t find another way, and now I’m here, just as much a captive of Dominico as I would be if I married him.
“Nice to see you too, Elia. Or should I say, Mrs. Taranova. That’s who you’ve been in bed with lately, at least. Even though you haven’t made it official. Not based on the records we’ve found, although I wouldn’t put it past the slimy Santoris to somehow manage to forge documents and keep them out of the public record.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I would appreciate being allowed to sit. I’m sure my father would also appreciate hearing that I was treated well when he asks me how my time at the de la Rosa compound went.”
The dark laugh I receive in response tells me that whatever’s upset Dominico, he’s not interested in letting me off easy. Or ending this anytime soon. If he isn’t concerned for how Papa will react to how I’m being treated…that doesn’t bode well for me at all.
“I don’t really give a fuck about anything your father thinks. I should have known when he started shopping you around for marriage that he was getting desperate to cover something up. He comes to my father, after all these years, suggesting that you and I get to know each other? Suspicious.”
He’s pacing and chainsmoking cigarettes, looking more manic by the second. Dealing with a calculated hostage situation is one thing. If he’s snatched me for revenge without a plan, the chances of this ending well go way down. That’s Hostage 101. But I can’t let that happen, not to my little nugget.I never even got to tell Teddy.
Okay, Ellie.What did we learn about negotiation when we hold no cards? Try to figure out why they’re mad, and offer anything you can to appease them.
“I promise, I don’t think he meant any offense. I certainly didn’t—”
“No, no.” There’s no more laughter in his voice now, just wrath. “No offense taken, and actually, we’ve already managed to take the offending party out.”
A sob from the dark corner pulls my attention as Dominico laughs again.Fuck, he’s crazy. You can’t negotiate with crazy. Or predict their next move.
“How rude of me, I just realized the two of you have never met. Valencia, come here.”
The wraith that emerges from the corner seems to be in even worse shape than I am. She’s a scrap of a girl, emaciated and with bags under her eyes that remind me of how I look in the throes of my worst bouts of nausea. Gorgeous, with pale hair and eyes, but I’ve never seen anyone look so sad. She’s hugging herself and looking like she’d rather be anywhere else but here. Maybe another one of their hostages…but why isn’t she chained?
“Elia Santori, meet the pride of our family. This is my little sister, Valencia de la Rosa.”
I see the resemblance now that he’s introduced her, but I don’t understand why she’s miserable. Dominico’s pacing has picked up, though, and I sense that he’s about to tell me. And that he’s rapidly losing his grip on the sanity he still has.Shit.
“I’m surprised that the two of you never crossed paths, but like I said, Santoris are slippery. You should have learned that a long time ago, Val. Maybe we could have avoided all this shit. See,Ellie,”he spits my name like it’s a curse. “Your darling brother, your baby Leo, thecherubinoof your family, was defiling my baby sister! For years!” He’s screaming in my face now, spittle flying, and before I can process what he’s saying, his sister speaks up.
“Helovedme, Dominico! He was the love of my life! There wasno reasonfor you to do what you did. We would have gotten married, and our families could have had peace. Instead, you had to lose control—”
“I lost control? I found him on top of you, unmarried, balls deep, and you think my reaction was me losing control? I should have tortured him foryearsfor disrespecting our family like that. You’re lucky his death was quick. It’s more than he deserved.”
“What about what I deserved?” Now Valencia is the one screaming in her brother’s face, and the men in the corner have noticed the tension rising in the room. I have no idea if they’ve ever shared sibling love like what I have…had…with Leo, but there’s no hint of love lost as they argue.
“You deserved worse than what you gottoo! A slap on the wrist and no public events for six months, forwhoring yourself!”
“I wasn’t a whore, youasshole!We were together for years.” Her fight seems to have left her, and she slumps against the far wall of the room. “Years, hermano. It waslove.It wasforeverlove, and you robbed me of any chance of happiness.”
“Happiness? You think any of us deserve happiness? No. You’ll be married off to some old, fat fuck who—”
Whatever else Dominico wanted to say is lost amid the chaos. A door is kicked in on the wall opposite where Valencia is huddled on the floor, and acrid smoke billows in behind a group of men decked out in SWAT gear. Please let it be…
“Disperdetevi. Elia è la priorità assoluta, sempre.”
