•KINLEY•I was sitting on a chair, my feet bound and my wrists tied tightly to the window. I had already been here for twenty-four hours.Talon had brought me to a small apartment, it appeared that everyone in the building had something going on, no one had even looked out when I screamed.I watched him as he busied himself in the open-plan kitchen as if this was extremely normal to have someone tied up as your prisoner."Do you want something to eat and drink?" He asked as if I was a willing guest."No." My face hurt from where he had hit me, and I could feel the swelling."You need to eat. It's not good for the child if you don't eat."I frowned slightly, wondering why the hell he was acting as if he cared about Gianni's baby."Talon, cut the crap. You don't give two shits about me or this baby."He looked up at first before he walked over to me with the kitchen knife in his hand.He crouched down in front of me, "That's not true. I love you." It was strange, gone was the rage-fille
•KINLEY•I was still tied to the window and my body was beginning to ache from being in this position for so long.Not that Talon cared.He sat on the sofa watching television while I stared down at the street below trying to figure out where we were.It was a small side street we were in, but I couldn't see much more than that.I assumed we were facing away from the beach because I could see no hint at the sea in the view ahead."This is ridiculous, Talon. I can't sit like this for much longer, it hurts.""I'll take you to the room later. Once I can trust you, I'll stop tying you up."I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window, closing my eyes and wishing this could all just be a dream.It was going for day two that he had left me tied to this dreadful window and I was already giving up.I opened my eyes and caught sight of something in the street below.Men in black suits.I glanced over to Talon, making sure he was still occupied before turning back to the window with ho
•GIANNI•Walking into the mansion, the first thing I noticed was that both Billie and Tatum were no longer there.I was about to walk back out when Luca came running towards me."Boss. The men think they may have found her. A woman was screaming from a building.""Where? Let's go.""They haven't gone in, they are waiting for your go-ahead," Luca spoke as we made our way toward the car."Tell them to surround it and wait until we get there. I want to be the one to go in. Billie and Tatum are - What the fuck is that?" In front of our gate sat a string of black cars.I immediately pulled my gun and Luca did the same, we didn't have time for this. We needed to find Kinley."Going somewhere?" He asked as he stepped out of the car, an FBI bulletproof jacket strapped to his chest."Yes. My wife-""Allow me to introduce myself, Agent King."My blood boiled at the name. He was the one who had tried to turn Kinley against me."Lower your guns." He instructed us.I wanted to shoot my way through
•KINLEY•I felt like a coward. I didn't want to face Billie after what had happened to her.So I sent flowers and a card once I was released from the hospital.Gianni seemed to be keeping his distance from me, and it made me feel a bit hurt. But I also knew he was busy trying to find Giovanni's killer and Talon.Gianni would disappear downstairs for hours at night, I could only imagine what he was doing to Talon."Kin?"I tightened my hold on my warm cup of tea as Luca walked in."How are you feeling?"I shrugged, "Okay, I guess. But I keep having nightmares of him coming at me.""He can't get to you. I've been down there, he's not getting out."I looked over at Luca, "Why is Gianni keeping him alive for so long? Look what happened with Dom."Luca sighed and leaned over, dropping a hand to my knee, "I know it's scary. But Gianni wants him to suffer. We both do."I looked down at my tea cup when the tears formed in my eyes, "I've always believed that it's not our place to take a life.
•GIANNI•Kinley was laying in bed, deep in sleep.I was sitting in a chair near the door watching her. I had barely been able to get any sleep since she had returned home after Talon had taken her.It was impossible for me to sleep. I knew Talon was locked up tight enough that he wouldn't get out. But I still couldn't sleep.I couldn't begin to imagine how it must have felt for her, she was the one who had experienced it all. Kinley told me she had been having nightmares, I couldn't blame her. When I closed my eyes, I kept seeing him hurting her.It was driving me insane, and a part of me wanted to go down there and kill him right away.But I wouldn't do that, it would be far too easy.I wanted him to suffer for what he had done to Kinley, and for taking my unborn baby away from me.No, death would come much later, when he has suffered enough.For now, I would leave him tied up.Luca was having some fun using Talon as an outlet for anger, I saw no reason to stop him.Getting to my fe
•KINLEY• Gianni was seated at the dinner table when Luca and I returned.He looked annoyed."Where were you?" He asked."Luca was teaching me how to use a gun."Gianni gave Luca an amused look, "How did she do?""Not bad for a beginner. But we definitely have to work on her aim."I took a seat at the table, "I'm getting the hang of it, though. Although the weight of the gun threw me off a bit in the beginning."Luca touched my shoulder lightly, "I'm going to go and call my wife. Gianni, if you will excuse me."Gianni nodded and Luca walked out.Gianni lifted his glass and took a sip of his drink, "Is there a reason for this sudden interest in how to shoot?""Yes," I admitted, "I don't want you to give up who you are to try and keep me safe. I am your wife, I am a part of this mafia, whether we like it or not. It's about time I start acting like it."Gianni sighed heavily, "Gattina, you don't have to do this. You don't have to prove anything to me.""I'm not trying to prove something,
•KINLEY•The meeting with King was going well, although I noticed that Gianni had yet to mention Jade. He had mentioned a few names, but not hers.I was surprised that he had even mentioned Billie's family, but I was more surprised that King seemed interested in taking them down.Seeing as he was Billie's step-brother, I had expected him to offer them special treatment.I sat quietly listening to them speak, Gianni going so far as to offer to walk them into a trap.King seemed to agree with Gianni, and I got to my feet realizing this meeting was going on longer than I had planned."I have to excuse myself. I'm meeting some designers with Billie today, we want to go over what pieces to showcase for the club re-opening."Gianni stood to kiss me goodbye and I walked out, Luca waiting at the door for me."Ready to go?" He asked."Yes, I want the plans behind me so I can stop stressing about it.""It will be a huge success, you're worrying over nothing.""I hope you're right. I hope you're
•KINLEY•I stood in Euphoria while the last rehearsal took place before our bid reopening night.The designers had outdone themselves and I was happy we got to showcase a few well-known designers as well as some new and struggling talent.The walls had been decorated with abstract paintings from Bonnie's art gallery.Billie and Cassie stood on either side of me, watching the models walk down the stage we had set up as the runway.The dancers Gianni had let go were rehearsing their dance routines in the hanging cages.It was somewhat of a magical feeling to be experiencing this."People are going to love this," Billie said.I nodded, there was no way they couldn't. I felt a burst of pride knowing we had pulled this off so well."I can't wait for tomorrow night," I was practically bursting at the seams with excitement, "I'm a bit nervous about the press, but the excitement outweighs the worry.""There is nothing to be nervous about, they'll take some pictures, ask a few questions and go