KINLEY I woke up alone in the room and breathed a thankful sigh. Rummaging through the closets I took out an oversized band shirt and a pair of shorts that would fit before going to shower. Once I was done, I made my way through to the living room where Gianni sat on one of the sofas. Talon was opposite him. Gianni smiled at me, "Gattina, come here," he motioned for me with his hand. I glanced at Talon before going over to sit beside Gianni. He slung an arm casually around my shoulders, "Did you sleep well?" I nodded, not wanting to speak. "She shouldn't be here, Gia." I watched as Gianni's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing at Talon, "Why not? She handled herself well back there." "She is our leverage against Dom, she is not a guest and she is not a friend." I was surprised at the anger coming from Talon, he had seemed calm and sweet most of the time. Gianni dropped a hand to my thigh making me squirm uncomfortably. "Kinley, we believe there is a mole amongst us. We will
KINLEY Gianni looked at Talon before taking me by the arm, "Talon, car. Now."I hurried to keep up with Gianni while he pulled at my wrist."What were you doing in the study?" he asked suddenly, spinning to a stop so abruptly that I almost bumped right into him."Uh... I got lost coming out from the toilet."He frowned, I knew he didn't believe me."I was going to run away from you." Honesty is the best policy, right?He scratched at the back of his neck, "You were going to try and escape?"I nodded, "Yes. I was going to run off, but then I had to hide in the study and I came across all this, these two guys came in and started talking about me, saying I'd get them good money," my eyes widened as I remembered the rest of their conversation, "Oh! They spoke about you too and the mole. They said they would speak to Dom about me tomorrow, and that the mole is getting real close to putting you away for a long time."Gianni tilted his head, a dangerous glint in his eye, "They want to sell y
KINLEY Opening my eyes I stared out at the sun shining through the open curtains.Pulling the blanket closer around me, I thought of how Gianni had chosen to punish me the night before.It seemed like such a strange punishment."Hey, you're up." I looked over at the door to see Talon."Don't tell Gianni, I want to lay here for a bit longer.""Gianni is busy," he walked in closing the food behind him, "Did he make you sleep with him?"My eyes widened, "He would do that?!""Yes. He has before.""Well, thankfully he didn't... He made me strip to my underwear and get in the pool for a long while."Talon took a seat on the edge of the bed, "You can count yourself lucky it wasn't worse.""While I can agree with you, I still can't understand it. It seems like such a strange form of punishment.""Gianni is a strange man, Kin. He knows ways to punish you that you could never even dream of."I shuddered at his words, "I guess I shouldn't piss him off again.""That's what he wants. He wants to
KINLEY My eyes opened slowly, as if my eyelids were heavy and scratchy.I wasn't in the beach house, nor Gianni's mansion.I sat up slowly, my hand going to my head, it ached and as I touched it, I remembered my fall.Getting to my feet I walked from the small room into a small living room with an open plan kitchen to the side.My so called saviour sat at the kitchen island with his back turned to me."Dom?"He jumped to his feet, turning to face me, "Kinley, you're up. Fuck I was so worried about you."As he came towards me stepped away from him, "Hang on. How did you know where Gianni was keeping me?""I have my ways, Kin. Did you really think I was going to allow him to take you like that? You know I always have your back.""Yeah," I glanced at the counter where he had sat, there were papers strewn all over it, "Where are we?" my heart hammered in my chest, my mind continuously reminding me of the trafficking he was involved in."I'm getting you far away from here so he can't come
My leg ached, each step sending sharp shooting pain through my leg as I hurried away from the airport, keeping to the small back roads.Fear rushed through my body as I shot glances over my shoulder.I couldn't let Dom find me."Fuck! I need Gianni." There was something I never thought I would have heard coming from my lips.Yes, the man had kidnapped me and still terrified me to the core, but I knew he was capable of keeping me safe.And he could keep me away from Dom.My ankle ached, protesting each step I took, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, knowing that this pain was nothing compared to what would happen if Dom got his hands on me.I contemplated stopping someone and asking for help, but where would I go?I couldn't go to Gianni because I had no idea where he was, I didn't even know what part of town he was in.I could maybe ask to be taken to the police station, but could I trust them?I had a nagging feeling that the answer was no.Leaning against a wall, I gasped in
The man holding onto my arm was holding tight enough to hurt my arm, but I didn't care.I felt utterly hopeless as they dragged me behind an ambulance and shoved me into the back seat of a waiting car.I sprawled over the seat."Jesus! Kinley?!"My head shot up at the sound of Gianni's voice."Oh my God! Thank God it's you!" Without thinking I sprung into his arms."What the fuck happened to you?!""Dom! He took me!" I sobbed into his shoulder.His arms tightened around me, "He took you? I thought you ran away!""No! I went out to the pool and he was just standing there. I slipped and hit my head. I woke up with Dom and he took me to the airport! I ran away from him."To my surprise, Gianni stroked my hair, planting a soft kiss on the top of my head, "You look terrible, we need to get you checked out,' he began shouting in Italian and the car started, speeding from the hospital."I was so scared! I didn't know how to find you!"I felt him tense briefly, "It's okay, you're safe now. You
"Kinley!"I woke with a start, wincing at the pain rushing through my body from the sudden movement.And then the cold from the water hit me.I had obviously drifted off to sleep after washing myself.I was still submerged in the water, and Gianni was standing frowning at me."I must have fallen asleep after bathing," I frowned, "Could you turn around, please?"He scoffed, "And how exactly do you think you're going to get out of the bath without help?""I'll figure it out."He rolled his eyes and came over to the bath, completely ignoring my protests as he lifted me out and set me on my feet.Grabbing a towel, he handed it to me.I wrapped it around myself.Gianni sighed, "Kinley, you need to relax."I glared at him."Fine," he turned his back and I dried myself off before wrapping the towel around me again."I, uh, need to go back to my room. I didn't bring any clothes with."He helped me from the bathroom, but left me standing against the wall.I watched with curiosity as he went ove
TW: Self harm mentioned in this chapter, nothing in depth though. KINLEY "Where exactly are we going?" I asked, taking a seat on Gianni's jet.He took a seat opposite me, unbuttoning his black blazer."My home. We are going to Italy."My eyes widened, "Holy shit, Italy?! You really had to wait until I had a busted ankle to take me there?"He laughed, "I'll make sure to take you back when you're not injured."I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him."I'm serious, Kinley," he sat forward, "One year from now, if you are still with me, I will take you to Italy and you will experience it in a whole different way.""Still with you? You plan on holding me captive for that long?""No. But I am hoping you will still be here willingly."I looked away, his gaze too intense for me.Talon sat towards the back with a few of Gianni's guards, and I wondered if they had a falling out.If they did, I knew it was probably somehow my fault.Gianni had food and wine brought put to us, it was quite inte
•GIANNI•"Where the hell is Renato? That kid is always late to something."Kinley chuckled, "He texted me, he's just picking up his girlfriend."I shook my head, he had been talking about this girlfriend for a while now but we had yet to meet her.Today was the big day.I looked over at Luca standing in front of the barbecue.Ripley was sitting busy typing on her phone. I couldn't believe both of my kids had grown up and I had been blessed enough to see them grow.If Fin and Luca hadn't done what they did for me, I may not have had the privilege of having these years to watch my son and daughter grow into a man and woman.We invited Fin for this barbecue, but he was away undercover for work so he wasn't able to make it.I looked over at Kinley and my mind went back to that night all those years ago at the shipping yard.She had run over to me in such a panic when she heard those gunshots. She thought I was shot.In actual fact, it was Fin who shot one of the men guarding Martha.After
•KINLEY•I pulled my phone out while telling Luca the truth about what I had been up to with Hilton.Now that I was aware of the reason he was doing what he was, I was sure we could still trust him.We just needed to help him make sure Martha was safe."Who are you calling?""Fin. I have an idea that will help all of us.""Kinley? Do you have news?""I do. But I need you to meet me, and get Gianni here too." I gave him the location and hung up."Gianni is going to skin me alive, why are you bringing them here? I trusted you with this.""You trusted me for a reason, Luca. You know we would never let anything happen to Martha. I just wish you would have told us what was going on sooner. A lot of this mess could have been avoided.""Kinley, they have my wife. I couldn't risk her life. I don't even want to do this right now. If they kill her-""They won't, okay? Trust us, please."Luca looked around as if he was worried someone was looking at us, "If they find out that I'm telling you, th
•KINLEY•"So? What's the plan here?"Gianni was already in planning mode, "We tap his phone. I'll put someone on him to follow him. We can go to him with these calls, but he can play it down without any real evidence. Once we have evidence, we confront him."Fin nodded, "Got it, I'll get the tap, you have someone follow him."Gianni nodded, "Sounds good. I'll get onto that immediately. Kinley, I don't want you leaving the house unless it's with me. Understood?"I nodded, but I had no plan of listening. I still had to meet with Hilton and see if I could find anything out.I glanced at Fin and he looked away from me, he knew what I was thinking about, I could see it by the way he looked at me.Now I needed a plan to get out of the house without Gianni stopping me.And knowing Gianni, that wasn't going to be easy.I got to my feet and walked out, going downstairs where I found Luca about to leave. "Where are you off to?" I asked, fighting the urge to attack him in anger."Got a lead." H
•KINLEY•With the baby bottle in hand, I made my way to the kitchen, pausing just outside the doorway when I heard Luca on a call."Well, she didn't say a damn word to me about being there okay? No, I'm telling you the truth. I'll do my best, but I'm not making any promises. Yes, I know. Thanks for the reminder." I walked in just as he turned to look at me."I'll call you back, Martha," he cut the call and smiled at me, "Gianni on daddy duty?""Yeah. What's up? That sounded serious?""Oh, uh," he looked down at his phone with a frown, "Martha. She has some issues with her sister that she wants me to help with. She's, uh, getting herself involved with the wrong crowd.""Oh no, I hope it works out. Do you want me to talk to Gianni to give you some time off to sort things out?""No, it's nothing that serious. I just need to find out if she was at that cop bar near the precinct last night with her boyfriend."I frowned, "Cop bar? I thought you said she was involved with the wrong crowd?"
•KINLEY•I sat in the courtroom biting my nails while waiting to hear if the judge was going to allow Gianni back out on bail while the investigation was ongoing, or if he would be remanded.Fin and King were seated beside me, Luca near the back.Billie was at the mansion watching the kids.I breathed a sigh of relief when the judge said Gianni could have bail.It was a large amount, but I knew we had it.I rushed to Luca to arrange the payment and waited outside with Fin and King for it to be taken care of."At least he's coming home," Fin said.I nodded, "Yeah. But we still have to pinpoint who it is behind this, and a way to stop it."Fin started pacing, "Detective Hilton is trying to take down the big fish like Gianni to exhilarate his career. I bet that if we put enough pressure on him, we can make this all go away.""But is he the type to let it all go away?" I asked.King shrugged, "If we find the sweet spot, yes. And they all have a sweet spot. We just have to find his."I nod
•KINLEY• "You should go home and get some sleep," Luca suggested. I curled my legs under me on the hard steel chair, "Not until they let me speak to him." "Kinley, come on. We can come back." "I don't want to go anywhere until I've seen him," I looked at my watch, "We've been here for hours. How long is this going to take?" "It takes as long as it takes. They may not even allow you to see him at all until he goes to the judge." "I don't get it. Barney has been dead for months. Why now? So long after his death. How did he rig it up to get the information about Talon sent to them? He was barely even involved in what happened. How did he even have the proper information?" Luca shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "Kin, this is not the best place to talk about that. Can we go across the street?" I looked in the direction of the interrogation room, "Yeah. Let's go. I could use another cup of coffee." We went across the street and ordered coffee, I also ordered a toasted cheese sandw
•KINLEY• I grinned triumphantly, Ripley had finally fallen asleep. Until Luca barged in, that is. "Kinley!" I turned to glare at him, "Could you shut up? I just got her to sleep." "That's going to be the least of your worries. Gianni was just arrested." "What?" I was almost sure I hadn't heard him correctly. "They barged in here with a warrant of arrest. Some new guy trying to make a name for himself." "What was he arrested for?" "Murder. Of Talon." This was getting more ridiculous by the second. "Excuse me? But that was ages ago. How would they even know about that?" "It looks like Barney was looking out for himself right to the end. He rigged it so that all the information was sent to this detective if anything happened to him." "That doesn't make any sense. Barney has been dead for months. Almost a year." Luca shrugged, "That's all I know. Why don't you go down to the station and I'll get a lawyer to meet you. When Billie's up and watching the kids I'll come down there
~A FEW MONTHS LATER~ •KINLEY• My eyes were blindfolded as Gianni guided my steps. "If something jumps out at me, I swear I'll kill you!" I threatened playfully, one hand on my large belly. "Relax, nothing is going to jump out at you." He stopped, his hands on my shoulders, "Okay, take off the blindfold." I whipped off the blindfold and gasped, my hands going to my mouth in shock at what I was looking at. We stood in the front yard of the mansion which had burnt down. Only now it was rebuilt. "You had it rebuilt?" I couldn't believe it. "Yes. That's what I've been busy with for the last eight months. I know you've been wondering why I've been so secretive." My eyes filled with tears as I was overwhelmed by emotions. I spun around and wrapped my arms around his neck, "Thank you!" "Anything for you, baby. There are a few changes, like Renato's room. And the nursery for Ripley when she's born. I've also made sure the place is baby and toddler-proof." He looked pretty pleased wi
•GIANNI•I sat with Renato on my lap while watching Kinley swim. A small smile played on my lips at the peaceful moment.It was nice to experience life like this, without the intense adrenaline of the mafia on my back.I texted Luca to find out how my surprise was coming along. I knew how important that mansion was to Kinley, so I had a team working on rebuilding it as close to the first one as possible."What are you smiling about?" Kinley asked as she came over, she kissed Renato on the head before reaching down and kissing me."I can't tell you or it won't be a surprise anymore. Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"Kinley nodded, "That will be nice. Should we invite Luca and Martha? I wanted to invite Billie, but I don't think that will be fair to her with the recent loss.""We can. You should call Billie, you know she won't hate you. She doesn't blame you for this. She knows and understands the way these things go, and she knows that this isn't on you."She sighed, "I know. But s