In all my life, I never envisioned I would ever be in the predicament that I found myself in—taking a sponge bath, in an open cell, in an open room, in front of ten men, half of whom were watching.Still, it felt good to get the blood and grime off me. However, a bucket of warm water wasn’t enough, especially when returning to the same clothes I’d been wearing for days. The warmth leached away, the cold air cooling the water quickly. A shiver moved through me, and I pulled my clothes back on, trying not to give them a show. The days of showing off my body were over the moment they cornered me on that bridge.My eyes locked onto the splatter of blood dried into a deep red and clashing against the yellow of my sweater.A lackey, some young, thin guy about my age, opened the door to my cage to retrieve the bucket. I blinked, saw nobody in my periphery, and shot up.I bolted, knocking the guy over and sprinting toward the door. My muscles hadn’t been used much for days, causing
I was watching Domenico pluck another petal from the rose, trying to remember how many that made. Seven? Ten? I could easily remember at least six and the rose still looked full, but that may have been due to its opening up. The rose was dying but it retained its shape, the head beginning to droop.While I was transfixed by the odd ritual, Roman stepped into view.“Your dinner is served,” he said with a smile.“Thank you,” I replied, returning his smile, taking the plate and setting it down before relieving his hands of not one but two drinks.“A little something extra,” he whispered, giving me a wink before walking away.Immediately I downed over half the bottle of water. I’d been constantly parched since about day three. Whatever food and drink I was allotted was always just enough to keep me from starving or dehydrating, but only just.The sandwiches ranged from the terrible bologna and mayo to ham, cheese, and mustard and other deli concoctions. Which was why I was pl
Fighting the sleep in my eyes was hard. My mind was foggy, weighed down. Something said it was better to sleep, but something else nagged at me.As I surfaced, the nagging began to slowly become apparent. From the pounding that turned into a thumping in my head, to the nerves firing off around my body and the cold that was seeping into my skin, it all paled to the ache between my legs.The putrid smell of decay filled my senses as I roused, ever the reminder that I was nothing more than a caged animal.As my senses awakened, cold seeped down to the bone. Cracking an eye open, I found that I was lying naked atop the grimy mattress. The blanket was haphazardly lying across my body. It shielded little and warmed almost nothing.When my eyes were able to focus, there was only one thing in my view. His silver eyes stared at me, and their shiny surface gave nothing away.The memories were sluggish and fuzzy, but two things were obvious in the light of day: I’d been drugged at so
High-pitched wails, sounds of begging and pleading, rang around the empty walls, and the few men were suddenly on high alert. All except Domenico.My chest hurt at the sound because I knew, I just knew. There was about to be one less empty cage.Another girl abducted from the streets.One associate was carrying a lantern, lighting the path as Roman and two other men carried the struggling girl up the stairs. I hadn’t seen Roman since he’d given me dinner that night, the night Domenico claimed me. His eyes locked with mine before quickly looking away.I swallowed hard. Was he ashamed of what I’d done? How I had reacted to Domenico? I remembered the anger in his eyes.“Shut her up!” Domenico yelled from the darkness.My hands were white-knuckled on the bars as I watched them throw her into a cage a few down from my own. Her eyes were wide, tears streaming as she begged to be let go.“No! No! Please!” Hiccupping sobs rang out as she drew in ragged breaths, her words heavily
I wasn’t sure how many petals a rose held, but I guessed somewhere between thirty and fifty. More than half the petals were gone, and I began to wonder what would happen when the last petal fell.A pit formed in my stomach as I looked at the number of men. Something had shifted and Domenico’s crew had either surged in membership, or they were all converging on that building.Most of them were familiar faces that I’d at least seen before, but out of the more than twenty men around, there were one or two I didn’t recognize.All day I’d watched, listened, and waited. Even Marco seemed on edge as he sent men out on different jobs. Domenico had been gone for almost the whole day, and I vibrated without him near.The increase of testosterone had led to a few scuffles, and my anxiety increased as the day progressed. There was a safety I’d begun to feel with Domenico, but when he wasn’t around I felt a darkness stirring.He arrived late in the afternoon, but if it wasn’t for the s
In the days that followed, I spent more time out of my cage and chained up close to Domenico. The atmosphere held more tension than usual, even with fewer men.The rumble beneath the surface was obviously unusual, especially because I’d seen both the fear and reverence for la Bestia. The atmosphere created a buzzing in my veins, an anxiety of what would happen when it came to a head.Domenico entered the room carrying a box. It was evident by the flex of his muscles that it had some heft. It clanged when he dropped it to the ground near me.“What’s that?” I asked, but as usual I received no response.A groan left me when he released my arms from the shackles, but when I stood, he pulled me to a stool and sat me down. He handed me a sandwich and drink that were sitting on top of the box, then stepped to the doorway. It was just a blink that he wasn’t watching, a blink that I was fractionally free, but with a small window and no level of real strength, there was no use even t
I stared up at him, my brain trying to process his words. My gaze bounced between his eyes, confusion flooding me. What was he talking about?I had less than two seconds to decide what my response was. Go or stay? And which was the right answer?Did I trust him enough to leave? Or was he simply dragging me to another level of hell?The silence made up my mind. There was nobody around, not even Marco. We were alone.He slipped my shoes on as I sat up, then pulled me to my feet.His hand sat in the space between us. I looked from it to his eyes and made my decision—I slipped my hand in his.“Why are you helping me?” I asked as we raced across the open space to the door leading to the fire escape.“Because I’m your knight in fucking black armor, princess. Now let’s go before they notice your cage is empty.”My muscles were stiff, and his arm wrapped around my waist to help hold me up while we descended the stairs.There were a couple of beat-up cars in the gravel lot, inc
The next day I was feeling better. While not the healthiest, pizza was definitely higher in nutrition than my sandwiches. By noon I had managed to eat three slices. I also drank and drank and drank. Dehydration was part of my issues, it turned out.The more food and water I was able to get in me, the better.Domenico was different. Still dominant and grating, but now his touch set me on fire. I knew more, understood why.He was not a sadist. He was my savior.“He told me to do whatever it took to keep you safe.”Whatever to keep me safe included how he had to hurt me, because the alternative was far worse.“How long are we going to be here?” I asked, nibbling on the crust of the last piece I’d gotten down. Even full, I felt a surge of energy that I hadn’t felt in weeks.His lips formed a thin line. “I’m still working out a plan.”“You planned out the whole escape, didn’t you?”He nodded. “But there wasn’t time to plan past this point. There are those loyal to me who in
That NightI got pregnant on New Year’s Eve.That night was hands down the best night of my life. A magical night with the man of my dreams.The aftermath changed everything.After weeks of silence from him and a positive pregnancy test, it was safe to say I was in full out panic mode.Until I walked into a conference room only to find Mr. Man-of-my-dreams-father-of-my-unborn-child at the head of the table.Turns out the VP of finance isn’t an old boring guy with white hair.Two different cities.A baby on the way.An intense attraction.And he’s technically my boss.Life just got even more complicated.Find out more hereDomenicoThe mafia never lets you go.I thought I was safe, free, but I never expected to find myself locked in a cage.I’m in his territory. His prison.The beast.A fate worse than death awaits me if I can’t get away, so when the opportunity of salvation presents itself I grab it, even if I’m unsure if I can trust the hand I’m holdi
K.I. Lynn is the USA Today Bestselling Author from The Bend Anthology and the Amazon Bestsellers, Breach and Becoming Mrs Lockwood. She spent her life in the arts, everything from music to painting and ceramics, then to writing. Characters have always run around in her head, acting out their stories, but it wasn’t until later in life she would put them to pen. It would turn out to be the one thing she was really passionate about.Since she began posting stories online, she’s garnered acclaim for her diverse stories and hard hitting writing style. Two stories and characters are never the same, her brain moving through different ideas faster than she can write them down as it also plots its quest for world domination…or cheese. Whichever is easier to obtain… Usually it’s cheese.WebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagramGet my Newsletter
Afterlife—Hailee SteinfeldTeeth—Five seconds of SummerWon’t Go Down Easy—Jaxson GambleGasoline—HalseyHeathens—twenty one pilotsArsonist’s Lullabye—HozierHold Me Down—HalseyI like trouble—Jailbreakers LtdBlinding Lights—The WeekendTake What You Want—Post Malonefeat. Ozzy Osborn & Travis ScottAll the good girls go to hell—Billie EilishMy Love Will Never Die—Ag feat. Claire WyndhamI’m a Wanted Man—Royal DeluxeNot Afraid Anymore—HalseyWolves—Sam Tinnesz feat. SilverbergLions Inside—Valley of WolvesI Can’t Get Enough—Jaxson GambleAnimal—Chase HolfelderUntil We Go Down—RuelleThe Baddest Man Alive—The Black KeysControl—HalseyLux Aeterna—Clint MansellGraveyard—Halsey
When I started writing this, well, it was an idea I’d had on the backburner, so when I was approached to become part of the Sinister Fairy Tale Collections, I was like “Ya know, I have this start of an idea and about 3 scenes.”It exploded from there.Oddly, the scene where she wakes up in the cage and when Domenico comes out of the shadows was the one scene that stayed from that original idea.I hope you loved Domenico and Ari as much as I loved writing them.To Jo, thank you for escaping.The beginning scene on the bridge was a real life incident that happened to one of my oldest and dearest friends. While she was able to get out of the situation before they got her stopped due to flashing lights nearby, it could have turned out horribly wrong for her.Please be aware of your surroundings. If something doesn’t seem right, call the police. It’s better to be discovered as nothing than something happening to you.Stay safe!Easter egg (ha! I’m lit
A year and a half later…The whirlwind that was our marriage didn’t allow for things like a honeymoon, even after our wedding for the masses. However, we both needed a break. Desperately.For a year I’d gotten an in-depth schooling of the inner workings of organized crime. It made me realize all I’d gleaned before was just the tip of the iceberg.There were so many pieces constantly at play to keep track of.My grandfather was wonderful in reminding me of my Vitale lineage and history, and I was ready to carry on our dynasty as a Ferrante.Four weeks ago we boarded a plane and left Chicago, bound for a boat and the sea. Domenico once told me his dream, and I’d wanted to make it come true.While I had a feeling the three-hundred-foot yacht we chartered was not the sailboat Domenico had envisioned, the size was necessary due to the amount of staff we were required to travel with.Business never stopped, and it was difficult for Domenico to relinquish control, but w
From the moment Giovanni showed up, our lives had been nothing but a whirlwind. From the choice we’d had to make, which was really no choice at all, to getting retribution on my father and releasing him from service, to pulling up to the Vitale stronghold in a Ferrante vehicle.My life was no longer the standard life by which I was accustomed to living.For the last several years, I’d stripped to put a roof over my head and food on my table just to be out from underneath my tyrant of a father. For the first time in my life, I was free.Now, I’d willingly traded my freedom for a cage—one that would give me a lifetime with the man I loved. My father was dead, and the structure of the organization was a little unstable. Time was critical, and all moving parts had to be settled before we would be given even a moment to adjust to our new roles.For Domenico, there was less of an adjustment. He already knew everything the Ferrante organization was doing, as he had orchestrated ma
The days passed quickly as Domenico and I took hold of our new roles. The Ferrante household was strained, to say the least. The uneasy acceptance from his siblings ratcheted up the tension, and my presence didn’t help.The household held a buzzing energy that I was desperate to get a reprieve from. I knew it would take a while for everyone to accept Domenico’s new position as well as our marriage, but I also knew it was only going to get worse when it was announced to the rest of the organization.Giovanni didn’t seem concerned, especially not after his ultimatum.After my encounter with Salvatore, I knew we were going to have an uphill battle of trust with the Vitale side. They didn’t know me, and to some it mattered that my mother was a Vitale, but to others it didn’t. Salvatore was going to be a problem that would have to be dealt with if my grandfather hadn’t already.I didn’t wander the house without Domenico or a guard, so while I waited for Domenico to finish his me
It felt like whiplash—and quite a role reversal. At my grandfather’s Domenico had been heavily guarded, and as we walked down to the dining room I couldn’t help but notice all eyes were on me.When we arrived, Giovanni was sitting at the head of the table. He looked up from his drink and smiled. “Much better. You no longer look fresh off the battlefield.”The rest of the table was empty.“Where is everyone?” I whispered to Domenico.“They like to be fashionably late,” Domenico said with a sigh of annoyance.A chuckle came from Giovanni as he stood and pulled out the two chairs to his right. “Sit here. They’ll be in shortly.”“Has Manetto or Renata spread the word about Roman?” Domenico asked as he pushed my chair in for me.Giovanni returned to his seat and swirled the brandy in his glass before taking a slow sip. “I forbade them, so it is possible, though I think Manetto returned to his line of cocaine, and Renata is probably plotting some manipulation.”Just then ther
Once everything was settled, Giovanni released us to clean up, assuring us he would send the physician to tend to our wounds. I didn’t even want to look at myself in a mirror. In twenty-four hours I’d been hit by a car, had my head slammed into metal bars, and had been beaten with a belt. Domenico didn’t look much better. I hadn’t really gotten to focus on much but the presence of him, and I had a feeling there was more to be seen under his clothes.When we stepped out of his office, a woman in slick black heels and tears streaming down her face stomped toward us.“You murderer!” I recognized her as Renata Ferrante, Giovanni’s wife. Domenico stepped in front of me, but when I watched her pull her hand back to strike him, I moved in front of him and grabbed hold of her wrist.“Don’t you fucking touch him, you witch,” I growled.“Get your hands off of me, maggot!” she screeched.In her heels she was easily six inches taller than me, so I turned her wrist outward, bringing he