Chapter 61Katie's POVI wake up slowly, and all I can think about is going back to sleep. I don’t want to deal with reality. Don’t want to relive what happened last night or the fact that I’m in a cell now. I might have been a prisoner all along, but it hasn’t been like this.The worst part is being so alone and having nothing to distract myself. All I have are my thoughts, and none of them are good. So far, it’s been easy to tell myself I’m okay. That I’m in no danger, and Cephus is not so bad.Now, there is no such belief. Now, I have to face the truth.Squeezing my eyes shut, I force myself to go back to sleep since that’s the only escape I have. I feel like kicking and screaming, but I think staying quiet right now is my best bet. I’m hoping I won’t spend another night in here if I just behave like Cephus wants me to.I’m just dozing off when I hear approaching footfalls and the rattling of the keys. In a split second, sleep is the furthest thought from my mind.Besides the doc
Chapter 62Cephus' POVIt has been almost twenty-four hours since I checked on katie. I force myself to stay busy with business, but it does me no good. I barely slept last night, fighting with myself not to go downstairs and get her. I wanted her to sleep in my bed… where she belongs.“She’s demanding that we release her,” Felix explains, entering my office. I don’t look up from my computer.“Nothing new.” For the past few hours, she has done nothing but demand to be released, which lets me know she hasn’t learned anything yet. I’m not sure if she thought she would get away with what she did, but this will teach her otherwise.“She screams and cries every time I go down there.” There is a sappiness to his words, and when I finally look up, he looks kind of heartbroken.“When did you grow a heart?” I joke. This is not like him. Felix has been one of the most ruthless of my family friends. That’s why he is still here, and no one else is. In this business, you can’t bless someone with
Chapter 63Cephus’ POVYou’re a mindless, disgusting bastard who gets off on bloodshed, and that’s not okay with me. I didn’t sign up to be shacked up with some lunatic.”I laugh, because, well, it’s funny, and if she thinks I’m crazy, she should see some of the sick bastards who walk freely in the world.“You didn’t sign up for this? Well, neither did I, darling. But I can tell you now, your father did sign up for the money. Money that he spent on you.”I smirk because I’m a fucking prick like that. I watch as her eyes skim the cell. There is nothing for her to throw at me. The small toilet and sink can’t be moved, and she wasn’t given any sharp objects.“I hate you!” She lunges forward as if she is going to do something. Except I’m faster and more experienced when it comes to fighting. If a fight is what she wants, she doesn’t stand a chance.I grab her, my touch firm, but not rough enough to hurt her. She struggles against me, her elbow coming to land on my stomach. It doesn’t af
Chapter 64Cephus’ POVShe’s sad, broken, and confused, and leaving her here is the last thing I want to do, but in the grand scheme of things, I haven’t a fucking clue as to what to do with her.I take the stairs two at a time, and at the top, Felix greets me to give me a report.“What happened?” I furiously demand. I’m back in mob boss mode.“Someone jumped the fence in the back yard. The silent alarm went off,” Felix explains, his eyes never leaving mine.“To the office. I can’t believe you weren’t watching the fucking cameras,” I growl. There should be no reason to need me, I train these men to deal with these issues.“We were, sir, we didn’t see—”“Then you go out there and check it out. There isn’t any reason you should need me unless you don’t have the situation under control?” I question him, wondering if he really has the situation under control. Luccio’s words ring in my ears to watch my back, to protect myself.“Sir…” Felix tries to get in, but I turn on him. Grabbing his
Chapter 65Katie’s POV“I work….” Well, we are making progress—two fucking words are better than one, but it isn’t the answer I want.Gripping him by the throat, I rip the knife from my ankle, where I always keep it and press it firmly against his throat. Blood trickles from the cut, but I am not done. I will be bathing in his blood by the end of this if he doesn’t provide me with answers.“Tell me!” I snarl, pushing the knife in with more force. His eyes widen, and his breaths become pants. He is going to have a heart attack if I don’t kill him soon.“Luccio,” he says the name as if it is one he knows well. I narrow my eyes at him, trying to determine if he is, in fact, telling the truth. Luccio had been the very person to warn me… Could he be the person who set me up, to begin with?“What about him? Tell me everything or so help me fucking god, I will cut your throat open and watch you suffocate.” Each word is something I mean. I don’t make promises, I just do it.“I work with him
Chapter 66Katie's POVFor now, I will have to deal with it. It doesn’t stop me from wondering what my mom would think, though.What is my father doing right now? My heart tightens as I think of him all alone. Will Cephus let me call him eventually? Let me check up on him? Will Cephus ever let me go? Doubts swarm me, fear owns me, and courage is the only thing keeping me going.I burrow myself into my blanket as I let the uncertainties eat away at me. I can’t run, but I can’t accept my life here either.There is only one other option I can see right now. I have to take him out before he can take me out. I have to kill Cephus. That’s the only way I can get away and make my father safe. My heart rate skyrockets at the mere thought of shooting him, it isn’t fair that he can point a gun at me and feel nothing. Just thinking about killing someone–taking Cephus’s life–makes me sick to my stomach.A clicking sound startles me as the door to my cell opens. Eli walks inside, looking like he w
Chapter 67Katie’s POVA shadow appears in the doorway, but instead of Cephus, an older woman peers down at us. Her face contorts into anger as she descends the steps. Her words come out in a dialect that I don’t understand… It sounds Italian, but I’m not sure.Whatever she says has Eli getting up and backing away from me. His eyes never leave me, though. The way he’s looking at me tells me that he’ll be back, and he’ll do whatever he wants to me.“Come, piccolo.” Her hands are gentle, and her voice soothes me, as she pulls me up the stairs, leaving Eli behind in the basement. Tears spring from my eyes, and I grab her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. She’s my savior, my saint.In the haze of it all, all I can focus on is that word. The one Cephus always calls me.“What does that mean, the word you just called me?” I ask between sniffles. She smiles at me softly—the kind of smile my mom used to give me.Her frail fingers reach out, pushing loose strands of my hair behind my e
Chapter 68Katie’s POVThe maid brought clean clothes and soap to wash up in the sink every day, but that’s not the same.Heading to the bathroom, I strip out of my clothes and take a hot shower. The water feels wonderful, and after, I feel a hell of a lot cleaner than before. I dry off and wrap a towel around myself before leaving the fogged-up bathroom to walk to the closet.My clothes are still there, neatly folded, and hung up as if I’ve been here all along. Dropping the towel, I dress in one of the silky pajama sets.I really don’t want to fucking care about him or care about whatever he’s doing. Except, as I crawl into his bed, all I can do is see him, smell him, taste him. I feel the weight of his body on mine, his lips on my skin, and relish the passion and fire he stokes within me.As soon as I close my eyes, I hear laughter from somewhere in the house. Someone is talking loudly, then laughing again. Footsteps follow suit. The sounds come closer, and I sit up. One final femi