CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURMAXIMO“I believe every business proceeding should be discussed in my office, Mr. Russo, not at a ball,” I said, shaking my whiskey glass to swirl the liquid inside.Russo Gonzalez had been trying to sell me a business idea for a year now, and I was getting tired of it. He wanted me to partner with him in the shipping business he wanted to open, claiming it would make it easier for us to transport drugs, guns and other things across borders. I knew what he wanted from a business deal like this one, of course. A good partnership between me and him would help boost his reputation as a great businessman and give him more clout. The problem was, I never gave trust easily, and Russo Gonzalez was one sneaky man. Like every man desperate for great wealth, he could put anyone's life at risk just to save himself. He lacked loyalty, and I could never work with someone like that.“Of course,” he let out a small chuckle. “It’s just that you’re a busy man and it’s almost impo
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVEARIADrip, drip, drip.Drops of brown-coloured water dropped from the leaking tap into the dirty sink across the empty room. The sound was steady and predictable with an interval of five seconds between each drop. It echoed in the silent, dimly lit room. It drove me crazy, but at the same time, it was the only thing that kept me awake and grounded.Tired of lying on my left arm, I sat up and rested my back against the wall behind me. A sharp wince escaped my lips as my naked back came in contact with the cold, rough surface. My head dropped slightly forward as I looked at my beautiful dress, the one Maximo had bought me, the one I tried to escape in. The beautiful chiffon material had been sullied, now covered with a mixture of grime, dirt and blood. I wished it was my blood. I wished I didn’t have to go through this again. In the past few months, I’ve been kidnapped a good number of times and I am now accustomed to what a cell looks and feels like. It is always
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIXMAXIMOMy blood boiled in my veins as I took in Aria’s body. Her torn clothes, the blood and dirt on her beautiful skin, and the dead look in her eyes. My chest squeezed painfully with anger and hurt. Several words sat at the tip of my tongue, waiting to explode the moment I opened my mouth. Instead of saying any of those, I walked over to her and gently picked her up.She remained expressionless as I lifted her light body into my arms. She was in shock, and it broke my heart to imagine what must be going on in her mind. It broke my heart to imagine what those bastards would have done to her if I’d wasted another second before coming here.The men Lorenzo captured had given up easily, thanks to my very creative and painful torture methods. I’d found out that they were a rising Russian gang, not part of the Russian mafia, and someone had given them intel about the Delveccio ball. They confessed that they only needed the ransom money and didn’t plan on hurting Aria. S
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVENARIAA loud bang reverberated through the room, making my heart jump. I quickly sat up on the bed as the door was crashed into again. My breath hooked in my throat as I watched in a mixture of horror and surprise as the wooden door broke off its hinges. The door crashed down to reveal an angry-looking Maximo. I instinctively took a step back. That seemed to annoy him even more. His grey eyes flashed with anger. I gulped, refusing to give him any further reaction as he stormed towards me.His long hair fell in angry curls down his face. The sharp edges of his face seemed more prominent, and I could see that it was a result of him gritting his teeth and clenching his jaws. As he reached me, one hand extended to grab my right hand firmly. I mentally braced myself for what would happen next, refusing to fight against him. Fighting against him would be useless, and I just didn’t have it in me to fight for anything anymore. I expected him to pull me to him, crash ou
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHTARIAMaximo chuckled bitterly at my question.“I see you finally remembered you could talk,” he sneered, coming to stand before me.He looked angry, his eyes gleaming dangerously as he stared at me. What right did he have to be mad at me? How dare he?I felt my anger rising, burning in the pit of my stomach like a volcano about to erupt. I was grateful upon realizing that I still could feel something, that I wasn’t broken. I embraced it, letting it fuel my actions and guide my words. “I want to know why you brought me here, Scar,” I said calmly, coldly. “You must be enjoying this little game you’re playing. The game where you treat me as an object of your obsession for a few days, kiss me, touch me, and then throw me away when you get bored with me? Or maybe, perhaps the game is over now, and you’ve decided to kill me. You don’t need me anymore, do you? You’ve gotten what you wanted from me, and now you’re bored..."“What the fuck are you talking about?” He cut
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINEARIA‘Or maybe I should just kill you now.’For the majority of my life, I’ve thought of dying. Losing my mother and watching my stepfather turn into a monster. Running away from him while knowing that I could get killed. Getting kidnapped a good number of times. Staring at the walls of my prison room with no hope of escape. I’ve thought of dying all these times, but I never thought of how exactly it would happen. I let that particular thought wander, leaving it up to the universe to decide. Now, as I stared into Maximo’s eyes gleaming with an unreadable emotion, I wondered how he would kill me. I let my mind wander for a second, to the pleasant moments we once shared. The desire that coursed through my veins whenever he was near, the feel of his skin against mine, his lips on mine, the pleasure he gave me and the conflicting feelings I felt in my chest afterwards.I let myself feel everything for what could possibly be the last time. A single tear rolled down m
CHAPTER FORTYMAXIMOThe car engine came to a stop directly in front of the beach house. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling a heavy breath. My heart was still heavy despite my efforts to forget everything that had happened in the past hour. I wished I could forget the details of my argument with Aria, I wish I could forget how her words cut me like a knife, how the mixture of hurt, pain and guilt settled in my stomach. But I couldn’t.I accused her of being impulsive, but heck! Bringing Aria here was an impulsive decision, one I hoped would get her to open up to me. I knew she hated being in my mansion. She hated being locked up. She hated being stuck with me.But the realization that was too painful to accept was the fact that she hated me too, so much that she wouldn’t mind risking her life or dying just to get away from me.The pain in my chest returned in full force, squeezing and burning my lungs, making it hard to breathe. My hand tightened against the steering wheel before
CHAPTER FORTY-ONEARIAMy breath hitched in my throat as I stared at Maximo, his words replaying over and over again in my head.‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’A rush of warmth spread through me, my heart racing as I still processed his words. My skin erupted in goosebumps, and I felt the heaviness in my chest slowly begin to dissipate.I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would leave them. “Ah...where's my mouthy spitfire when I need her the most?” Maximo chuckled, running his thumb over my lips.A shiver ran through my body. I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or his touch.“Fuck. I need to get you inside.”Standing up from the sand, Maximo lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing. Mindlessly, I put my arms around his neck, looking up at his face as he led us back to the beach house.He loved me?Another shiver wracked through me. This man, with his beautiful grey eyes and long dark hair that fell loosely past his shoulders, loved me. The Don of the Italian ma