Alicia’s POV“Alicia!”Daya’s full bodied hug surprised me and i returned it a little, before letting go. She was beaming and I nearly thought she appeared to not be the Daya that I knew.I smiled at her a little, injecting warmth into my tone as I asked, “How are you? You look good!”And, yes, she really did.She had a tan on her that glowed, and was decked from top to bottom in glittering jewels, a sparkling headband, gold earrings and necklace, and a white fur coat that looked expensive based on the feel.It would have looked gaudy on anyone else but somehow it just fit her, and I knew“I’m doing great,” she enthused as we sat down, across from each other with the round table between us.The restaurant ambience was wonderful for a late brunch, and I noticed the patrons were few and far between, upon gazing about a little while a waiter walked up to us.“What will you have?” The waiter asked with a smile on his face.“I’ll have a martini and some steak with a salad,” Daya ordered fir
Acker’s POVMy phone ringing brought me out of the daze of sleep that I was already in.“What the fuck is it?” I let the curse word roll off my tongue as I was just barely awake. Whatever it was there had to be a damn good reason for this to happen.“Madden. Trouble.” It was Mikael, and I was instantly alert at the anger in his voice. It was unusual even for the Serrano who was normally boisterous by nature but ultimately kept his cool unless pressed.“This had better be fucking important, Serrano,” I replied in a gravelly voice, rising from the bed. The next words he spat out made me understand why exactly he had called in the first place.“Cross has taken her.”“What? I don’t think I heard correctly, Mikael,” I said, disbelief, frustration, FURY, filling my body that every te of sleep fled.“He took Alicia. Right from under our fucking noses, the bastard!” I heard something smash in the background and I didn’t question it. “When I see that bastard I will kill him. I will WATCH THE L
Alicia’s POVIt was a rough tug at my arms that made my eyes shoot open. As soon as I did I let out a cry, pulling my arm back to hold at my chest.“Oh look, she’s awake,” i heard someone say.That wasn’t my concern right that moment as the memories of the last time I was awake flooded my mind so quickly.Daya! And cross!My alarm rose and instantly I was alert and stood up, or rather, tried to stand, for my legs still felt like jelly and I sat right back down, panting heavily.The drug was probably just wearing off.Where was I?I raised my gaze then, to meet the eyes of the person that was next to me and saw the unfazed, annoyed face of a man.“Well, you’re being quite the problem, aren’t you?” I heard the man say. “Se non fosse stato per il fatto che il Don ti voleva vivo, non ti avrei accolto.”It took some time for my mind to process that, all due to the still sluggish effects of the drug on my mind.“Dove sono? Cosa sta succedendo?” I asked the man who looked surprised to hear m
Mikael’s POVThe tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife, as the saying goes.Senator Duncan looked like a shell of himself, withdrawn and not at all like the confident man he proclaimed himself to be numerous times. As he sat across from myself and Acker, I could see the Senator shift from foot to foot.“I want my daughter back,” he said, his voice like steel, however still I could hear the undertones of terror in it. He was afraid, that much was clear.The problem was, at this very point, so was I.Cross was capable of anything and everything. It had already been two days since Alicia was abducted. There had been no word of her or from him. Not even a taunting show of victory to make me seethe.The silence was unbearable.I missed her.“I want to know if you can get her back. The situation is precarious as it is,” Senator Duncan continued, his words grating on my already worn nerves more and more as he droned on.“We will make sure she returns, Senator, there
Alicia’s POVThe deep bass in the underground club hits my ears harshly while I move around, working. Among the strobe lights were tons of bare skin, especially among the other girls working. I was thankful that I stuck to the outfit I chose; a black T-shirt and matching denim shorts. When I arrived I was offered the sparkly bikini outfit the other girls wore. The sight of it alone made me feel uncomfortable and I declined it several times over before I was finally allowed to wear my comfortable clothes.On the other hand, for my refusal I had to deal with the standoffish attitude of the bartender, Carla. From the moment I began working she looked over me with a scowl. “Hey! Bring more bottles from the store room. We still have other customers to serve.” She called out to me, glaring my way with scowl clearly shown. I had to grit my teeth to bear it.Shortly after she turned away to the nearest customer with a pleasant smile. It was obvious she was out of me. Several hours had pass
Alicia’s POVI silently braced myself for what was going to happen next. I knew why Cross wanted to see me, and it was no doubt because of the incident with Daya.He would be angry with how I treated Daya. If lost control and even though putting her down after her taunts was satisfying I now had to face the consequences.Clenching my jaw I knocked on the door before opening at the faint sound. There was Cross and as I expected, Daya.Her face was still wet, mascara running her face with an innocent expression.“Look what she did to me baby. I was just ordering a drink and she attacked me and threw it in my face.” She cried out, holding onto his arms.It was an obvious lie, but none of that mattered did it? I watched Cross peel her arms off him. “Stop crying,” he said, sounding annoyed to my surprise. Suddenly he took out a black card and placed it in her hands, halting her sniffles.“Take it, clean up and buy yourself something nice. I'll deal with this.” He said.Her cries instantly
Alicia’s POVIt was like getting doused with icy cold water. My gut clenched for a completely different reason.Pregnant?“No.” I denied, “I'm not pregnant. It's just a bug or something.”It could be stress. I was kidnapped a mere days ago and found out about Acker and Mikael. Of course I wasn't able to keep anything down.That was all there was to it. There was no way I could be pregnant.Andy shook her head, “I could tell that something was off about you. Even before, but I couldn't put my mind to it. I know the signs Alicia. I worked as a health assistant in a gynecologist's office before my father sold me to Cross to pay off his debts.”I was stricken from her words, but there wasn't any time to think as she stood up.“Wait here.” She patted my shoulder before turning away. I watched her pull out a bag from her bed and rummage through it before returning while gripping an object.“Here, you can check it yourself.” She passed the object to me. I looked down numbly before realizing w
Acker’s POVThe air was silent and still but I didn’t find any peace in it like I always did. Instead my thoughts began to wander, going back to the last conversation I had with the Senator and Mikael. That had been a fucking disaster if a conversation and had effectively caused a rift to build between us. The alliance between us Dons and the most powerful Senator in the country was becoming frayed and twisted due to this matter.That was two days ago; two days without finding anything about Alicia’s whereabouts.It ate away at my ego, knowing that I was powerless to do anything against Cross. He was in hiding and left no clues for any of us to pick at. It hurt.I had just returned from a drive to clear the air and found Mikael waiting right outside my home. The air stunk of cigarettes around him and I noticed the tiny cigarette butt on the gravel next to his feet.Giving him a dirty look I pushed past him and stepped into the foyer of my home.“What brings you here so late?” It was a