ANTONIOI was halfway into much needed sleep when my phone rang and then after what Ephraim told me, the sleep disappeared along with the haze of pleasure I was in grip of and there was nothing left but a sense of urgency and restlessness as I waited for the inevitable. Gabriel Wolfe was in Italy. In my country where I had always wanted him up until now. On my soil, and the audacity of that man was he was in one of my hotel. The very one named after my sister. I had allowed it despite the fact that I wanted to order my men to open fire on him and his entourage. But according to Ephraim, Gabriel Wolfe hasn't brought the army of his men except his trusted guard Mac and another, along with Jonathan Sokolov with his own personal bodguards. An interesting turn off event that, that the brother of the man—Jeremiah Sokolov, who I had indebted on my side by granting him a favour for this very meeting with Gabriel Wolfe was on opposite side. I wondered if Jeremiah knew about his brother’s frie
ANTONIO“Uncuff me, Antonio, I mean it. I need to go to the bathroom!”I leaned down to brush my lips against hers in a soft kiss and pulled back to uncuff her. I took out the small key from my pocket and released her wrists from their prison. I took her arms down, slowly, and massaged her shoulders, hands and wrists. She tried to push me away with her weak hands as she half sat up only to drop down with a pained groan.“Oh god, Antonio, I am going to murder you.” She breathed heavily, glaring at me through barely open slits of her eyes. “You are not allowed to touch me for the next week.” I chuckled as I braced a hand at her back and helped her to sit up. She added, “Not just a week, make it two or maybe even three.”With a shake of my head, I picked her up in my arms. I said, “Not going to happen, little devil. You have to deal with the beast you unleashed.” Her small body tucked into me, feeling perfect. I walked t
ANTONIO“Is this really necessary?” My little devil asked as I prepared to cuff her hand to the headboard. I paused. Looked up at her. Her brown eyes were patient as she said, “I promised I won’t try to escape,” She rolled her eyes then as added, “Not that I’m going to even succeed. It’s quite disquieting you know... “ She pouted and amusement took hold of me for a second despite the dark thoughts running in my mind. She leaned up to cup my face and touched her forehead to mine. “You can trust me. Remember?”I sighed. I didn’t want to leave her without having the surety that she wouldn’t be able to leave me. But she was right, I have to bend down for her even when it was sharing my nature, but then again where she was concerned I will do anything for her. Begrudgingly, I nodded. “Alright.” She beamed at me. Her brown eyes shining like stars. And then her stomach grumbled and I arched a brow. “You are hungry, why didn’t you say anything.”She placed her palm on her stomach and a delic
ANTONIO “You have something that doesn’t belong to you.” My fingers tip tapped on my thigh as I turned to face Jonathan and pretended to think before saying, “Remind me again what it is. Because I don’t think I have anything that doesn’t, in all honesty, belong to me.” Jonathan stared at me as if he was getting out of patience. He could sit here and stare at me all day, but if he thought I was going to make it easy for these arseholes he was wrong. He sighed and shook his head. “See, my brother and I are only present here so there won’t be any bloodshed—” “Which I am not against, to be clear.” Jeremiah interjected. “I would prefer it in fact, if you want my opinion.” Jonathan shot his brother a glare and said, “Gabriel agreed to your terms. He is here as you wanted, without his guards, I should add.” I pointedly looked at the two men, shadowing Gabriel. Mac and the one I didn’t know, I thought the second one would be Mac’s brother Zurich, the one that had graced me with his unplea
ERICAI was sitting with Gianna. After our initial awkwardness has weaned off and we had apologized to each other we have managed to sit in the same room without insulting one another and there was even comfortable silence that surrounded us. I was reading the last of the journal, the Rossi in this journal fell for his captive and she was pregnant with his baby. She was brought down from the cell and now stayed with him in his bedroom. In all his musings and what the older Rossi wrote, it was clear how much he was obsessively in love with the stolen princess but he also wrote how disappointed he was to not have her respond to his love. Every time he confessed his love, the princess didn’t reply back. And even after how he changed for her, he seemed to be at the end of his ropes as he didn’t understand why she didn’t love him back. He was detailed about their sex life which I skipped, but there were words that took me by surprise and I felt for the man. He really loved her, went as fa
ERICA“Gabriel!” With a cry, I ran to him and flung myself in his arms. He staggered back but a moment later, his arms were around me, holding me tight in a familiar hug. Elation and nostalgia hitting me hard. I didn't realise how much I had missed him until this very second as loud sobs wrecked my body and tears came straight from my heart as homesickness gripped me in its chokehold. “Hush, it’s going to be okay. We are going back home.”His words made me pause and finally, I was able to pull myself back together as what he said registered in my mind. But before I could say anything, I heard Gianna’s scream. I turned around to see the men who were holding rifles in their hands, Gabe’s men, pushed Antonio’s guards and Gianna on their knees in a line.I stepped away from Gabriel as I looked between them and him. I asked warily, “What’s happening, Gabe? What are you doing? And, how are you here?”“What does it look like?” His words were chilling, not the way I had seen him conversing w
ERICA“Gabe, please, calm down. Just listen to me for a second.” But he wasn’t listening. A different chopper than the one I had seen Antonio use waited for us near the tree line. And Gabriel dragged me towards it. “Just listen to me, please.” I requested him again.He stopped abruptly and I had to catch myself before slamming into him. Looking down at me with his angry blue gaze, he demanded, “What should I listen to? What is it that you have to tell me when everything is already crystal clear?”“It isn't what you think... Antonio wasn't torturing me—”His eyes widened. He grabbed my shoulders like he wanted to shake some sense into me. “What has happened to you, Erica? Snap out of it!” He cupped my face, the emotions in his eyes very rarely available to see apart from when he was with my sister. Despite the way his eyes showed his emotions, his words carried the whip of his anger. “The pictures,” He ground out through clenched teeth as if it pained him to say that, “Do you even kno
ANTONIO“Where is he?” I roared as I grabbed Raphael, ready to lay into him. “Tell me, what you planned? Where is that fucking arsehôle?” I screamed as I grabbed him by the collar and unable to stop myself I slammed my fist in his stomach. He blocked my next punch and slugged me back in my side, making me suck in a harsh breath. “Where he should be. Did you really think this would be easy?” I tried to hit him again but strong arms grabbed me from behind. “Antonio!” Ephraim pulled me back or I would’ve punched him again. Jonathan grabbed Raphael from his other side, pulling him back because the fucker was still standing there as if I wouldn’t like to kill him.I watched with barely controlled rage as Jonathan helped Raphael, pulling him out of hitting range. I said to Ephraim, “Call Mario. Saze. Elijah. I want to know what's going on there and you—” I took a step toward Raphael, barely holding myself back, as I said, “You fucking pray that she's where she should be. Because if your b