The Italian woman looks me up and down, her eyes suspicious and narrowed on me. I watch as she crosses her arms and cocks her head to the side. I assumed being a madam that she would be at least in her sixties. She isn’t. She’s actually much younger, probably in her mid-forties, close to my own age. When the men are busy discussing strategies, only then does she attempt to speak to me.

“You love her,” she announces.

Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat. “Not really your business,” I state.

Her lips purse together, but she doesn’t show any other emotion other than that. “I raised her from the time she was a young teenager. I believe it is very much my business. Not sure I’d be so willing to help a man in your organization who didn’t love my Giovanna.”

Her words are strong, and her tone firm. She loves Vanna, too. My heart warms at the idea of Giovanna being raised by a woman who loved her. I have a feeling she didn’t get much from her mother, and I’m positive she had zero love from her father.

I know when I bought her, I did the right thing. I have a feeling she’s going to bring in so much love and happiness to my home, to my children. They’ve missed out on the nurturing and love of a mother as well. I think that the five of them need one another, just as much as I need Vanna.

“You help us get her back, you help me get her back, and you’ll know the answer. I’m not telling you something that I haven’t said to her yet. I think that Vanna deserves to hear those words more than anybody else on this fucking earth,” I proclaim.

Carmella’s face breaks out into a gigantic smile, she reaches forward and wraps her hand around my forearm giving it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, you do. That is satisfactory enough for me. I’ll help you get her back.”

“It would be appreciated,” I drawl. The woman’s smile widens, and I only shake my head.

Antonio Rossi waltzes into the room a few minutes later. His black eyes shift to me and narrow. I keep my gaze steady, showing him nothing, not even the complete fucking contempt I have for the man. What kind of sick fucked up father whores his own daughter out? He’s a complete piece of shit, and if I could, I’d end him right here and right now.

“What’s she doing here?” he asks, tipping his chin down to the madam.

Timofei chuckles, clearing his throat. “She is insurance for Giovanna’s safe return. How about you tell us why on earth Blackburn thought he could kidnap her and keep her?”

Rossi stumbles backward a step as if he’s actually fucking surprised. His head turns to me, and his eyes narrow. “I thought you bought her,” he spits.

Clenching my hands into tight fists, a growl from deep in my chest rises. “I did buy her, you fucking asshole,” I grind out.

He lifts a brow, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Then why isn’t she here? How did she get snatched up in public no less?”

Mannix grabs ahold of one bicep and Shaughan takes the other to hold me still. Between me, Timofei, and Antonio, we’re the most powerful crime bosses in the state, all in one room. If he was killed by my hand, his men would demand war. My brothers know it as well as I do. Timofei chuckles and we all turn to him.

“We know Rossi’s a shitbag. We know Blackburn is a fucking whacko. What we don’t know is why he took her, and why he thought he could. Also, we have leverage with Carmella’s videos and with the ones that Giovanna transferred to me.”

“Videos?” Rossi asks with a frown. He shifts his attention toward Carmella. “You recorded clients without my knowledge?” he growls.

Her eyes narrow as her back stiffens. “Not all of them. Only the powerful men who didn’t seem to understand the concept of treating the girls like human beings. Blackburn was one of them. He’s vile, Tonio. I’ll not have my girls abused with no insurance policy just in case he takes things too far. He was always right on the edge, too. More than once I almost cashed in.”

Timofei lets out another chuckle. “It seems, Rossi, that Blackburn has been a problem for a while. Tell us everything. I want Giovanna back, and I want him out of office. I don’t want to deal with him anymore. He doesn’t respect me, he doesn’t respect you, and he sure as fuck doesn’t respect our women.”

Rossi sighs, I watch as his shoulders sag a bit, making him seem smaller than normal. He’s not a large man, but with his power, his persona, he usually fills a room but all of that is gone.

“I handed her to the devil, I did it because I knew she wouldn’t complain. I did it because it was what she had been trained for. I did it to save my ass, to make my life easier.”

“How?” Timofei demands.

He laughs, but it sounds humorless. “Not only did he make sure the police chief and all of the officers looked the other way with just about everything I did. Not only including skin but dope sales as well. He set me up with clients, big clients. Politicians who not only came for the girls but would push things along legislative wise that would be in my favor.”

I grunt. I don’t have any ins with bigger politicians, but I have a feeling Timofei does, especially when he grins. “Blackburn needs to be taken down a peg or two and taken out. You’ll show as a united front with us?” Timofei asks, but it’s obvious that there is no room for negotiation.

Rossi will do what he says because if he doesn’t, that means war and no more Russian whores. Not even Rossi is that fucking stupid.

“When do we do this?” he asks.

Timofei stands from his seat, shoving his hands in his pockets, and rocks back on his heels. “Now seems to be a good time. Do you know where he is?”

Rossi lets out a breath. “I do. He has an apartment in the city. If he has her holed up anywhere, that’s where they’ll be.”

“Carmella, can you transfer the recordings to my phone?” Timofei asks as he begins to shove his phone in his pocket, snatching up his keys from his desk.

She chuckles. “I’ll be joining you, so there’s no need.”

Timofei’s eyes lift from his desk, slowly. He tilts his head to the side before he snorts. “Oh, you will?”

Carmella ignores his smart assed attitude and stands to her full height. She seems completely unbothered by the powerful men who surround her. The fucking dangerous men.

“I will. I need to ensure that Giovanna is okay. I haven’t spoken to her since she was taken from my brothel. Also, I want to watch that man cower.”

A slow smile spreads across Timofei’s face. “You may join us, let’s go.”

Together we walk out of the office. There are dozens of men littering Timofei’s restaurant. All different, yet all the same. Irish, Russian, and Italian, but all part of an organization, and I can’t help but smirk. All three organizations that very well could be at one another’s throats, and yet, we’re coming together.

We all have our own agendas, but it doesn’t matter, all that matters is what we will achieve, and as long as it means Giovanna is at my side again, I could give a fuck what the others desire from this.

With my brothers flanking me, we head toward our waiting cars. Like a fucking parade procession, we drive toward that motherfucker’s apartment building.

Every single part of my body aches.

It hurts to even breathe.

I’m thankful when Lucian leaves me alone, unfortunately, I know that he’ll be back. I’m tied up, unable to move, but it doesn’t matter, there’s nowhere for me to go anyway. I keep my eyes closed and attempt to relax. Though being tied up like a fucking pretzel doesn’t make the relaxation part easy, I’m going to attempt it nonetheless.

I hear a noise, then Lucian’s voice. “Yes, well, I don’t care. I need a meeting with the senator. It’s extremely important. He needs to call me back immediately.” His fingertips skim along my sore ass cheek. He isn’t being rough, but it feels like fucking sandpaper from his abuse.

I’m thankful when he doesn’t sit down next to me but instead seems to settle in the chair across from the bed. I hear his phone ring a few minutes later and he chuckles.

“Senator, so good of you to call.” He pauses again before he murmurs, “I have someone that I think you’d like to meet. I know how you enjoy your parties. She’ll be perfect. What? Oh, yes, the best of the best just for you. Now, you’re going to work on that budget proposition, aren’t you?” he purrs.

Bile rises, he’s using me for political gain, for negotiations about budgets? What a fucking asshole. I’ve never been one to pray, but I pinch my eyes closed and I pray. I send a prayer up to God, for Aidan, that he’ll find me and save me.

I hate being a damsel in distress, but right now, that’s exactly what I am. There is no shame in me admitting it to myself or anybody else. I’m tied up in a room with a psycho. I’m the exact definition of a damsel in distress.

“Rest up for a little bit. You’re going to have to work tomorrow, Giovanna,” Lucian whispers, his voice laced with a sweetness that makes me sick.

I don’t know how I’m going to do anything tomorrow. I’m in so much pain right now that I can’t imagine what I’ll feel like as the hours go by. I know from experience you always feel worse before you feel better.

There’s a noise in the other room, and Lucian curses. I hear him walk away from me swiftly, and I let out an exhale. Something shifts, I hear what sounds like a scuffle and then some male shouts.

My heart starts to hammer against my chest. I don’t dare to hope that it’s Aidan, but I can’t stop myself since that’s what I do when it comes to him—I hope.

“A rùnsearc,” Aidan’s tortured voice fills the silent room.

“Aid—”

I hear a growl. “Get the fuck out, nobody is allowed in here,” he shouts.

The door slams and then I feel the bed dip. Aidan’s hand touches my cheek, his forehead presses against my own, and he inhales deeply before he exhales.

“Vanna, I’m so goddamn fucking sorry,” he rasps.

I whimper, the only noise that I can currently make without bursting into tears. I feel the restraints being loosened, he massages my wrists before he gently pulls me up and into his arms. I bury my face against his neck, the tears I was trying to hold in spill down my cheeks. His fingers wrap around the back of my head as he holds me against him.

“I got you now, A rùnsearc. Nothing will ever happen to you again. I’m never letting you out of my sight,” he says comfortingly.

With a sigh, I curl even closer to him, practically trying to crawl inside of him. I believe what he’s saying, he’ll never let this happen again because I have a feeling Blackburn won’t live to see another day. The thought alone makes me smile inside. Maybe there’s something wrong with me for wishing him dead, but I do, and I don’t feel the least bit bad about it.