Adelina

When I woke up the following morning, I was in my bed.

With Cane beside me.

I was wrapped around his body, like usual. I couldn’t recall cuddling with him while I was conscious, but I obviously did it during sleep. Somehow, my body found comfort sticking to his. I had been used to having a chain wrapped around me during all hours of the night. Now I was used to sleeping with Cane instead.

The second I opened my eyes and stretched, he woke up too. He opened his sleepy eyes and looked at me, staring at me first thing in the morning. His eyes looked bright that morning, beautiful in a threatening kind of way. Several heartbeats passed before he adjusted the sheets then moved on top of me.

His cock was hard and pressed against my stomach, and his lips found mine for a good morning kiss.

I kissed him back automatically, my lips now morphed perfectly to his. I’d kissed him enough times that I expected every embrace. I knew exactly how his lips would feel once we touched. As if I were on fire, everything burned.

He positioned me underneath him and inserted his length inside me, sliding in smoothly even though I’d only been awake for a moment. I didn’t have time to get wet, but somehow, I was. He pressed his face to mine as he rocked into me slowly, grinding his pelvic bone right against my clit. He breathed hard as we slowly woke up together, our bodies coming to life by using each other.

Perhaps it was because it was first thing in the morning, but I was already about to explode. I could feel the tension in my core as well as everywhere else. I dragged one hand down his back while I settled the other in his hair.

The orgasm struck me suddenly, his cock hitting me in the sweet spot perfectly. Like the head of his cock found a button inside my walls, he hit it hard and made me writhe. I held onto him harder as the orgasm swept through me, and my screams entered right into his ear.

He gave a few more pumps before he came inside me with a quiet groan. He filled me up just like he did last night, giving me all of his come. Even when he was half asleep and rocking into me slowly, he still made me come. “Morning, Bellissima.” He kissed the corner of my mouth, his thick hair brushing against me, and kept his slowly softening cock inside me.

He said that to me many times, usually in a possessive or affectionate way, but I had no idea what it meant. Tristan used to call me a cunt. I hoped whatever Italian nickname Cane had given me was more respectful. “Why do you call me that? What does it mean?”

He pulled his lips away and looked into my face, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Now he seemed just as tired as he had before the sex. He had this natural way of looking handsome no matter what his mood was. He was hard like a man should be, quiet like most powerful men were. He had a hidden threat always sitting in his eyes, obvious to anyone who looked his way. But that danger didn’t scare me like it used to. Now it almost made me feel safe, that his aggression was aimed at the rest of the world—not me. “It means beautiful.”

* * *

Cane got ready for work, and I made him something to eat downstairs. There was leftover breakfast from the weekend, so I heated that up and made a batch of coffee. While he was gone all day, I had the house to myself. It was nice to have my own space and freedom, but being alone just made me sad.

All I thought about was how many days I had left.

Until I was returned to that psychopath.

Cane came downstairs and looked at the plates sitting at the table. “This for me?”

“Yep.”

He grinned. “Awesome.” He sat down and drank his coffee then grabbed his fork. He dug in like a starving man, scarfing down everything like he didn’t know when he would eat again. When we had dinner together, he was usually more refined.

I sipped my coffee and watched him, suddenly realizing I would actually miss him while he was gone. He was the only companion I had in the world. I used to be close with my parents before I was taken. I used to tell Lizzie everything. But now neither one of them was accessible to me.

Tristan would never allow me to contact the outside world. If I did, he considered it an act of treason and would behead Lizzie. But Cane was different. He’d never laid a hand on me, and he always listened. “I want to ask you for a favor.”

“I’m listening.” He finished a piece of bacon before he drank his coffee again.

“I was wondering if I could use your phone…” Maybe Cane had been a decent guy up until this point, but I doubted he would risk his neck just so I could tell my parents I was okay. He was a criminal too.

He narrowed his eyes like he was surprised by the question. “To do what with?”

“Call my parents… I know they’re worried about me.” My mom probably hadn’t slept since the police told her I was missing.

Cane looked down at his coffee like he didn’t know how to swallow the question.

“I won’t tell them where I am. If I do and Tristan finds out, he’ll kill Lizzie. I just want them to know I’m being treated well and it’s not as bad as what their imagination thinks it is…” I didn’t have to lie. I could tell them about my life with Cane. They didn’t need to know about Tristan at all.

He took another drink then cleared his throat. “The police are expecting you to call.”

“I know…but I want my parents to know I’m okay. Please let me give that to them.”

Cane searched my expression, his eyes cold. “I don’t mind you contacting them, but it does get me involved. They’re going to trace any phone call you make. Tristan has eyes and ears all over the police. If you make any move, he’ll know about it. Both of our necks will be on the line.”

It was stupid for me to think he would let me do it. I got my hopes up because I was slowly being brainwashed the longer I stayed here. Now I actually thought he was a good man with a heart, but I was missing the point. He sold weapons to a criminal and took me as collateral.

How could I forget all of that?

Cane continued to stare at me. “I’m sorry. I wish I could give you a different answer.”

My heart actually believed him.

The doorbell rang, shattering the quiet conversation we were just having.

Cane glanced at his watch to see the time then set his mug down. “I have no idea who that is.” He left the dining room, his heavy footfalls announcing his movements through the house. I heard the front door open, and I recognized the woman’s voice.

“So, did you talk to her?” She had a distinctly feminine voice, but it was full of unflinching strength.

“Not now,” Cane said coldly. “I need to leave for work.”

“And she’s cooped up here like a damn dog?”

I smiled because I liked her.

“Pearl, not now—”

“You never answered my question.”

Cane paused for a long time before he answered. “Yes, I talked to her. She’d like to talk to you too—”

“Great.” Her voice sounded louder as she moved through the house and came closer to me. “Adelina, are you upstairs?”

“I’m in here,” I said with a strong voice, about to come face-to-face with the woman I knew so much about.

She stepped through the doorway dressed in dark jeans and a black top. She had deep brown hair like mine and blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean on a hot summer day. An interesting wedding ring sat on her left hand, a white button with gold rimming around the edge. She took one look at me and smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you.” She leaned down and hugged me like we were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.

Cane followed behind her, looking fiercely annoyed.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” I immediately felt comfortable with her because it was the first affectionate embrace I’d received that wasn’t sexual or unwarranted. It was full of understanding and compassion.

She pulled away, no longer wearing the smile on her face. “I’m going to my husband’s winery to get some work done. Do you want to come along for the day?”

As much as it disgusted me, I turned to Cane and silently asked permission.

Pearl snapped her fingers and brought my attention back to her. “Don’t ask him for a damn thing. Do what you want. You wanna come?”

“Whoa, hold on.” Cane walked up, staring at her like an annoyed sibling. “She does have to ask my permission. She’s living with me under my roof. I call the shots.”

“Is she a dog?” Pearl countered.

“No, but—”

“Is she a child?”

Cane’s annoyance turned to rage. “No. But she’s my property, and I dictate where she goes. If I don’t want her to go somewhere, she doesn’t go. That’s the end of the story. So don’t come into my house and start calling the shots. I’m not a pussy like Crow. You can’t push me around.”

Pearl crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with hatred. “I’m so disappointed in you.”

His eyes shifted slightly, like that insult actually affected him. There was something about Pearl that softened his edges, made him more human. I’d never seen him react that way to me. But then again, I really hadn’t told him off before. His treatment, compared to Tristan’s, was always such an improvement that I didn’t have the audacity to complain. “Crow will be there?” He clenched his jaw.

“Yes.”

“I want her home before I walk through the front door. Not a minute later.” He grabbed his wallet and keys and prepared to walk out, his shoulders stiff with anger. I suspected he would be harsher to Pearl if she were anyone else. She had an innate power that I could see even though it was invisible.

He finally walked out, shutting the door harder than was necessary.

When he was gone and it was just the two of us alone together, she sighed and relaxed her shoulders. “Good. That asshole is finally gone.”

* * *

The drive was surreal. Olive trees and vineyards took up most of the scenery, along with beautiful hillsides that flattened out to the next vineyard. Ancient castles were in the distance, but they weren’t run-down and old. They seemed to be inhabited by a lucky Italian who was fortunate enough to inherit the estate.

It reminded me of the view from Cane’s house, but we were much closer to Florence. Out here, we seemed to be alone for miles.

Pearl didn’t say much or bombard me with questions. She slowed down once she passed a large three-story estate behind a set of black gates. Green ivy clung up the walls and revealed the windows set in stone. Vineyards stretched across the fields in either direction, along with mighty oak trees. “This is where Crow and I live.”

The two of them lived in that mansion? “It’s beautiful…”

“Thanks. It surprised me how quickly it felt like home.” She passed the house then sped up again, getting back up to speed. “His winery is just a few miles to the west. We’ll be there in no time.”

I wasn’t in a hurry because I had nowhere else to be. If anything, I wanted time to slow down. I wanted to stay like this for as long as possible. When Cane returned me to Tristan, I’d fall to my knees and sob.

Pearl drove with both hands on the wheel, a pair of sunglasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. It was obvious she was American because she didn’t have a hint of an accent, not like Cane did. “When Crow and Cane took me from Bones, Crow took me to his house—”

“Who’s Bones?” I interrupted.

“He’s the man who bought me after I was kidnapped.” Despite how painful that must have been, she spoke with a strong voice and didn’t shake at the memory. She seemed to have made her peace with it, leaving it in the past where it belonged.

My suffering would never be a thing of the past.

“Crow kept me as his prisoner for a long time. Said I had to work for my freedom before he would let me go. According to him, he did me a favor and deserved to be compensated.” She rolled her eyes. “That man has always had a big ego.”

“What happened then?” I’d never seen Cane’s brother, but I imagined them looking a lot alike. Dark and strong, with powerful arms and shoulders. I assumed they had the same manner, the same constant fury in their eyes.

“I did what he asked… I slept with him.” Instead of frowning at the painful memory, she smiled. “And somewhere along the road…I fell in love with him.”

I could hardly believe it. Cane had been nice to me, and I got off every time he was inside me, but I couldn’t picture myself falling in love with him. All I wanted was to go home where I belonged and get back to my old life—with Lizzie.

“Bones tried to get me back a few times, and Crow protected me. Eventually, we killed him. And now we’ve been living happily ever after here in the countryside.” She finally turned to me and gave me a smile. “I know my story shouldn’t have gone that way. I fought my feelings for a long time, and so did he. But that’s how I got to where I am.”

“Where are you from?”

“New York.”

“Do you miss it?”

She stared at the road ahead of her then shrugged. “Honestly, no. There’s not much for me to miss. I worked as an engineer for the state and I enjoyed my job, but I didn’t have family or friends. I was kinda a loner. Now I have a husband and a brother… It’s nice.” She slowed down when she approached the entrance to the vineyard. The wooden gates were open, and the name was carved on the surface.

Barsetti Vineyards.

She drove slowly over the gravel pathway toward the Tuscan building that overlooked the fields. A few other buildings were scattered around the estate, along with a sign that said, “Daily Tastings.”

Pearl parked the car, and we got out. “Crow is in his office. We’ll meet him whenever he decides to come out and play. You want a tour?”

“Sure.”

“This way.” Pearl led me to the fields and showed me the grapes on the vines. The purple fruit was much bigger than the kind I saw at the grocery store. Pearl explained they were specifically wine grapes, a variation that was better for the fermentation process. She showed me where the restaurant was and the shop where they had antique bottles of wine and other souvenirs. “The tasting room is the best.” She led me inside a tall building that reminded me of a barn. Inside, there were stacks of barrels that reached the ceiling. A large counter stood in the back of the room where empty wineglasses sat along with circular tables and chairs. “This is where I’ll be working. I need to brush up on my Italian. I only know a few words.”

“You’ll be doing the wine tastings?” I’d been to a few in Connecticut with friends. It was a great way to spend a Saturday, feasting on wine and cheese.

“During the weekdays, yes. You’re welcome to help me.”

As much as I wanted to get out of the house, I didn’t know anything about wine. “I drink wine occasionally, but I’m not much of an aficionado.”

“I’m not either, so we can learn together.”

I was grateful she was trying to make me feel better by keeping me busy. When I overheard her tell Cane she wanted to speak to me, I assumed it would turn into a meeting with a shrink. But I didn’t feel like I was on display at all. In fact, it felt like a normal day in summer.

“I thought I smelled trouble.” A tall man in a tailored suit walked inside with his hands in his pockets. His suit was black, and the tie down his chest was yellow. He had a dark visage with green eyes, looking dangerous and beautiful at the same time. While some of his features were different, he had a striking resemblance to his brother.

He must be Crow.

“No trouble,” Pearl said. “Just getting down to work.” She walked around the counter and came up to him. Without them even touching each other, I could spot the connection between them. He stared at her like she was the only woman in the room, and she obviously had received that look many times.

I almost felt like I was intruding. The heat between them reminded me of the times Cane would stare at me. Sometimes I was fully clothed, and sometimes I was buck naked, but the look was always the same. It was intense, terrifying, and smoldering.

Crow walked up to her and angled his neck down to kiss her. It was a quick kiss but full of restrained attraction. His nose brushed against hers slightly before he pulled away. He turned to me and extended a hand. “You must be Adelina. I’m Crow.”

I eyed his hand without taking it, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Anytime I was near a man, I felt the panic in my veins. But I realized it was a stupid reaction to have. Crow may have kidnapped Pearl, but he obviously loved her.

And I was already someone else’s prisoner. “Nice to meet you.” I finally took his hand.

He gave me a firm shake before he let go. “My wife insisted on bringing you to the winery to pass the time. You must be bored in that big house.”

I liked being bored. I liked having the freedom to do what I wanted—or do nothing at all. “It’s nice to get out of the house. Everything on TV is in Italian, and I can’t understand a word of it.”

“Me neither,” Pearl said. “That’s why I read.”

Crow’s eyes darted to her face, and they lingered there longer than necessary. He turned back to me. “If you need anything, just ask. I’m at your disposal.” He circled his arm around Pearl’s waist and kissed her again. “I’ll see you later.” He walked away, returning his hand to his pocket.

Pearl watched him walk out until he rounded the corner and was gone from sight. She released a quiet sigh before she turned back to me. Maybe she assumed her thoughts weren’t as obvious as they were.

But I could tell exactly what she was thinking.

She was hopelessly in love with her husband.

* * *

“What do you think of Cane?” Pearl drove me back to the house at the end of the day. She was running late but didn’t seem to care if it pissed him off. Despite the fact that both Crow and Cane were terrifying men, she didn’t appear bothered by their anger.

That was a complicated question. “What do I think of him?”

“Yeah. Do you wanna stab him in the throat in the middle of the night?”

The question was ironic because he suggested I pull a similar stunt. “No, but he encouraged me to kill him in his sleep. Said I should take him out and run for it.”

Even through her thick sunglasses, I could tell she was surprised. “He said that?”

“The only reason why I haven’t attempted to flee is because of my friend Lizzie. He says I shouldn’t stick around for her. He treats me well.” I could never abandon my friend like that. We were in this together, even if we were apart.

“He treats you well? He told me he does, but his definition of well could be different from mine.”

The only thing I could compare him to was Tristan. “Staying with him has been really nice. I don’t want to go back.”

She tilted her head again in surprise. “Really?”

I didn’t want to go into detail. Even if she experienced the same terror, some things were better left unsaid. “Yeah. I have my own room. I can shower when I want. I can eat when I want…” I’d always had a big appetite, so starving myself had been even more difficult. I constantly had been light-headed and weak, so when Tristan came after me, I fought him even less. “When I go back to Tristan, I’ll be chained to a metal pole and kicked in the head. I’m not saying Cane is a good man, but there are different kinds of evil. And Tristan is certainly a much darker shade than Cane will ever be.”

Pearl faced the road again, and her voice came out much weaker than it ever did before. “You shouldn’t be grateful that Cane is treating you like a human being…because you are a human being.”

“I know, but that’s not the way the real world works.” I stared out the window and spotted Cane’s house in the distance. “The moment I was taken, I was no longer a person. I became a punching bag, a whore, and a nobody.” Tristan never exposed an ounce of pity when he tortured me. The more I cried and begged for mercy, the more he beat me. I wasn’t a human being in his eyes—at all. “I’d give anything to turn back time and never leave America. I’d give anything to redo that day. But this is the hand I’m stuck with…and I have to play the game.”

Pearl shook her head. “No, you don’t have to play the game, Adelina. Don’t give up like this.”

“I’ve never given up.” The accusation was insulting—to the core. “Every day, I hope that something will change. I haven’t hung myself because I think the police will track me down. I continue to breathe for the possibility that my life will get better. I endure every day of torture just for the slim chance that I’ll be saved. So don’t tell me I’ve given up. I never have, and I never will.” I kept my gaze out the window, Cane’s house coming closer into view.

“Don’t depend on someone else to save you. The only person you can rely on is yourself.”

“I know. But my hands are tied.” I didn’t know where Lizzie was or if she was alive, but I chose to believe there was hope for both of us.

“I know it’s not my place to say, but I think Cane is right. You and Lizzie have a better chance of survival if you escape and go to the authorities.”

“You don’t know Tristan.” Maybe Pearl had been tortured by a different psychopath, but Tristan was a madman. “He won’t kill her until he’s tortured the life out of her. Only when she’s limp and brain-dead will he finally cut her head off. I could never live with myself if that happened to her.”

Pearl didn’t press her opinion any longer. I knew she thought I was stupid for not taking her offer to help me. But survivor’s guilt was a serious thing, and I couldn’t leave my best friend behind. “I know you think I’m stupid—”

“I don’t think that at all. I think you’re brave.”

My madness was finally complimented.

“But maybe we can still figure something out.”

“Like what?” Crow seemed like a powerful man with lots of resources. And it was obvious he would bend over backward for this woman.

“I don’t know. Maybe we can do some digging and find out where Lizzie is being held. I’ll talk to Crow and Cane about it.”

That would be a dream come true. “That would mean the world to me…”

Pearl pulled into the circular driveway around the fountain then parked the car. Her hand moved on top of mine and gave me a squeeze. “You aren’t alone, Adelina. Never forget that.”