ADELINE

 

I STARE AT the watch as the mysterious message disappears.  Could it be a message from Jax…or Lucien?

I gasp and hold a hand to my throat as a sob threatens to escape.  Just the thought that Lucien could be alive sends a spike of hope coursing through my veins.

But slowly my hope is crushed as I realize…could he really have survived the gunshot wounds and drowning?

Lucien is resourceful and strong…but he's not immortal.

Still there's a small chance, and I'm willing to hold onto it as if it's a lifeline.  The only other person who would be coming for me is Jax.  Jax holds the key to unlocking the million and one questions I have about Lucien…about what happened to him…and if he's still alive.

Clutching the watch against my chest, I force my tears to stop.  If Jax is coming to get me, I need to be prepared.

I need to be ready to fight back.

Standing, I go to the door and wriggle the doorknob.  The door is still locked, and it doesn't look like there's any other way out of this room.

I decide to try a different tactic.  Banging on the door, I begin to scream at the top of my lungs, hoping someone will be able to hear me.

It takes several minutes, but eventually I hear the door being unlocked.  I step back as it swings open and reveals Giovanni.  "You called, Princess?" he sneers.

"I don't feel very well," I lie, grasping my stomach.  "I think maybe if I had something to eat…"  I let my voice trail off and allow my eyes to fall to the ground to appear weak and submissive on the outside — the exact opposite of how I'm feeling internally right now.

Growling in frustration, he hisses, "Fine.  I think there are some leftovers in the fridge."  He grabs my upper arm in a bruising grip and pulls me towards him.  "Don't you dare so much as fucking breathe in the direction of anyone or I will have you hogtied and gagged in your room for the rest of the night."

I stare at him in disbelief.  Where is the man I was beginning to fall in love with months ago?  Where is the man who vowed to protect me before I was even able to walk?

I feel duped.  My entire life I was led to believe Gio was a kind man, a forgiving man with a good heart and soul.

However, he's clearly nothing but a monster disguised behind a designer suit and a killer smile.

Giovanni tightens his grasp and practically drags me down to the kitchen.  There is a maid cleaning the countertops.  "Leave," Gio snaps at her.

With trepidation reflected in her big, blue eyes, the young girl practically runs out of the room.

Giovanni forces me onto a barstool at the breakfast bar and retreats to a large stainless steel fridge to gather several items.  "You still like turkey, right?" he mutters.

I give him a nod when he glances my way.  I watch carefully as he sets everything on the counter and then begins making me a turkey sandwich with a dill pickle on the side just how I used to always like it.

Tears fill my eyes when I realize that the man who helped to practically raise me still exists somewhere inside the monster he eventually became.

"What's wrong?" he asks when he places the sandwich in front of me.

"Nothing.  Just hormones," I tell him before picking up the sandwich and taking a bite.  "It's good.  Thank you," I whisper.

He gives me a small smile and watches me eat.  I was hoping that he would leave me alone and that I could search for a way out or a place to hide, but it looks like I'm not going to be that lucky after all.

Swallowing hard past the turkey sandwich that now feels like a big lump lodged in my throat, I ask him for a glass of water.  He obliges, setting the glass in front of me.

I take a long swallow, my hand trembling.  "Are you planning on keeping me here long?" I inquire.  The more information I can find out, the better.

His eyes narrow on me as he replies with, "I don't know yet.  It depends on how everything pans out."

His answer is cryptic, and I don't really understand how he intends to take over the empire when half of the family is in prison.  And I know that once my father gets out, and I'm sure he will sooner rather than later, he's going to want back control.

The ceiling lights flicker once, twice.  I slowly set my sandwich down as Giovanni stares at me.  Then the whole mansion settles into complete darkness.

"Fuck," Gio curses.  His cell phone lights up his face as he dials a number.

While his back is turned and he's intently focused on the phone in his hand, I realize this could be my only chance.

I slink off of the barstool and take off running away from him with my hands out in front of me, feeling my way through the unfamiliar place.

"Adeline?" I hear Giovanni call.  And then harsher, meaner, he yells, "Adeline!"

With my heart threatening to beat out of my chest, I keep moving, staying near the walls and trying not to bump into anything or make any noise.

I can hear Giovanni talking on his cell phone asking what the hell is wrong with the lights.

If he doesn't know, I'm hopeful that this is Jackson's doing.  Maybe he's coming to rescue me right now.  Just the thought of seeing a familiar face again has my feet moving faster.  I'm at least two rooms apart from Gio right now, but I can't see where I'm going or where I am.  I hope that I'm not going in a circle and coming right back to him.

Suddenly, a beam of light sweeps over the room I'm in, and I turn just in time to see Giovanni's eyes landing on me.  He's holding a flashlight in his hand and pointing the beam straight towards me.  "Adeline, don't you fucking move a goddamn inch!"  His deep voice echoes off the walls and has my breath hitching in the back of my throat.

Turning, I run away from him in the opposite direction, wanting to put as much distance between us as I can.

The stream of light wobbles, making the rooms we run through flash from bright to dark, bright to dark as Gio chases after me.

After I round a corner, I no longer see the light following me, and I think I finally escaped him.  It's not until he suddenly cuts in front of me that I realize my mistake.

Gio knows this house a hell of a lot better than I do, and he just proved that fact.

I turn to run again, but he tackles me to the ground.  With his weight pressing on my back and crushing me on the hardwood floor beneath me, I can barely breathe.  "I told you not to run," he says, grasping my hair and pulling my neck back at a weird angle.

Grunting and gasping in pain, I realize he's putting too much pressure on my stomach…on the baby.  "Please!" I beg through panting breaths.  "Get off of me!" I plead desperately.

It's at that moment the lights turn back on.

And that's when all hell breaks loose.