Present day…
Katherine
A million thoughts are running through my mind at warp speed, Brooklyn, Evie, and the first time I met Antonio.
Antonio, a sexy Italian who caused my body to go berserk. It was like putting popping candies in your mouth, snap, crackle, pop. But, imagine that feeling crackling and popping throughout your entire body.
When he touched me, I felt it deep in my bones. Everything finally seemed to make sense and I thought, maybe I could let him in a little. I knew he’d get bored and move on. To my horror, the complete opposite happened. Before I knew it, we were serious and moving way too fast. So, I did the only thing I know how to do, I pushed him away. These past two months without him have been fucking torture.
Every time I see him, I remember the last time he touched me, the warmth of his hand, the tingling feeling I had when he ran the tips of his fingers down the side of my face. Every smile he threw my way caused my knees to weaken, but nothing compared to his eyes, the way they devoured each and every inch of me like I was the only woman on Earth for him. What I wouldn’t give right now to be wrapped in his strong arms, to feel the softness of his lips as he presses them to my mine.
It wasn’t right for me to hold him back from having a life filled with family. I knew I loved him, and as much as that scared me, I accepted it. But, I couldn’t bear the thought of the disappointment in his eyes when I shared my secret. It would have broken me when he turned his back and walked away, and I knew he would. It would only have been a matter of time before he realized I couldn’t give him what he wanted. He would leave and break me into a million pieces.
The damn man hasn’t made it easy, he’s been persistent and won’t let me go. He’s determined to bring me to the ground and crack me wide open, and this time I think I’ll let him. I’m sick of hiding my feelings. First though, I have to work out a way to get us the hell out of here so I can finally tell Antonio everything.
I’m snapped from my whirling thoughts when I hear Brooklyn shout my name followed by a squeak.
“KAT!"
Lifting my head, I groan and wince with the throbbing in my cheek and the feel of the chains digging in every time I move. Brooklyn is on all fours with a chain wrapped tight around her neck. My chest squeezes at the sight. I blink a few times hoping to God I’m imagining this.
“Brooklyn," I wheeze out. “I’m… Sor-sorry" How the fuck did I let this piece of shit get the better of me? I remember leaving the house and heading toward Brooklyn’s so we could head to the beach. I stopped at the café to grab my watch which I’d left in the kitchen when doing the dishes yesterday. I heard a noise coming from the front and thought it was Antonio coming to talk to me again. Question me.
After the letter, Antonio left on my door step, and me falling to pieces in Brooklyn’s arms afterwards, I decided I was going to push harder to get better. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to let Antonio fully into my life again. Every day, since the first note turned up, I found another post-it note waiting for me when I walked outside. Written on them was one simple word, nothing more. After each gesture, the flutter of hope I thought had died, was slowly coming back. But, I didn’t have time to talk to him at that very moment, I was already late getting to Brooklyn’s.
“Antonio, I don’t have time for this today," I call out before making my way out of the kitchen.
“Katherine, Katherine, Katherine."
I freeze at the sound of the familiar voice grating down my spine and causing my heart to squeeze in my chest. I stare at the man, not believing what I’m seeing.
“Darren?”
“You took something from me, and I want them back.”
“Not gonna happen, now get the fuck out." I glance around searching for my bag so I can grab my phone and message, Antonio.
“You looking for this?" Darren holds up my phone and steps closer, forcing me to back up into the wall. A sharp pain burns my face as he backhands me.
“You will pay for taking what’s mine." Darren spits in my face, another sharp pain and darkness descends over me.
I’m not sure how long I was unconscious, but when I come to, my arms are wrapped with a chain, pulled high above my head and attached to something hanging from the roof. My eyes felt swollen and the pain in my face was excruciating. I lifted my head to see where I was. I’m in a dimly lit room; Darren is sitting on a filthy mattress on the other side of the room.
“What have you done?" I hope the fear I’m feeling doesn’t show.
Darren laughs like a lunatic and gets to his feet. “What have I done? No, Katherine, it’s what you have done. You deserve what comes next" He moves closer to me, smacks me hard across the face and stomps from the room.
I shake my head to get rid of the thoughts and attempt to concentrate on what is happening now. I close my eyes and relax my breathing. I need to either get us out of here, or distract Darren and waste time so Antonio and Dominic can get to us. I take a deep breath and focus on what this monster is saying now.
“Well ladies, I hope you’re both comfortable?" Darren says with a twisted smirk on his fuck ugly face. “Now I have your attention; I’ll show you your next big surprise." He sounds excited like a fucking a kid in a fucking candy store. I look around the room wondering what the hell he is talking about when a sudden brightness hits my eyes. I blink a few times so I can adjust to the light. Once the spots have vanished, I look around. My eyes widen when I see the newspaper articles pinned to the walls. What the Fuck? I suck in a breath and snap my head back to Brooklyn when I notice the one about her parent’s death. Tears cascade down my cheeks.
“No," Brooklyn whimpers “No… no… no." She gasps, struggling to breathe.
My heart breaks for her and I sob. I need to calm her down otherwise, she’ll pass out.
“Calm down, Dollface please, honey," I beg through my sobs
“Ah, I see you have noticed my most treasured piece. Don’t worry, daddy went fast. Unfortunately, mummy dearest had a bit of fight in her, I showed her the error of her ways." He cackles like a hyena.
“YOU SICK FUCK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU ARE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A MAN!" I spit out and wriggle, trying to free myself from these fucking chains, but they just keep getting tighter. Fuck this can’t be happening. I would swear this was a horror movie if it wasn’t for the pounding in my head.
Darren storms toward me and grabs the back of my hair, pulling it back hard and making me cry out. I feel the blade of a knife push against my throat and I whimper when I feel the sting of the blade as it’s pushed into my skin. It’s a sting I know so well, and I’m not sure if I want him to stop or keep going. I’m in a haze until I hear Brooklyn’s broken please and I snap out of it. I need to be strong, I can't allow myself to fall into the black hole. I have to be strong for Brooklyn. I’m stronger than this. I repeat to myself.
“STOP! Please stop!" Brooklyn sobs “I’ll do anything you ask, just please stop.”
He releases my hair and takes the knife from my throat before stepping back over to my best friend. His eyes drag over her body as he looks her up and down. “Oh, I know you will, but first, we’ll have some fun."
He laughs maniacally and glances between Brooklyn and I. I watch in horror as he slices off her dress leaving her in only her swimmers. He runs the tip of the knife in circles over her leg. I whimper when he pulls back and stabs the knife into her thigh. I tug hard on my arms trying to pull free so I can stop this, but they’re fastened tight. Fuck. I watch as tears flood Brooklyn’s face, I need to stop this.
“Fuck," Brooklyn hisses out when he pulls the knife from her thigh and blood starts to trickle down her leg.
“Dear, dear, dear, Brooklyn, what a dirty mouth you've developed. It must be the bad influence from that dirty, fucking mobster your spreading your whore legs for.”
“When he finds us…”
Darren bursts into laughter. “I forgot how funny you are." He steps closer to Brooklyn and speaks menacingly. “Do you really think that Italian prick will find us? I hate to disappoint you, but nobody’s coming for you. I've told you time and time again, nobody gives a fuck about you. I didn’t even give a fuck about you." He begins pacing between Brooklyn and I. “You were a means to an end. You were my first and only fuck up and you had to go get knocked-up, didn’t you? I guess at the end of the day you served a purpose with the head jobs you gave me.”
“What the fuck are you on about, you fucking asshole? You fucking raped her!" I scream at him with as much venom in my voice as I possibly can. Every ounce of pain and anger I have felt over the past two months explodes from me in that one sentence. My heartbeat pounds in my ears as I let the anger out. Fuck, it felt good. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive.
“Hmmm, that was necessary, unfortunately. I had to show her how naive she was and still is. Her getting pregnant was never meant to happen and then when she refused to get rid of the thing. I was forced to make a choice. It worked out well actually because I needed to appear to be a family man to get a promotion so me and Matt could keep doing what we were doing.”
“Matt?" Brooklyn gasps out.
Who the fuck is Matt? I don’t know who this Matt guy is, but obviously, Brooklyn does.
“Yeah Matt, my friend you came onto at the party. Well actually, he’s my brother. We had to pretend to be friends instead of family when we changed our names”
What fucking party? Please don’t tell me there is another piece of shit like him walking around.
“What do you mean, you had to change your name?" Brooklyn asks quietly.
“I don’t have the time to talk about all this now, but after our parents died we had to live with our grandma. When we were old enough we changed our names so we could get a decent job and keep doing what we were doing.”
“I don't understand?" Brooklyn says. That makes two of us. He's talking in riddles and we're only getting half the story. I glance toward Brooklyn; her expression is riddled with confusion. I turn back to the piece of shit.
The only response we get is him smiling and waving his arm around the room as if what he is saying should be obvious. Then, the smile is gone and he turns to face Brooklyn again. Skimming the tip of the blade over her other leg before pulling back and stabbing her in the side of the stomach. I watch her eyes widen and hear the blood-curdling scream that tears through her sending shivers down my spine. Oh God, the baby.
“I’ll make you suffer, for what you've done." He grunts as he pulls the knife from her stomach and I have no other option but to watch the blood ooze from the wound. I pull on my chains, knowing I can’t get free but I need to distract him.
“What did she do?" I yell. “What the fuck did she do? You’re the one who threw a brick through her window and pushed her into Dom’s arms. Tell me what she did wrong?”
He whips around and trails the knife down the center of my chest causing me to suck in a deep breath Feeling the cool metal against my skin, has my head becoming woozy but I fight to stay in the here and now. “What the fuck are you talking about, what brick?"
My eyes widen and I quickly look toward Brooklyn noticing the same look on her face. If he didn’t throw the brick, who did?
“She had my brother killed!" He hisses in my face, making my stomach roil at the stench of his breath.
“How did she kill your brother?" I pretend I don’t have a clue what he's talking about, but we both know he must have been the one in his car when it caught fire.
“Your brother was in your car?" Darren doesn’t reply, he stares at the wall behind me. “So, you weren’t stalking Brooklyn?"
“Oh, I was watching her, biding my time. Working out the right way to get at her, but then she met that Italian piece of trash which complicated things and I had to come up with other plans.”
“But why, Darren? You never wanted me." Brooklyn sobs.
I notice her eyes getting heavy and her body sagging as blood oozes from her wounds. If it wasn’t for the chains holding her up she would be on the floor.
“Because you decided to have that thing in the cage out there. While you were under my roof, everything was fine. Once you left, I couldn’t risk you remembering what had happened that night and go to the police." He stalks toward her again. "You would have ruined everything Matt and I had going on. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“Tell me about this room, it must be important to you?" I’m trying to get his attention on me and away from Brooklyn. I watch as her eyes close and I whimper when Darren smacks her hard across the face.
“None of that, we still have things to do," he says causing my stomach to twist up in knots.
I don’t like what he’s saying, I need him to tell me about this room. How the hell are we going to get out of here? “All these articles you have pinned up, Darren, they must mean something to you. Talk to me." I persist, I’m not giving up yet.
“Ah Katherine, there’s no need to be jealous. My attention will be on you soon enough; you have to wait your turn. You know, I've never had a redhead before." He turns to face me and starts running the knife down my chest again while licking his lips. I suck in a breath and try not to show him my fear, this piece of shit is not going to get the best of me. I glare into his dark eyes, daring him to do it. The sick fuck smirks at me as he whips his hand back and stabs me in the arm. “Arrgh,… You fucking piece of shit." I scream out and spit in his face. I fight against the pain, I will not allow it to overtake me and pull me into the dark place I know so well.
“Mommeee,"Evie screams out
Fuck no!
“Ah, the little bitch is awake. I think I may keep her around a bit longer than planned."
What does that even mean? I whimper again and struggle to break free, the chains dig deeper into my arms.
“Darren please let her go, she hasn’t done anything wrong. PLEASE!" Brooklyn screams at his retreating back.
“No, I might go and say hello to the little darling," he tosses over his shoulder.
“NOOoo…" Brooklyn screams again but it breaks on a sob.
I scream out trying to get his attention, but it’s no use.
A loud bang vibrates through the room as a door flies open and Darren rushes back in followed by one very pissed off Mafia Boss and right on his heels a very pissed off Antonio. I lock eyes with Antonio as he makes his way toward me. Hearing a loud Bang followed by a thud I turn and see Darren as he hits the floor. Thank fuck for small miracles.
I groan as Antonio lifts me into his arms and untangles the chains from around me. I allow my body to slump into his when I’m free.
“I got you, baby," he whispers into my ear.
“Please, don’t let me go," I beg before breaking down in tears and burying my face into his chest.
“Never," he chokes out. I glance into his eyes and see the tears there.
Brooklyn screams and I turn to see her laying on the dirty floor in a pool of blood. So much blood, my heart skips a beat.
“Antonio, help Dom please, I can’t lose her”
“It’s ok, Dom’s got her.”
“Daddy!" I hear Evie scream. She pushes out of Sergio’s arms and runs full pelt at Dominic. “Daddy, I was so scared, but I knew you would come for us." She sobs against him.
“It’s alright, Princess, I have you now." He kisses the top of her head, trying to hold her while applying pressure to Brooklyn’s side. I watch as Brooklyn’s lips move but she speaks so low I can’t hear her.
“BROOKLYN! Don’t you dare fucking leave me. I need you, we need you. Sergio take Evie now." Dom’s voice borders on hysteria.
“Mommy." Evie cries out as Sergio picks her up and cradles her in his arms.
I look at Dom and see the tears pouring from his eyes.
“Antonio, I can’t lose her… I just can’t." I cry out when Antonio starts carrying me from the room toward the car. Sergio places Evie in the back of the car.
“Antonio, I want Evie with us, she needs to be with us.”
Antonio
I can’t explain the feelings when I walked into that room and found Katherine strung up with chains hanging from the ceiling, blood dripping over her fair skin. It was like I was thrown back into the past and I was a little boy again. Reliving the nightmare of the day I came home from school and found my momma laid out on the floor; beaten and bloody, curled up in the fetal position, sobbing as some strange man hovered above her doing up his pants and chuckling at what he had done.
I focus on Kitten and try not to think about that day, the day that changed my life forever. I wrap my arms around Kat and hold her closer. Evie is sleeping curled up in Kats lap as we wait in this fucking waiting room, sitting on uncomfortable plastic fucking chairs waiting to hear from a doctor about Brooklyn. I look toward Dom, my Boss, my best friend and the man I consider my brother. Tension rolls off him in waves and I know he won’t be the same if Brooklyn doesn’t come back from this.
“Boss?"
He looks over toward me, eyes full of worry. He paces like a lion trapped in a cage and ignores me.
I kiss the top of Kat’s head inhaling her intoxicating scent of coconut and try to calm myself down. I hate that her scent of coconut is overwhelmed by the odor of that dirty place. But, it feels good to have her in my arms again.
“Antonio," Kat whispers and I lean back, gazing into her teary eyes “She has to make it, I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her." She sobs hard and buries her face into my neck, her body shudders, and trembles as her soft sobs tear through her.
‘Shhh Kitten, Brooklyn is strong." She nods and I pull her closer, relishing the fact she is not pushing me away. I have been lost without her for the past two months, not being able to hold or touch her has been fucking torture.
I’m not sure how much time had passed before the Doctor comes in holding a clipboard in his hands. He’s an older gentleman with gray hair and he’s round in the middle. He’s aware of what happened and he knows better than to call the police. He has known our family Doc for years so he knows the drill. It’s good, we don’t have to worry about the legal shit, we can concentrate on Brooklyn.
“Mr. Grasso?"
“Si, how is she?" Dom rushes to ask as I get to my feet, placing my hand on Kat’s shoulder so she stays seated.
She looks up at me with a scowl on her beautiful face. Fuck it’s good to see some of the fire back in her eyes again. I nod my head toward Evie. Getting my meaning, she nods her head and looks toward the Doc.
“Miss Mackenzie has lost a lot of blood, but we have managed to stop the bleeding, and stitched up both wounds. Thankfully the knife didn’t hit anything serious and she should make a full recovery.”
I feel Kat’s body relax under my hand on hearing the news and watch Dom sit, dropping his head into his hands, breathing deeply. He seems to relax until his head jerks up and his body locks with tension
"The bambino?" he chokes out.
“The baby is fine Mr. Grasso. Like I said before, the knife didn’t hit anything serious. We have blood up to replace what she has lost and Brooklyn is currently being moved to a private room. When she is settled, the nurse at the desk will direct you where to go. She'll be sore and may tire easily for the next couple of days.”
“Thank you, Doctor." Dom nods and shakes his hand.
“Mommy is ok?" Evie’s sleepy little voice comes from beside me. And I look down into little blue eyes swimming in worry.
“Yes Princess, momma is fine and so is your little brother or sister," Dom reassures her, lifting her from Kat’s arms and places her on his hip.
“I want to see mommy." Evie sobs into the side of his neck.
Kat stands and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my side. Thanking Christ, she is still here with me. Fuck, I don’t want to think about the alternative. I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly as Kat wraps her arms around me. She’s safe, she’s here and she's Mine.
“I’ll go and check if she's ready for visitors." The Doc breaks into my thoughts and I watch as he turns toward the nurse's station.
“You do that," Dom replies tersely before turning and locking eyes with me.
“How about we go and have a drink while we wait for the doctor to come back and tell us where Brooklyn is, Kitten?" I nod my head toward Evie again.
“Sounds like a good idea, Come on Babydoll." Kat releases me, reaches out and gently takes Evie from Dom.