Twisted Desire

by Laura Dunaway

  Suddenly he lifted my waist and legs up, making me cry out. “Settle down,” he said. “I’m just putting you under the covers. Get some rest, Penelope,” he told me, sounding annoyed.

  I went still and put my hand under my cheek. I couldn’t open my eyes to see him as I felt the covers pulled over me. The last thing I heard before sleep overtook me was his heavy footsteps walking away and the sound of him shutting and locking the door.

  Chapter 2

  I started out as a Falcon, the eyes and ears of the streets. I was the low man on the totem pole , but whatever. It was something. I did it for three years, reporting the actions of the police and military, and oh yeah— our rival groups. That part was my favorite because it never failed to give me pleasure at taking one of them down. When Roman’s eyes lit up as I gave him that one piece of information to take them out, it was like nothing in this world. And honestly, I was amazed at how stupid the police departments were and how many crooked asshole cops they employed. You could offer them your girl for the night, and I swear they’d cave—every time. Idiots.

  Now I was a hitman, hoping to move up to Lieutenant sooner than later. It was damn difficult to prove your loyalty in a cartel. Trust me, I’ve tried. It felt like I finally had, though, until this latest shit assignment. I’d carried out more kidnappings, thefts, extortions, et cetera than I could count. How much more did I have to do? Oh right. I guess I now had to watch over Penelope Santoro. That was a huge kick to my balls, not knowing they were going to kidnap her when I’d been the one in charge of so many abductions in the past. What was the point of leaving me in the dark? I’d go along with it like always and put all of my damn effort into it. I refused to give Roman a reason to doubt me. I knew what I wanted, and I’d make sure to get it.

  I’d locked Penelope’s door and started to walk to my room when footsteps alerted me someone was coming. I wasn’t surprised to see stupid-ass Rico round the corner. His ugly smile came over his acne-scarred face when he saw me. The guy was scum. He had no conscience. Yeah, most didn’t in my line of work, but this asshole wasn’t born with one. His dark, oily hair was slicked back off of his forehead, and his eyes turned into slits every time he gave that creepy smile.

  “Tag. Just the guy I was looking for,” he called out in his squeaky, high-pitched voice as he clapped me on the shoulder. I plastered a fake smile on my face and returned the gesture, hating every minute of it.

  “What’s up, Rico?” I asked, knowing exactly what he wanted.

  “How’s the girl?”

  Bingo.

  I watched him as he looked at me and then at her door, than at me again. Part of me knew I’d probably have to protect Penelope from him as well. He was slime, and he didn’t even try to hide it.

  “She’s pissed, dude. She has no idea where she is or why she was taken. I haven’t told her shit, so don’t worry about that.” Rico was Roman’s right-hand man. I hated him more than anyone else, but my mama didn’t raise an idiot. I’d play his game and continue to let him think we were good.

  He looked at me strangely, his beady eyes hollow, and then smiled wider. “I wasn’t concerned about that, dill hole. Roman just wanted you to know it’s now okay to give her pieces of info, but nothing detailed, got me? She can know a few things, but that’s it. We don’t need her finding out anything that can hurt our operation. She’s just a pawn in our game, nothing more.”

  He ran his hand through his greasy hair and then let out a high-pitched chuckle, loving every second of this. How he ever made it to be Roman’s right-hand man was beyond me. He was way too cocky, and more than a little crazy. I was biding my time waiting for him to screw up and get kicked out or killed.

  For the moment, though, I pretended to think he was hilarious and laughed as well. “Got it, man. I’ve got this all under control,” I replied.

  He nodded and clapped me on the back again as he walked off. I resisted the urge to go after him and tackle him to the ground, pounding the shit out of him. I had to keep cool if I wanted Roman to trust me.

  I shook my head and walked to my new cabin next door to hers. Shutting the door closed with the heel of my boot, I bent over and pulled my weights out from under my bed. Stripping off my shirt, I picked up my barbells and got to work.

  I’d been on this yacht for months, trying to show Roman and the rest they could trust me. I’d done things that made even me cringe, just to prove my loyalty. The fact that I’d had no idea they were taking the girl infuriated me, because it was the wrong move in my opinion. Seeing as they hadn’t asked me, I’d go along with this new plan for now, plus be her watchdog. I always did what was expected of me.

  I lifted the weights faster as my thoughts drifted toward her. She had no idea why she was here, which had to be aggravating. They told me she was an easy capture and that she hadn’t seen it coming. She’d walked out of the restaurant with one of Roman’s men and another grabbed her from behind, covering her nose with chloroform. Her car was put in one of our secret storage facilities. Not a trace of her was left to find; Roman made sure of that. She hadn’t put up much of a fight so far, but something was telling me that wouldn’t last, that I would need to be alert around her at all times.

  I set the weights down and moved on to push-ups. One, two, three…I kept picturing Rico’s ugly-ass sneer as I went up and down, up and down. Sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two…she popped into my head again, the memory of her crying when I walked into that cold as shit room.

  Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.

  I grabbed the towel on the chair, wiping my forehead. Shedding off the rest of my clothing, I walked into the tiny bathroom and turned on the shower. Dinner was soon, and Roman didn’t tolerate anyone being late. I knew I’d have to update him as well on how Penelope was doing, and I didn’t have much to say, other than she was beyond scared and drugged so she would sleep.

  Stepping under the hot spray, I lowered my head into it and lathered the shampoo in my hands. I didn’t have much hair but washed it regardless. Scrubbing my head raw, I rinsed it, grabbed the soap, and scrubbed my body. Memories of being told my new assignment hit me as I rinsed off the foamy lather.

  “You wanted to see me, Roman?”

  He looked up at me from his desk, a cold smile washing over his face. “Tag. Yes, have a seat.”

  I did what he said and lowered myself into the chair across from him. He leaned forward and steepled his hands together. I didn’t say anything; I knew to wait for him to begin.

  “We will have a new guest tonight, and she won’t be happy about being here. I’ve decided you are the best man for the job of watching over her and making sure she doesn’t do anything, how shall I put this…out of line.”

  Alarm bells started going off in my head. What the hell was he talking about? “Who is she?” was all I asked.

  “Penelope Santoro.”

  The alarm bells got louder hearing that name. Holy shit.

  I made my face stoic, not showing any of my inner feelings. I had mastered the art of hiding my true feelings with my job. It was life or death.

  “Raul Santoro’s daughter,” I commented.

  Roman grinned and nodded. “Yes. She is en route as we speak. She is not to know anything when she wakes up. She will ask because she has no idea what is going on. Raul has always kept her in the dark about his business dealings. Once he realizes his precious daughter has been taken, he will know I don’t forgive and forget. Quite the contrary— I play dirty when forced and don’t look back.”

  I turned off the shower and dried off the drops traveling down my body. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I stepped out and looked in the mirror. The man staring back at me was a stranger in that moment. A man who had somehow missed the fact that his boss was kidnapping his rival’s daughter, and putting him in charge of her.

  I groaned at the turn of events and let the towel land on the floor. Grabbing a navy Polo shirt and a pair of clean jeans, I slipped them on and hurried to brush my teeth. Being
on a yacht in the middle of the ocean was not where I thought I’d be, especially with a naïve, innocent girl to watch over. Roman obviously still didn’t trust me as much as I thought; he had something more for me to prove. The question burning inside of me was—what the hell was it?

  I locked my cabin door and walked to hers. Opening the door and shutting it quietly, I paced over to her. She was passed out cold, not even moving an inch when I lightly touched her shoulder. Good. The meds were doing their job. I stood there feeling like a total creep watching her breathe, but I couldn’t help it. She looked so peaceful, which was a stark contrast to how she’d been earlier. I wished she could keep that peace, but knew it was futile. Soon enough she’d wake up and see that this wasn’t a nightmare; it was her new ugly reality.

  I ran a hand over my head and turned to leave, stopping cold when I heard her mutter something. Turning around, I stilled, silently demanding she say it again. I took a step back when she suddenly turned over and again said, “Help me, Daddy.” She continued to sleep, clueless to my presence.

  I backed up a few steps, watching her chest rise up and down and her long, dark lashes dusting her cheeks. She was hot, gorgeous actually, which made me once again wonder how long I was supposed to be her babysitter. Annoyance flared inside, but I squelched it down, telling myself to be patient.

  I walked into the dining room, cringing when I saw Rico sitting right beside Roman, his dark, beady eyes glancing over the room. He was such a prick. But, of course, I put on my mask and shook his and Roman’s hands when I reached the table.

  “Tag, how’s the girl?” Roman asked as he wiped his mouth with his white linen napkin. His light blue eyes and stark white hair gave the impression that he was a good man, a pleasant man, which was far from the truth. He was one of the most ruthless men I’d ever known. To be in Roman’s cartel was an honor in itself, but it was also a literal life or death situation. One screw up and you were out. Literally.

  I put my own napkin on my lap as I sat down, scooting my chair in. “She’s upset and scared to death. I gave her some sleeping pills so she’s out cold. So far I haven’t told her anything, but got the word from Rico to ease her in a bit.”

  Roman stopped mid-chew and stared at me. “Yes, but not much. The less she knows, the better. Understand?”

  Did he think I was an idiot? I only nodded, saying, “Of course.”

  “I have some options for her I’m considering. I’ll wait and see what happens over the next few days.”

  I quirked a brow. “Anything I need to be aware of?” I know better than to just ask what these options were.

  Roman shook his head, and I didn’t miss the knowing grin on Rico’s ugly face. “Not yet, Tag. I will fill you in when I’ve decided what’s to happen.”

  Anger flashed through me, but I just nodded and took a drink of my wine. You never questioned Roman Vitale—ever. What he said was final; you risked being pulled off the job, kicked out of the cartel altogether, or just plain dead if you made that mistake.

  “Just keep your eye on her,” Roman continued, setting his fork down on his plate. “She is a very valuable pawn in this, and nothing is to happen to her until I know our next move.”

  “Yes, sir,” I agreed, silently wondering just what the hell was going on and what he had planned for Penelope.

  Chapter 3

  It felt like the sun was literally right outside my window, laughing at me with how bright it was. I groaned as I turned over, which was the wrong thing to do. My head and my mouth felt like they were full of cotton, but my head had something extra special because it was pounding ferociously.

  Opening my eyes and blinking a few times, I looked around the room, trying to figure out where I was. Putting my hand to my forehead, trying to curb the sunlight from my eyes, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The cold room, the strange man, being kidnapped—it all came back. It suddenly felt like a huge, heavy weight was on my chest, making me bolt up and struggle for breath. I was sure I was having a heart attack. As the weight sank deeper and deeper into my chest, I struggled to stand, only to crumple to the floor, hitting my head on the edge of his chair. I lay there, stunned, still struggling to breathe, terrified out of my mind and starting to sweat and shake.

  Good Lord, please, take me, put me out of my misery, I begged.

  My vision started to cloud, and bright lights were flashing around. My hands were clawing at my chest to try and release the awful weight. It barely fazed me when I heard the door slam against the wall and felt myself being lifted off the floor.

  “What the hell happened?” a deep voice shouted.

  I could barely understand myself, let alone be able to talk. I was set down on something soft and soon felt something at my mouth.

  “Breathe, deep breaths,” the voice commanded.

  The urge to go into the darkness was too great; I couldn’t do what he asked.

  “Penelope, BREATHE!” he roared.

  I was lurched up to a sitting position and suddenly took a deep breath. The weight slowly decreased, sending a feeling of relief through me. After a few more breaths, my vision started to come back, and my heart rate slowed down.

  Once I was able, I lifted my head and saw what was in front of me. A paper bag. Had I been hyperventilating? I could have sworn I was having a heart attack.

  I sank back on the bed and closed my eyes. My head started swirling with everything that was going on. Why was I taken and put on some boat? I just wanted to go home.

  “Are you okay?” I heard him ask. It sounded like he was across the room, but I felt his hand on my arm, so I knew he was right next to me.

  “No,” I croaked out. “I’m not okay. What just happened to me? I’m scared.”

  I heard him sigh as the sound of the chair scraping the floor burst in my ears. I opened my eyes and saw him sitting close to me, worry in his eyes.

  “I think you had a panic attack,” he told me.

  A panic attack? Me? I’d never had one before in my life. “Oh,” was all I said. My mind was so jumbled; I didn’t know what to think.

  “Listen, Penelope, I know you’re scared,” he started.

  “Scared? Yes I’m scared,” I replied, my voice still weak. “I’ve been kidnapped with no memory of it, and the only person I’ve talked to here won’t tell me why.”

  Being kept in the dark not only made me angry, it felt like hot lava rolling down my spine. He was my only source of information, and he refused to tell me a damn thing! How dare he take me and not tell me why! I tried to sit up quickly but was instantly assailed with dizziness, making me fall back onto the bed.

  “Whoa, whoa,” he said, gently pressing me down.

  “Don’t touch me,” I hissed.

  He instantly removed his hand. “Seriously, relax. You need to rest. You’ve been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours.”

  I looked at him like he was crazy. “You think?”

  My head was pounding, and my throat was dry. All I wanted to do was go home. Tears sprang in my eyes, and I turned my head away from him. I just wanted him to leave me alone.

  “I don’t blame you for being angry,” he told me. “I also don’t blame you for hating me. I’d hate me too.”

  I still wouldn’t look at him, but I couldn’t resist saying, “Then let me go.”

  He let out a hollow laugh, and my tears started streaming down my face. Would I ever see home again?

  “I wish it were that easy, sweetheart.”

  My head jerked to look at him when he said that. “Don’t call me that,” I seethed, the tears still falling down my face.