Twisted Desire

by Laura Dunaway

  “Penny, are you listening to me?”

  I looked back over to him, sitting at the large desk in our room. He had three different types of guns laid out, trying to explain how each worked. It was like trying to learn a foreign language. I’d never get it.

  “Yes.”

  He chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “No, you’re not, Penny. But you need to. You need to learn how to use one when we make our escape.”

  I picked one up and examined it. “Don’t you just lift, aim, and shoot?”

  He leaned over and took the gun from my hold. “Oh, querida,” he sighed. “You have so much to learn.”

  He spent the rest of the afternoon teaching me as best he could how to aim and fire. By dinnertime, we both felt comfortable enough that I had the basic gist of it. I groaned when he told me we’d practice more tomorrow.

  “Listen,” he told me, his gaze beating down on me. “We can’t ever be too careful. You need to be one hundred percent comfortable carrying one, let alone using it. Our time is getting short, querida. We don’t have long to do this.”

  While he hadn’t given me an exact time of when we’d leave, it was close. He’d told me to be prepared to leave any minute, in only what I was wearing at the time. We had to be on our toes at all times.

  We were walking along a cobblestone path to the dining patio. It was dark, and the sky was clear with the stars shining bright. The ocean waves could be heard in the distance, and in any other setting, it would be the most romantic place in the world. I had everything I needed there in Tag, the only issue being that I was being held hostage by a psycho cartel leader.

  When we reached the dining area, Roman stood up to greet us. “Tag, Ms. Santoro, please have a seat.” We each crossed to where we were told to sit, Tag pulling my chair out for me. Roman kept his eye on me, watching Tag push me in gently.

  “Will anyone else be joining us tonight, sir?” Tag inquired.

  “Yes, Theo should be here in a few minutes. He had a last-minute issue to attend to. How are you enjoying your stay here, my dear?” Roman suddenly turned to ask me.

  For reasons unknown to me, an anger so deep, so sudden, burst in my soul, and it was all I could do not to lunge across the table at this vile man. He was acting as though I was his guest, and not his hostage. It was as if we were all enjoying a tropical vacation together, and that infuriated me more than anything.

  “It’s nice to be off the yacht, to be honest,” I spat out, barely hanging on to the last of my control. Tag raised a brow at me, instantly knowing something was up, but I ignored him. I turned back to Roman to see his reaction.

  Roman looked annoyed for a brief moment, then smiled. “I can imagine. Well, we will be flying to Majorca soon, to my home there. I think you’ll enjoy it over there.”

  He took a bite of his salmon, as if announcing that was entirely normal. My eyes widened as I looked at Tag. Majorca? When did this come about? No way in hell was I going to Majorca, was I?

  Tag just gave a slight shake of his head, his way of telling me not to freak out. Roman was chewing on his bite, his lips curving into a smile. As he looked at me, his eyes turned darker, as if in lust. It made my bite of seasoned potato come back up my throat.

  “You will enjoy Majorca, I guarantee it, Ms. Santoro,” he spoke huskily. I saw Tag twitch as I grabbed my glass of water to swallow my bite down. I knew without a doubt Roman’s meaning, and it made me gag. The man was positively sick.

  Before I could respond, Tag spoke up. “Penny’s been having a hard time adapting to her new surroundings.” I jerked my head to him, shocked he said something to undermine what Roman said. Was he insane?

  Roman shrugged as he took a sip of wine. “That will change.”

  He didn’t seem annoyed Tag had said anything; he just kept staring at me over his glass. I pushed my food around my plate with my fork, what appetite I’d had completely gone. We had to get out of here; I couldn’t take it anymore.

  Theo came then, apologizing for being so late. He sat down and dug into his food, oblivious to the tension around him. Roman continued to talk about the island of Majorca and how beautiful it was. It was like he was a travel agent trying to sell some clients on the place. He made my head swim, and not in a good way.

  Just as I was about to declare I was full and wanted to go back to my room, a movement in some bushes next to me caught my eye. I looked around but couldn’t see anything, so I chalked it up to a small creature or the breeze. When it happened again, my eyes darted to Tag. He raised a brow in question, and I nodded my head in the direction of the noise. His eyes squinted, as if trying to figure out exactly what I was trying to tell him, when I heard something again.

  “I’m sorry, but do you all hear that noise?” I interrupted Roman’s spiel, and all three men’s eyes darted to mine.

  “What noise?” Roman asked as Theo and Tag stood up, drawing their guns out of their waistbands. Before I could reply, an image of blonde hair and something red fled across the lawn, Theo and Tag immediately running after it. The person dashed through the trees and bushes so fast, I couldn’t get a good look, but something about them seemed familiar.

  “Jamille,” Roman uttered, then swore.

  My head turned to him, forgetting my thoughts for a moment. “What? Who’s Jamille?”

  His eyes blazed at me, the anger making me cower in my chair. “Hush, Penelope,” he hissed, standing up and walking to the edge of the patio. His hands were clenched at his sides, and I could hear him mumbling something in Italian under his breath.

  He suddenly turned around and looked right at me. “Come with me,” he demanded. I knew better than to ask or argue, but the feeling of fear gripping my throat overcame me. Not saying a word, I stood and followed him inside the main house. He took a few steps before he abruptly turned around and grabbed my hand, forcing me to follow him down a large hallway.

  Barely keeping up with him, I stumbled behind him as he dragged me to a large room with at least eight TV monitors behind a huge desk, and a plush sofa on the side. He dropped me on the sofa and headed to the desk, resting his hands on top of it and looking at the monitors.

  When I had caught my breath and adjusted my position on the sofa, I looked up at the monitors too and gasped when I saw Tag and Theo on one. Theo was holding someone by the arm, but I couldn’t get a good enough look before Tag stepped in my view, blocking them. They started walking the person away from the monitor, into what looked like the main house that we were in. Roman turned on his heel, stopping in front of me.

  “I need to go address this situation, Ms. Santoro. You need to stay here. Do not leave this room, do you understand?”

  Only nodding, he surprised me when he didn’t leave. His eyes were still blazing in anger, which made me sink back in the sofa. They softened at that for a moment, then the anger was back.

  “I’m going to lock you in here, only to ensure your safety. There is a bathroom over there and plenty of books to look at. Do not make a noise, or I’m afraid you’ll regret it.”

  My jaw dropped, but he was already out the door. What the hell was going on, and who was that person? A sick feeling came over me that I wouldn’t like the answer.

  I wracked my brain to try and figure out why the figure was so familiar. The brief sight of seeing blonde did nothing to help me. Millions of people had blonde hair. The way they ran made me think it was a girl, as did the name Roman said in anger.

  Jamille.

  I looked up at the monitors, but the men weren’t on any. It just showed different rooms and some grounds. These were obviously security monitors. Why wasn’t the room they were in showing up? When my eyes saw one of the TVs was dark, it hit me that someone had turned off the camera. They didn’t want me to see what was happening.

  Roman.

  Doing my best to swallow down my fear, I stood and walked over to a bookshelf and thumbed through different novels. None caught my attention. I was barely reading their titles. All I wanted was fo
r Tag to come back and hold me. I never felt safe unless he was by me, holding me, or giving me a quick wink of assurance.

  A loud thump on the wall in front of me sounded, making me cry out and cover my mouth with my hand. A few more thumps sounded, and I couldn’t stop the trembling. A high-pitched scream came then, making me turn around and run to the sofa. I curled up on it, my knees drawn to my chest, willing my heart to slow down.

  Out of nowhere, the door to where I was burst open, and Tag ran in. He looked around and darted for me when he saw where I was. I let out a small cry, so relieved to see him but still scared to death. He stopped in front of me, going down on his knees.

  “Come with me, querida, no time to talk.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, standing himself then rushing us out of the room.

  I could barely see where we were going as he was running so fast and it had gotten dark. We ran down a cobblestone pathway I hadn’t been on yet, when suddenly we were at the door of a small house. Tag hurried and opened the door, slamming it behind us once I was inside.

  I gave a small whimper. “What’s going on?” I cried.

  He turned around, and his eyes softened when he saw me. He immediately took me in his arms, his hand running up and down my back. “Shh, Penny,” he soothed. “It’s okay, you’re safe.”

  “But what’s going on? I heard thumps and a scream. I’m scared to death,” I cried out again, the events of the evening really hitting me. “Who was that person?”

  Tag stayed silent, still only running his hand up and down my back. When I tried to look up at him, he tightened his hold on me, preventing it. “Listen,” he started in a gentle voice. “I’m honestly just learning about this situation. I don’t have much information. All you need to know right now is that you’re safe and have nothing to worry about.”

  When I started to argue, he shushed me. “I know, sweet girl,” he continued. “Easier said than done, but trust me please. You know I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

  I took a calming breath, his scent of pine and basil a huge comfort to me. “I trust you, baby,” I told him against his chest. “I just don’t trust anybody else. Roman is insane, and I can’t shake the feeling he has weird and sadistic plans for me, and now this. There’s so much, I can’t even wrap my head around it all.”

  He sighed and finally lifted my chin to look at him. “You’re much smarter than Roman gave you credit for, sweet girl. I love you, you know that?”

  I looked in his eyes but also couldn’t help but finally notice our surroundings. It looked like we were in a one-room house. A twin bed was against one wall with a small stove and fridge across from it. A small, circular wooden table that’s paint was chipping and two wooden chairs were next to the bed. A door was against another wall, which I assumed was a bathroom.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  He took my hand and led me to the table, helping me sit in one of the chairs. He sat in the other one, leaning back. “This is where Theo’s staying while we’re here,” was all he said.

  “Okay,” I muttered, still looking around. “Why are we here, though?”

  He sat forward then and put his head in his hands. “Because this is the safest place for the moment.”

  “Tag, what the hell is going on? Who was that person? Please.”

  He sighed. “Listen, I still don’t know all that’s going on. All I can tell you is that she’s someone who Roman has a history with, and he’s dealing with it as we speak.”

  So it’s a she.

  Blonde.

  Jamille.

  “Who’s Jamille?”

  His head jerked up to look at me. “How do you know that name?”

  “I heard Roman mutter it right after you guys took off. I assume is her.”

  He let out a breath and shook his head. “Roman’s getting careless.”

  “Who is she?”

  “I told you all I know right now,” he said. “Someone Roman has a past with. He’s dealing with her right now.”

  “What do you mean, dealing with her?” The thoughts of what that could be made my blood run cold.

  His eyes took me in for a minute before he replied. “I can only hope just talking to her, but I don’t know.”

  I gave a small cry as his words sank in. For all we knew, Roman was going to kill her. I had no idea who she was, but the thought of her being hurt or murdered was more than I could handle.

  “I can’t be here anymore. I started to panic. “I can’t be around this, this evil. He’s killing her, Tag, I know it. He’s going to kill her. Help her!”

  My hands were shaking, and I started to perspire. My nerves were at an all- time high. My chest suddenly started to pound, and breathing became difficult. I started to gasp for air, my eyes bugging out of my sockets. My hands clawed at the wooden table, slivers slicing my fingertips. Tag startled and jumped up, dashing over to my side.

  “Penny! Penny, look at me!”

  I heard him, but I couldn’t do as he asked. The weight on my chest was getting heavier and heavier, making it almost impossible to breathe. I heard Tag swear over and over as he took my face in his hands, begging me to look at him.

  “Penny, you’re having another panic attack. Dammit!”

  He got up and ran to somewhere in the room. I could hear him going through drawers, but soon the sound faded as my vision started to darken. Flashes of light were all I saw as I slumped over the table, barely able to catch my breath.

  Strong hands pushed me back in my chair, and something was put over my face.

  “BREATHE, Penny, take a deep breath,” he told me over and over.

  I struggled to listen and to do what he asked. I took as big a breath I could, which felt like tiny knives stabbing at my throat. But as I took more, the sensation of suffocating lessened, as my vision started to return. The weight on my chest eased, making it so I could focus on his face.

  That beautiful face.

  I continued to breathe in and out of the paper bag he held at my mouth. My eyes never looked away from his over the bag, him being the only thing keeping me calm. This man, who started as my captor, but ended up being my soul mate.

  “I’m okay now,” I told him, my voice an echo in the bag.

  For the first time, it hit me how panicked he looked. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  I reached up and held onto his hands, lowering the bag from my mouth. “Yes.”

  He leaned his forehead on mine, his hands going back to frame my face. “Ah, sweet girl, you scared me again. Have you always suffered from these?”

  I shook my head. “Not until I was taken.”

  He muttered a curse. “I hate him.”

  I knew who he meant.

  Roman.

  “I hate him too. I’m sorry I lost it there. Just knowing he’s most likely torturing, or killing, her is more than I can take. Will you please go see how she is?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Then take me with you.”

  His eyes bulged. “Are you crazy? No way in hell I’m getting you anywhere near that.”

  My eyes started to tear up. “Tag, I can’t sit here knowing that poor woman is in trouble. Please.”

  A million emotions crossed his face. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against my forehead. “You’re amazing, you know that?”