by Ella Miles
He gives his men a look, and they let me go. My instinct is to bolt over and hurt Matteo. Punch him in the face, rip out his heart, snap his neck. However, I don't want to spend the rest of my time here drugged, even though he’s bluffing. He won’t allow me to endure my entire time here in a coma because I would be of no use to him. I don't doubt he would at least drug me for another night though, and that could result in several days in bed recovering.
”How long have I been here?"
"Too long," he answers before he walks away. The handcuff on my wrist pulls, and I struggle to remain even with his long strides as we walk down the hallway, my feet shuffling as rapidly as I can move them in the chains.
"Slow down."
"No."
He jerks me into, what I assume, is his office before he takes a seat behind the desk, not offering me a place to sit. I'm left either standing, leaning against the wall, or sitting on the floor. I decide to conserve my energy and take a seat.
I study him as he makes phone call after phone call, hoping to gain some useful information I can use against him. All of the calls are boring, none of them giving me any insight into a way for me to escape. He mostly talks numbers, men, and how many weapons are to be sent to various clients.
I sit on the floor for at least an hour with nothing to do but to listen to him talk on the phone. I try to figure a way to get out of this, but I come up empty.
I close my eyes, deciding I’ll rest while he works.
My body is jerked awake as he strides out of the office giving me no warning. My eyes fly open, and I scramble to my feet.
"You could at least give me some warning when we are going somewhere."
"No, I can't. You need to learn to behave and maybe then I'll treat you with some respect."
He walks into a small bathroom, and I have no choice but to step inside with him.
"Really?"
"Don't act like you don't want to drool over my cock."
"Gross.” I turn up my nose.
He undoes his pants and pulls out his penis to take a piss. And I admit I can't help but take a quick peek. His cock is long and thick, more substantial than I expected it to be. I try to keep my thoughts pure, but I can't help it. Any woman’s mind would immediately think of what a cock like his is capable of doing.
He zips his pants and washes his hands smirking at me in the mirror while I frown again.
"Where are we going next?"
“Going for a run."
My eyes widen. "You can't be serious?"
"I always go for a run every day."
"I can't run with the shackles on my feet and no shoes on."
He walks down the hallway dragging me behind him without another word. I realize we’re heading back to his bedroom and I smile a little.
We step inside, and he locks the door, trapping us inside together. He unlocks the shackles on my arm and legs.
"I think you’ll find the clothing and shoes you require to go running in that closet." He motions toward a closet opposite of the one he heads to.
I walk over to the closet and step inside, finding a whole wardrobe of women's clothes. They all look like they could fit me. I don't ask how or why, but I see a pair of shorts, a sports bra, and a T-shirt. I change into them quickly, along with some tennis shoes I find in my size. I change as fast as I can because I know the second he's ready, he’ll put the shackles back on, regardless if I’m ready or not.
I step back out into the main bedroom in time to see him slipping a shirt over his rippled body. I notice a few tattoos covering his chest, but otherwise, his body is flawless.
He puts one of the shackles on his wrist and then looks at me with an impatient glance. I hold out my hand, offering to behave, because it would be nice to stretch my legs outside and breathe some fresh air. If this is the only way I get to do it, fine.
He snaps the shackle on to my wrist and leads me outside.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply, letting the air and warmth take over me.
But I’m jerked forward as Matteo starts running, giving me no time to warm up. He's faster than me, so I have to push myself to prevent myself falling to the ground and getting dragged.
The path he jogs is beautiful. Through the forest behind his house, a trail he has clearly carved out for himself and no one else.
We jog for a long time until my legs and lungs burn, but I don't complain. For one, I have a great view of his ass as he runs. And as much as I hate to admit it, he has a great ass. And two, I get to push myself and work on gaining speed and strength so someday I can outrun him. And three, I can bask in the warm sun.
As we return to the back of the house, a buzzing sound makes Matteo stop and pull out his phone.
"Yes?” He pauses. "You still haven't found my brother and Nina then?"
"Fine." He hangs up the phone.
I strike him on the back, frustrated.
"What was that for? And just when I thought you were learning to behave."
"What about our deal? You promised if I left those messages at work, you wouldn’t go after Nina and Arlo for at least a week."
He pulls out his phone again and hands it to me showing me the date.
"You have been here two weeks."
My mouth drops open. Two weeks.
"How did you keep me alive for that long unconscious?”
"IVs. The medications I gave you seem to have had a particularly strong effect on you."
I look up, needing to know an answer to my question desperately. “Why? Why do you want Arlo and Nina? Why do you have a picture of Nina in your bedroom?"
"Because Arlo owes me for leaving. He's my brother. He is supposed to stay and work for me, but he left, abandoning me without a word or a goodbye."
“And Nina?”
"I love Nina. I want her back."
“You’re lying. You’re saying that so I’ll eventually tell you where they are. You don’t love Nina or care about your brother. How can you love someone that hurt you?”
His eyes shoot straight into mine as his lips pull back.
“I guess you’ll find out if it’s possible. Could you ever learn to love me despite how I’ve hurt you?”
“No. Could you if I hurt you as badly as you have hurt me?”
He shrugs. “I guess I’m a more forgiving person than you are.”
He stares past me as he leads me back inside. I don’t believe he loves her. He’s not capable of love. He doesn’t even know what love is. Matteo is evil, and I won’t ever tell him where Nina is. Even if it costs me my life.
5
Matteo
I need to shatter the shield around Eden.
I need to demolish her will to live so that she will tell me anything I want.
I need to find Nina and Arlo, now.
My heart has turned to ice with them gone. I have power now. I control the entire Carini empire along with hundreds of men and money at my disposal. What good is having all this power if I can't use it, especially to deal with the one matter I care about?
Getting Nina and Arlo back is about so much more than claiming the woman I love and punishing my brother. It’s much, much bigger.
My alarm clock goes off, but I don’t need it to wake me up. I rarely need an alarm clock, but I’ve been struggling to sleep even more since I took Eden. I climb out of bed and stretch before I dress in jeans and a dark gray T-shirt. I walk over to the small living room in my quarters where Eden is snoring on the couch.
She spent the last three days handcuffed to me, stuck following me everywhere. Her dreams are the only thing that gives her the illusion of freedom. I can't have her in my bed though. I like having my own space. And I haven't had a woman in my bed since Nina. My insomnia would get worse with her in my bed anyway.
So instead, she sleeps on my couch with her leg attached to a hook on the floor I had Maximo create to ensure she wouldn't run off or try to shoot me during the few hours of rest I actually get at night.
My head jerks back every t
ime I see her lying on the couch in the morning when I come in. It isn’t the only part of me that is drawn to attention at the sight of her. My cock quarrels with my brain for me to fuck her.
Soon. Very soon.
Eden doesn't normally seem like the kind of woman who would allow herself to let her guard down when her enemy is so close. Vulnerability is seen as a weakness to her, and she will do anything not to appear fragile. Either she’s too exhausted to stay awake, or she doesn't believe I’ll hurt her while she's out.
"Wake up sleepyhead,” I shout, grabbing the couch and shaking it violently like I have the last two mornings.
She drops off the couch, the weight of her body crashing to the floor with a smack.
“You bastard."
"Just a bastard today? I must be growing on you then."
She bares her teeth at me as she stands up and lunges at me, trying to can grab ahold of me and cause any damage she can. But like every other morning, the chains take her by surprise, and she’s pulled back to the ground.
I smirk, as her round ass hits the floor again. "You're not a very fast learner, are you?"
She pulls against the restraints, trying to pummel me. "I learn just fine. I've learned how much of a heartless ruler you are. I’ve come up with a dozen ways to kill you. It only takes one night of forgetting to lock me up. One time to get careless with the knives or the guns, or for me to find a way to pick the lock. That day will come soon. That's when I'll murder you."
"And that's when my men will kill you."
"It will be worth it." Her eyes taunt mine with a smugness that I want to wash away with my cock down her throat.
Patience, I remind myself.
I place the shackles back on both our wrists, joining her to me. I can't decide whether I love or hate tethering her to me. I love having the control over her, but I hate having her around me all the time. It’s as much of a torture to me as it is to her. She’s starting to mess with my head.
Today is when the real fun starts. Nina is Eden’s weakness, but there are only so many ways I can use Nina against Eden. Eden has to have more than one fault, so I plan on finding and exploiting them to my advantage.
I turn and start walking out the door, not giving Eden any warning. She's relatively used to my abrupt changes by now, and can keep pace with me effortlessly. She's starting to anticipate my moves before I make them. Probably because I have a routine she has already learned.
Today that ends.
I sneer back at my little slave. Her face is bored and restless. Her body tired. She has no idea what's about to happen to her.
I walk into the dining room. A long rectangular table stretches across the center of the room, able to hold two dozen people, underneath the antique chandelier, which sparkles brightly overhead. Half a dozen men are at the table already eating breakfast, ready for their daily orders from me.
I walk to my usual spot at the head of the table, and Eden follows. She ordinarily takes a seat next to me at the table, but not today. I snap my fingers and motion for my two closest men to claim the seats next to me. Even when Eden isn’t here, they rarely sit next to me. I like being alone in my thoughts in the morning.
They pick up their breakfast plates and move down until they are occupying the two chairs on either side of me. I take a seat knowing there's nowhere for Eden to sit. The chain, attaching us, isn't long enough for her to sit in any of the other open chairs at the table.
I wait for her to complain or make a snarky comment, but she doesn’t. Apparently, she's going to pretend I don't affect her when I clearly do. I crawl under her skin like no one else.
She’s giving me a dirty look, one that I’m sure is meant to display her hatred for me. It does. But her cheeks are flushed, her lips slightly parted, and, every so often, she wets her bottom lip. She can pretend to hate me all she wants, but she can’t deny her body craves mine. She's an uptight woman used to getting her way, but I have a feeling after one kiss she’s going to be putty in my arms.
"Here's your coffee, sir. Would you like your usual omelete?”
"Yes, Emilia,” I say, lifting the coffee to my lips.
My servant turns her attention toward Eden. "And what would you like for breakfast?”
"I'd love –"
“She won't be eating or drinking anything."
Emilia fidgets with the bottom of her apron as her eyes cut from Eden to me. I’ll have to make sure that Emilia doesn’t try to sneak Eden food.
"That'll be all,” I say, dismissing my servant.
Emilia runs off to fix my breakfast, and I wait for Eden’s reaction.
Eden doesn’t say anything to me. She pretends I didn't deny her food. She pretends I didn't refuse her a place at the table and make her stand behind me like a dog. I was cruel before, but she hasn't seen my dark side yet. Her silly plan of acting like I don’t affect her won’t work.
She can act tough now, but I’ll break her. I have to find the right button to push. We'll see how well she does without nourishment. I give her three days, at most, before she starts begging me for water, bread, even scraps off my plate. Especially in her weakened state.
Emilia returns with my breakfast. Her eyes dart to Eden before she scurries off again.
My men continue to eat silently at the table, occasionally snickering or glaring at Eden. They too realize that today is the day the real fun begins. Today is when we get Eden to talk, no matter what it takes.
"Were you able to confirm the shipment for Thursday, Maximo?" I ask.
"We ran into a few complications, but we plan on using force tonight. I think it can be done."
"Good. Once that's dealt with, we can move on to more important things like finding Nina and Arlo. After tonight, I want at least half the team searching for them.
“And as an added incentive, if you find Nina and Arlo before Eden discloses their location, I'll make sure a substantial bonus awaits you in your next paycheck. I'll even let you participate in helping me teach Nina and Arlo a lesson for running."
Maximo laughs, and it soars through the room. "We’ll find them long before Eden speaks a syllable.” His eyes eat up her body, which attempts to hide beneath the thin T-shirt she's wearing.
A low growl escapes my throat. A warning. Maximo stops looking at Eden.
My jaw slowly unclenches, and my vein stops throbbing in my forehead. I don't understand why it annoys me that Maximo leered at Eden. After my cock claims Eden and she spills their whereabouts, he can fuck her all he wants. All I want is to find Nina and Arlo.
Maximo shouldn’t have dared to check her out. I rub my neck trying to release the tension he caused. Maybe my anger reared up because he's now my number two since Arlo left. I want Maximo to be entirely loyal to me, not pining over some woman.
I look to Dierk on my left. "You up for the task, Dierk?”
"Absolutely."
"Good. I need all of my best men on this. Now everyone get the fuck out of here and start working.”
The men immediately stand and file out of the room, leaving whatever remains of their food on their plates.
Eden immediately sinks into the chair next to me that Dierk had occupied.
"I thought you love Nina? I thought you wouldn't hurt her?”
“I do, but we tend to punish those we love the most. Nina chose my brother over me. She made the wrong choice."
"Your plan isn't going to work. I don’t believe that you love Nina. But even if you do, you don’t deserve her. Arlo does. He has kept her safe for this long."
I shake my head minutely. “Nina hasn't told you the truth about her stay here, has she?"
Eden's pupils bore into mine as she crosses her arms and leans back in the chair. "She told me enough."
“Let me fill you in on the details she didn't tell you. I saved her life and protected her, just like Arlo did. I healed her body countless times. I provided medical treatment and nursed her back to life. So don't tell me I don’t deserve her. I can protect her be
tter than Arlo can.”
"Your plan won't work," she repeats.
Her stomach growls, and I grin. "I think my plan will work fine."
I take another bite of my omelete chomping on it vulgarly, taunting her with the food in my open mouth.
Her hand darts to Dierk’s plate and snatches the biscuit he left. She shoves the entire thing into her mouth, chews rapidly, and swallows before I have a chance to do anything else.
I lean forward, grinning at her. "You think you won?”
She nods.
"You lost. You showed me you have a weakness. You're not used to going without sustenance. It may take a few hours longer actually to crack you, since you took a bite of food, but you’ll still break. You'll tell me where Nina is. You'll betray her, and you’ll have to live with yourself forever because of it. I give you three days, tops, before you beg me for food. You’re scrappy, but not strong enough."
She huffs and reaches for my omelete. I grab her wrist stopping her.
"I hope you enjoyed that biscuit, because it's the last bite of food you will get.”
It doesn't take three days for Eden to break.
In fact, it's been almost two weeks, and she hasn't so much as cracked. She's not even close. I've tried food deprivation. Somehow, I know she is getting food from someone. Emilia is the most likely culprit, but I can’t prove it.
Eden should be close to death’s door. Instead, her legs simply move a little slower when I pull her behind me, her stomach rumbles a little more frequently, and sleep is more necessary.
I tried sleep deprivation, keeping Eden up for days at a time, but losing sleep did not affect her. She became delusional, her words slurred, her body slowed. It was impossible for her to think, much less talk to me, and yet she refused to give up their location.
I threatened beatings. I threatened to rape her. But it didn't scare her. Probably because she thinks I won't follow through with my threat. She thinks she looks too much like Nina for me to beat her.
Nothing works.
It’s because I haven’t tried the one thing that I know will.
Torture.
I wanted Nina to like me still, instead of despising me, when I got her back, but I’m running out of options. It’s time to turn into the monster Eden thinks I am.