by Ella Miles
I open the double doors and enter the family room where my father is sitting in a large chair by the fireplace, waiting for me.
He cocks his head to one side to look past me to where Nina is standing in the doorway.
He nods his approval at me, and then he stands up and walks toward Nina.
“My beautiful Nina. It is so good of you to finally join us. Let me introduce myself. I’m Enrico Carini. You sat at the dinner table with me once before, but you weren’t really concerned with meeting me at the time. Now, I think you should be very concerned with learning who I am.”
Nina narrows her eyes at my father as she walks proudly into the family room. “No, I’m not particularly concerned with who you are other than learning enough to point you out to the police when I escape. Or, at least, remember your face when I put a bullet between your eyes.”
My father chuckles as he turns to me. “You weren’t lying about this one.”
I nod but don’t react otherwise. Just keep my composure. Get through tonight, and then I will have some freedom.
My father forcefully grabs Nina’s hand. I can see the pain and disgust in her eyes as my father holds on to her arm and guides her over to the table.
She looks to me like I’m going to save her, but I don’t do anything. The sooner she learns that I will do nothing to save her, the better.
“Take a seat, Nina,” Enrico says, pushing her down into a chair at the table.
“This is illegal, you know. You can’t just kidnap me. You will pay for this. My husband won’t stop until he gets me back.”
Enrico laughs. “I don’t doubt that he will. But he will fail, as have hundreds of husbands before him.”
Nina’s eyes widen. “You’ve done this hundreds of times before? You’re sicker than I thought.”
Enrico nods. “It’s a tradition that has gone back hundreds of years. You just happened to get caught up in it. But you have one thing very wrong if you think this is illegal. What we are doing is very legal.”
He glances to the piece of paper in front of Nina. She jumps up in her seat when she sees her signature at the bottom of the paper.
“You forged my signature on some document. So what? It doesn’t mean anything.”
“We didn’t forge anything, Nina.”
“I would have never agreed to anything as twisted as whatever this is,” Nina says.
“Fear will make a person do things they never dreamed of,” I say, stepping forward.
She won’t believe it if it comes from my father. I know that much. But, for some stupid reason, she trusts me.
Nina shakes her head, but I already see the hint of realization at what the truth is hidden beneath her long, dark lashes.
My eyes guide hers back to the document she signed seven years ago. The document that saved her yet sentenced her to death at the same time. All it did was prolong her life.
She starts reading and realizes all the things that I already know the document contains.
That she offered up her freedom for seven years in exchange for my family saving her from Clive and Erick’s family the night that they put something in her drink and tried to kidnap her themselves. That she had two choices. Pay seven million dollars or pay with seven years of her life. She doesn’t have seven million dollars. She doesn’t even have one million dollars.
Nina skips most of the fine print of the document, her fingers tracing her signature that rests on the bottom of the page along with my signature and the rest of my family’s signatures.
I know the moment it finally sinks in that she can’t escape this. That this is completely legal even if the law wouldn’t really support it. We have enough power in this country to get away with anything. Including owning her for seven years.
She takes a deep breath as she realizes that she is the one who got herself into this twisted mess. I tried to warn her. I tried to keep her out of this, but she didn’t listen. Now, she has to pay the consequences.
She looks back at the document.
“It even says the date you would come for me. It has yesterday’s date on it.” She rubs her head, trying to remember. “That night is fuzzy.” She stands up from the chair and starts walking around the room, trying to remember that night.
“I remember drinking the shot that had the drugs in it. I remember your face of terror as I drank it,” Nina says, looking at me.
But all I see is my father’s disappointment on his face.
She rubs her head some more. “I remember you all being there. And I remember yesterday’s date. It’s why…” She hesitates.
I smirk. “It’s why you picked yesterday as your wedding day.”
She nods and wraps her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself. Like that is going to help. She doesn’t understand that she is surrounded by monsters.
And that she can’t save herself anymore. She had her chance seven years ago. But she let her obsession with me get the best of her.
“So, the document is real. Now what? You’re going to rape me and make me your slave for seven years?” Nina looks directly at me.
My father laughs. “Basically. But you aren’t just Arlo’s slave. You belong to all of us.”
Nina’s eyes don’t hide the fear well. If she is going to survive here, she needs to hide her fears better than that. My family lives for fear. They love twisting and playing with others’ minds. They love the control they wield over people. And they won’t stop until they destroy her. That’s the game.
“Matteo, why don’t you introduce yourself to Nina? I don’t think she remembers you,” Enrico says.
I watch as Nina looks at my brother. She doesn’t recognize him even though she has met him before. I can tell from the shock in her face of seeing another man who is almost identical to me. Matteo has longer hair now, and he took a knife to the face that left him with a bad scar under his eye, making it easy for people to tell us apart now, unlike when we were younger. It makes him look menacing. Terrifying. And he is. But that’s not his game. He won’t seem terrifying to Nina. He’ll convince her that he’s sweet and loving, unlike me.
I look deep into Nina’s eyes as she stares at my brother. I see the instant lust and obsession starting in her eyes—the same way it did with me the first time she saw me. She wants him just as badly as she wants me even if she will never admit it. And I can’t stay here and watch her obsession begin. I love my brother. I would do anything for him. But the pain of watching her fall for my brother is too much for me to bear.
I feel my blood rushing fast through my body as my anger and jealousy creep to the surface. I glance down at my shoulder and see that my wound is opening again. I should have it properly looked at and closed. But I won’t. I relish this kind of pain. It will keep me from doing something incredibly stupid.
Nina doesn’t look at me when the blood spills out onto my shirt. She’s too infatuated with my brother and the thought of having sex with him to care about anything else.
I sigh and leave before I have to witness anymore. She’s strong. I know that. But I’m still afraid that her obsession is going to be the end of her.
7
Matteo
I forgot how beautiful Nina really is.
I don’t know how that is possible when she’s the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what it is about her that makes her seem so beautiful. Is it her piercing brown eyes, luscious red lips, her unbelievable curves, or her legs that go on for days?
Maybe it’s the fierceness in her eyes. The obsessiveness that, when she sets her heart on something, she does everything to make it happen. Even at the expense of herself.
Whatever it is, I can’t believe I forgot. And, now, I’m just as obsessed with her as my brother. He can pretend she’s not all he wants. That he’s just playing along with the game, just like he has with all the ones before. But he’s lying. I know him better than that. I practically am him. So, I definitely know what he’s thinking.
And he already kn
ows what I’m thinking. That’s the problem after doing this six other times. He already knows all my tricks. I’ll have to play this game differently if I want to win.
“I’m Matteo Carini, Arlo’s twin brother,” I say, walking over to Nina and softly kissing her on each cheek. I get hard from just kissing her on the damn cheek. Man, I’m in trouble if this woman can control my dick that easily.
Nina just keeps staring at me, wide-eyed. “Have we met before?” she asks.
I nod. “I was there the night we saved you.”
She frowns but still says, “Thank you.”
I laugh. “I wouldn’t be thanking me yet. If you think my brother is bad, I’m worse.”
She studies me out of the corner of her eye, and I’m not sure she believes me. I thought my scar would make me look like more of a badass than Arlo could ever dream of being. But, apparently, it still isn’t enough. His broodiness makes it impossible for me to compete with him.
I hold out my arm to her, and she apprehensively looks at it.
“Let me give you a tour of our house and where you will be staying.”
She doesn’t put her hand on my arm like I want her to.
“I figured I would be staying in the dungeon again.”
I laugh. “And why would we do that?”
“Because I’m your prisoner, and that’s where you keep prisoners.”
I shrug. “We could, but then we’d have to go down to the dungeons ourselves every time we needed something from you, and that would get tiring. It’s much better if you just stay up here. Don’t you agree?” I say with a sexy grin.
I watch as her cheeks blush just the tiniest bit at the attention I’m giving her.
“You’re right. What was I thinking? I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you when you want to rape me,” she says, every word dripping with sarcasm.
I grin. “Exactly,” I say, liking her spunk. “Now, take my arm so that I can show you around.”
“No, thanks. Arlo already gave me a tour the last time I was here.”
I roll my eyes. “He didn’t show you the good parts. Hold onto my arm or stay here and take your chances with what my father will need from you.”
Disgust and fear cover her gorgeous eyes. And rightly so. If she is smart, she will do everything in her power to stay away from my father. She might hate Arlo and me now, but she’ll learn soon enough that we are the lesser of the evils in this family.
She puts her hand in the crook of my arm. “I hate you. You can’t force me to do anything. I’m not your slave.”
I shake my head, laughing a little to myself. She’s something else. If putting her hand on my arm pisses her off, she isn’t going to like what the future holds for her.
“I’m not forcing you to do anything. I’m giving you a choice. Me or my father.”
“That’s not a choice.”
“It is a choice. I think you will find that my family is more than fair when it comes to giving you free will while you stay with us even though you owe us a huge debt,” I say, leading her out of the family room.
“A debt that your family manipulated me into having.”
I stop. “You can hate my family, but you don’t get to blame us for the predicament you are in. If I remember correctly, my brother even tried to warn you. This is on you. You had a choice to drink or not even though you knew it was spiked. You had the choice to be saved or to stay with them. You chose us. Now, deal with it.”
She pouts but doesn’t argue about it any longer, so I keep walking. I show her the kitchen, our family’s private dining room, our offices, the library, and then the art gallery.
It’s clear when we enter the library that also holds walls of art that this room is her favorite. She runs her hands over the spines of the books and studies each and every painting we pass.
I should have done more research before she came. I know Arlo knows everything about her. I should have been better prepared.
“Do you like art? Books?” I ask before realizing how stupid I sound.
She nods. “I like history. I like learning about the past. Art captures the imperfections of people’s pasts, and books tell their stories. What isn’t there to love?”
“Are you an artist?”
She laughs. It’s a beautiful sound that I want to hear over and over again.
“No. I’ve tried, but that isn’t where my talent lies.”
I step closer to her, closing the space between us, testing to see how uncomfortable I make her. She doesn’t step back.
“Why would I tell you what my talents are? Why would I tell you anything about myself? You are just going to use it against me.”
I smile, liking how fierce she is when she speaks. It’s adorable that she thinks she has any control in this situation.
“Because it might make your stay easier if you were my friend and not just the woman I fuck when I’m bored.”
She narrows her eyes but doesn’t say anything. She isn’t going to tell me anything about herself. I’ll just have to find the file that I know my obsessive, organized brother has on her. I’ll find out everything I need to know from that.
But, from the look in her eyes, I know where to find her if I ever need her. She’ll be here, enveloped in a story about medieval times or some shit like that. I’m sure books are interesting, but I prefer to make history rather than read about it in some book.
“Come on. Let me show you to your room,” I say, again holding out my arm to her.
She doesn’t want to take it. She doesn’t want to do anything that she is told. I’ll have to remember that tidbit. She needs to feel in control.
“You hold on to my arm, or I’ll hold on to your ass. Your choice.”
She frowns but takes my arm. I can practically feel the blood pulsing through her body just from the touch of her hand. She’s excited or nervous or turned on. I can’t tell which. Arlo is better at reading people than I am.
“You should really cheer up, sweetheart. Things could be a lot worse than they are.”
“How could they be any worse? I’ve been kidnapped. I’m a slave. I just got married, and I don’t even get to have a life with my new husband. I think this is about as bad as it gets.”
I shake my head. “No. You made the right decision when you chose us over Erick seven years ago.”
“And why would you say that? From what I’ve seen, you are both scum.”
“For one, we are much fairer than Erick’s family. We keep to our word and will give you back your freedom after you’ve paid your fair debt off. But he wouldn’t ever give you your life back even though you didn’t owe them anything.”
I walk her up the stairs to the highest room in the mansion. I open the door and lead her inside.
“And, two, we have a lot more money than them, which means you have much better accommodations while you stay here.”
I watch as her mouth drops at the gorgeous room I just brought her into. The room is circular with a large window circling the whole room, providing plenty of light. An oversize bed sits in the center of the room along with a curved couch on another wall, looking out over the gardens. A single other door leads from the room to her bathroom that is almost as large as this room, complete with a chandelier over the bathtub. I’m sure it is the best room she has ever stayed in.
“This room is mine?”
“Yes, it’s yours while you stay here. No one will touch you while you’re in this room. No one will come in here without your permission. It’s the only safe place you have. Remember that.”
She turns to me after studying the room. “Why would you give me a safe place to go? I could just stay in this room, and no one would ever touch me.”
“For one, you would starve if you stayed in here the whole time. No one will bring you food as long as you stay in here. And, two, even if you were to get someone to bring you food, you would go crazy, staying in here. Seven years is a long time not to speak to anyone. People go crazy in solitary confinement. Even
confinement that is as beautiful as this.”
She frowns. “If this is my safe place, then why are you in here?”
“Because I was invited.”
“I didn’t invite you.”
I sigh. “Fine, I’ll leave. But, first, you need to know the rules since I’m sure you didn’t read the whole document you signed very carefully.”
She rolls her eyes. “No, I was more concerned with the fact that I’d willingly signed my life away.”
“Not your life. Only seven years.”
“Seven years is a long time.”
I nod. “But it’s not forever.”
Her eyes bore into mine, like she is trying to figure out if I’m telling the truth or not. “Why should I believe you? Why should I believe that I’m ever going to be free again?”
“Because this is how my family keeps our power. We are honest. We do what we say. Our word means everything. When I tell you something, believe me. When Arlo tells you something, believe him. My family tells the truth above all else.”
“Are you going to rape me?” she asks.
I can’t tell if she wants me to or not from the way she says it. She’s not afraid; I know that much.
I grin. “Not today.” I pull a bracelet out of my pocket. “Now, for the rules. Hold out your arm.”
She folds her arms across her chest.
I laugh, loving her fire. “Nina, will you please hold out your arm so that I can place this bracelet on your wrist, or would you rather I take you to the dungeons instead?”
She frowns but holds out her left wrist to me. I place this bracelet on her wrist.
“What is it?”
“It has a tracking device in it. That way, we can figure out where you are and allow you the freedom to move around in our home. Or you can stay in the dungeon. I heard you and Arlo fucked there, so maybe that’s really what you prefer.”
“The bracelet is fine,” she says, shooting fire with her eyes.
She studies the bracelet, already trying to figure out a way to take it off. She’s going to struggle to get it off herself. Once closed, it doesn’t open, except with wire cutters.