He scoffed. “Make this easy for me, girl.”
She nodded.
She was broken. No longer the strong woman who longed to get out of Providence.
No longer the part of herself that fought back.
No, Adelina DeMarco was a broken woman.
“You’re turn” he said suddenly, pausing to spit at her before he stood from his stool in front of her.
She was surrounded by chain-link on a cold concrete floor with her hand handcuffed around a chipped pole. The entire place, wherever she was, smelt like blood and death.
She was sure she was going to die here.
The younger man, Declan she had heard him called, spun the bloody baseball bat in circles. He whistled a sinister tune and he smacked the baseball bat near her head, making a large smacking sound against the cement walls. She shuddered as he repeated the process over and over.
He crouched in front of her shaking form. His muscles taunt against the white shirt, stray pieces of hair fell onto his face. In another situation, she might even think he was attractive, but here, she was absolutely fucking terrified.
“I didn’t.” The words came out as a whine, she sounded pathetic and she mentally scolded herself for it. “I didn’t tell anyone-“
“Liar.” He cut her off with a slap to the face. “Next time I use the bat.”
She whimpered. “Just do it.” She whispered this time. “Kill me.”
A sinister laugh escaped his lips. “But then you wouldn’t be able to talk.”
The floodgates started again. She was beyond done and she couldn’t hold a single tear in. She had nothing left, nothing to give them.
“It wasn’t him.” She croaked. “He wasn’t even there.”
Declan’s eyes lit up. “Dad!” He called.
“Where you in Boston.” Declan asked as Niall returned to the small chain-link room.
“No.”
“Then why?”
Adelina sighed. She could hear Massimo’s voice in her head. “You are never to speak of this, do you understand.”
But what did it matter now? She was never going to make it out of this concrete prison.
“Theo did it.”
Niall looked confused.
“Theo hurt me, not your son and when my father walked in…” she couldn’t find the rest of the words.
When her father walked in he shot him. So quickly he didn’t even blink.
Killing a made man was a death sentence, but killing the bosses’ son. That was even worse.
Niall put the pieces together, his face moving from confused to understanding.
“Massimo told me not to say anything, so I didn’t.”
Niall ran a hand down his face.
“I know this doesn’t change anything, but I’m sorry.”
Niall shook his head. “I get it now.”
Declan blew up his cheeks and the release all the air in a huff. “So, let me get this straight, he killed your boyfriend and your father and you protected him?”
Adelina sniffed back a tear. “I didn’t.. I couldn’t say anything. No one would have believed me anyway.”
Niall paced the small space. Back and forth silently for what seemed like forever.
Finally, smirking he walked over to Adelina.
“I bet you want payback for what he did to you.”
Her brows furrowed with confusion. “What?”
“Payback, girl. For this lie he forced on you. For what his son did to you.”
“I, uh..I don’t know.”
“Well sunshine,” he smiled. “Today’s your lucky day whether you want it or not.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What?” Lucian snarled into his ringing cellphone. Enzo knew he was about to walk into this warehouse so if he was calling him now it had better be good.
“They let her go.”
“What?”
“Adelina, she just walked outside.”
Lucian hung up the phone quicker than he answered it and began running. The door to the warehouse was only fifty yards away, and if Adelina was there he was getting to her as quickly as possible.
His dress shoes hit the pavement in loud thuds but finally he arrived to her.
She was dressed in a small, tightly fitting black dress that was ripped along the bottom seam. Her feet were bare and she shielded her eyes as she adjusted to the sunnier exterior.
“Bella.” Lucian called as he got close to her.
She looked up at him with teary eyes and smeared makeup.
“You’re here.” She whispered.
“Always.”
He wrapped his arms around her and she collapsed in his arms.
He wanted to kiss every inch of her. To find every spot where she was hurt and make it better. He wanted to fix all of this for her. But first, he wanted to get her home.
◆◆◆
Adelina was curled up the hot bath tub water. She was silent as Lucian ran the soapy washcloth over her back and down the cut on her arms. He washed the leftover makeup from her face and scrubbed her dirty hair with her favorite lavender shampoo.
The living room of his hotel suite was filled with men, fighting over next steps.
They weren’t going to let this stand.
“He’s coming for them.” Was all Adelina had told him before she passed out in the backseat.
She was covered in dirt and blood, but still Lucian couldn’t shake that this wasn’t the worst beating she’d ever received.
He lifted her from the bath, wrapped her in a fluffy robe, and carried her to the bed.
“Bella,” he said sweetly, “Please tell me what happened.”
He brown eyes, filled with nothing but sadness, lifted to meet his. They stayed like this for a moment. Brown eyes against green.
He could see in hers that she was broken now.
She never was before, she always had a fight in her, but now, he glossy brown eyes looked like they couldn’t take anymore.
He would protect her. He swore to himself he would never let her feel this pain again.
“Theo,” she whispered and then, gaining the smallest bit of strength said his name again. “Theo did it.” The story came rushing out of her. Tears silently falling from her eyes, she told him everything.
Lucian had never felt anger the way he did in that moment.
Someone who was supposed to love her.
Protect her.
How could he hurt her like that?
And how could Massimo protect him?
“We’re ending this.” He told her. “This all ends now. I promise you,” he said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I will protect you. No one will ever hurt you again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Bella, please get on the plane.” He was begging, and the sound of it was driving Adelina crazy.
Everything was driving Adelina crazy since the kidnapping. Her entire body felt like it was covered in thumbtacks and weighted down with anchors. She wanted to spend as much time as possible in an alcohol induced haze underneath her covers.
She didn’t want to talk to anyone.
She didn’t want to eat.
And she sure as hell did not want to fly to New York.
Yet, here she was on the runway standing outside Lucian’s family plane. She hated everyone right now, and yes, she knew that sounded mean but she didn’t care.
Depression was a bitch.
But so was being kidnapped by your family’s rivals.
“Just, please, you’ll be safe away from this mess.”
She huffed out a breath.
Yeah right.
She wouldn’t be safe anywhere.
It wasn’t like Lucian to beg, and part of her felt guilty for bringing him to this point, but another part of her didn’t give a shit.
“Fine.” She finally grumbled, grabbing her backpack on the pavement. “I’ll go.”
Enzo was already waiting in the jet for her, Lucian however, would be staying behind.
Maybe that’s why she was pissy, because the man who promised to protect and spend his life with her was once again going to be away from her.
Shouldn’t they be facing this obstacle as a team?
Wasn’t she more than a damsel in distress?
She boarded the jet with no more complaints, at least no more that she would voice out loud.
◆◆◆
She had spent two whole days under the large down comforter in the Luchese guest bedroom. She was pretty sure that Lucian’s parents thought she was a slob. The room had begun to smell from the lack of showers she had taken. Annette checked in multiple times a day, each with some type of food that Adelina had barely touched. She brought in coffees, and teas, water and sodas and yet nothing had left the room empty.
She was sinking. She could feel her body getting weaker. Most of the time she slept, waking in cold sweats with a scream on the tip of her tongue. One time, Carlo rushed into the room when she was actually screaming.
A non-depressed version of herself might have felt embarrassed, but this version of Adelina took comfort in calming words and he sat with her until she fell back asleep.
In the moments when she was awake, all she thought about was the time she spent in that warehouse dungeon. She re-played the look on Niall’s face over and over again on a loop.
His anger.
She felt that too.
She was so angry.
At Massimo, for making her lie.
At Vinny, for forcing a marriage onto her.
At her father, for not being here for her.
And at Theo, for hurting her.
God, did he hurt her. She had loved him, loved him deeply at one point. Then he became so territorial. He saw her as an item, and object that belonged to him and when she no longer played his game he hurt her. Over and over again.
Her gut twisted when she thought of him. Instinctively he fingers traced over the small heart tattoo that covered her scar.
Love was supposed to be this deep connection that could never be broken, yet here she stood in its brokenness.
“Alright princess,” Enzo crashed through her door without even a knock. “You’re getting up now and we’re going outside.”
She groaned in response.
“You smell.” He said leaning on the bed. “And this isn’t healthy.”
“Leave me alone.” She pleaded, hiding herself further under the covers.
He pulled the blanket back just enough to see her face. “Addy, it’s time for tough love. You had two days to mull over these feeling. Listen, I’m not saying it’s not warranted. What happened was awful, it should have never happened to you, and I’m sure my brother will be making amends for it for the rest of his life. Right now, you need fresh air, you need food, and you need normalcy. Most of all, you need to shower.” He gave her a lopsided grin at his last remark.
“Asshole.” She grumbled.
“I want to take you somewhere.” He finished. “And this is not a negotiation.”
It was the intrigue that finally lifted her from the bed. Enzo wasn’t wrong, a shower was much needed.
The hot water washed over her sore muscles providing some relief. She scrubbed her hair with a peppermint shampoo and by the time she left the shower she was already starting to feel normal again.
She traded sweats for a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt before heading downstairs to meet Enzo.
“Gorgeous.” He smiled genuinely at her. “You look great.”
“Thanks. I already feel a little better.”
The step was leaving the mansion. This one was more painful for her. She hadn’t been outside in days, and she quite frankly didn’t want to. She followed Enzo out to his BMW. The May sunshine hit her face and brought her warmth. She stood there for a moment, breathing in the fresh air and letting the sun hit her face. Maybe the outside world really wasn’t that bad.
◆◆◆
After lunch at one of Enzo’s restaurants, he drove them to a shooting range.
“Enzo,” she eyed him skeptically. She hated guns, she wasn’t a huge fan before Theo and her father were shot, but ever since that moment in the Marzano house she couldn’t stand the sight of them.
“Listen,” he inhaled deeply “I know they’re not you’re cup of tea, but I want you to learn how to shoot. You don’t have to carry one or use it ever if you don’t want to, but try it. You have power in this world, Addy, you just need to figure out how you want to use it.”
“Okay,” she conceded.
Enzo fit her with a Smith and Wesson 9mm hand gun. “Sorry it doesn’t come in pink.” He chucked as he taught her how to hold it.
She only glared at him in response.
The gun felt heavy in her hands.
Enzo taught her how to aim it, prepare for the kickback, and set up her target. The white paper at the end of the range had a black silhouette with circles acting as targets for her. She squinted her eyes narrowing in on the kill-shot, which Enzo told her was the center of his chest. Her finger rested on the trigger.
All she saw was Niall O’Connor.
Niall with his taunting laughter.
Niall kicking her in the gut.
Niall asking “why” over and over again.
Niall fucking O’Conner.
Even after being warned, the kick back startled her when she shot the gun, and the bullet pierced the silhouette with slick movement.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Hey it’s Enzo, not here right now, so- uh- leave a message.” Lucian found comfort listening to Enzo’s voice. It would have been better if he’d answered, but he’d take what he could get.
“Hey Enz,” he sighed into the phone. There were so many things he wanted to say, yet he couldn’t quite place them into words. “I guess, I’m calling because I just wanted to tell you... Uh, incase anything happens, take care of her, okay? Just make sure she’s okay. She’s strong, she’ll make it through but it will probably be hard for her. She’s in a lot of pain right now, but it will pass. Tell her that, okay? That it will all pass. And, tell her I love her. Okay, love you.”
He hoped to go those wouldn’t be his final words.
“Ready?” Nico asked him.
He took a deep breath.
Yeah, he was ready.
He wanted to kill these assholes.
◆◆◆
Armed with the truth, Lucian finally knew who the assholes in this fucked up situation were.
“They’re in his office.” The enforcer pointed him down the hall as he entered the Maranzano mansion.
The Irish were shitty. Lucian would never deny that, but they were the ones who beat Adelina nearly to death and killed two people. No, that was her own supposed family.
“Lucian,” Massimo greet. “Sit, please.”
Lucian sat down in one of the leather chairs in Massimo’s office, Nico waited behind him in the doorway.
“To what do we owe this pleasure? Hmm?”
Years of taekwondo training taught Lucian to inhale deeply and keep his heart rate from spiking in moments like these. He kept his cool, even though a savage part of him wanted to rip this man’s head off.
There were many ways he could have gone about this endeavor. For starters, he could have sent someone else, but he really wanted to see the look on his face.
“Well Adelina is safe now.”
“Yes, great news. Good job.”
“I mean safe from you.”
Massimo feigned confusion. “I’m not sure what you mean?”
“I mean, I know what happened.”
Vinny perked up in his seat across from Lucian. “What the hell?”
“Shut up.” He snapped. “My turn to do the talking.”
Both men stared back with surprised faces.
“So, your son,” he pointed to Massimo. “was beating Adelina. Did you know?”
“What?” Vinny snapped.
Massimo hung his head. “Yes.”
“That
’s what I thought. Then, your best friend and your father figured it out. Like any father, he was pissed so he shot Theo to stop him.”
Vinny sat enraged, hand gripping either side of the chair. “What the fuck is he talking about boss?”
“And then, when you found Angelo hovering over your son and his passed-out daughter, what did you do?”
Massimo sat silent.
“What did you do?” Lucian asked again, this time slamming his hands down on the desk.
Massimo raised his head slowly, his lips snarled into a sinister look. “I shot him.”
As if timed perfect, Vinny pulled his weapon from the holster on his hip, cocked it, and pulled the trigger.
One bullet right to Massimo’s head. He now lay slumped in his chair, the single wound releasing a steady flow of blood.
As quickly as Vinny unloaded his weapon into Massimo, Lucian shot one perfect round into Vinny. He dropped to the floor before he could shoot anymore bullets.
Screams rang out from above them, likely Massimo’s wife.
Lucian didn’t give a fuck.
His work here was done.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Adelina.” Theo called. He was angry.
He was always angry these days.
He was under pressure, he would tell her.
She continued to walk away from him, back toward the house. Theo’s parents were gone for the night and he had asked her to come over.
Theo found her acceptance letter to UCLA on her desk, and the fumes had been rising ever since.
She wasn’t to leave Providence.
She wasn’t to go to college.
She was supposed to be the perfect housewife, and she just wasn’t.
So now he was angry at her, because he left bruises on her arm.
She told him she wanted to go home then, which only made him angrier.
He did everything for her.
He paid for everything.
Made sure she was cared for.
Made sure she was protected.
At least that’s what he said to her.
She walked away from him, which was a mistake. Because Theo hated not having the last word.
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