Page 81 of Isle of Seduction
He places a pill in my hand and I know if I take it, I’m gonna wake up somewhere I don’t know.
I hesitate.
“We don’t have all day, my Giulia.” Louis’s impatient voice takes me out of my catatonic state. If I want to live, I’m gonna have to play by his rules. He wants me, then he’ll have me.
Until I fucking slit his throat and avenge my family.
I take the pill and fall into a restless sleep.
* * *
I don’t know how long we drive. I come in and out of consciousness, as if every time I try to open my eyes, drugs are shot into my bloodstream to keep me contained, to keep immobile.
At one point, another voice fleets through my muddled brain. “The bullet has been removed, and I gave her antibiotics and pain medicine. She’ll be out of it for another twelve hours or so.”
It’s dark outside when I wake up in a sparse and empty room I don’t recognise. No curtains or furniture to speak of. Except for the bed I lie in, this place is utterly empty and cold. I try to sit up, but my shoulder still hurts like a bitch.
“Don’t try to move too much.” Louis’s voice comes from where he sits in a comfortable chair at the side of the bed by my head.
His hair is tousled as if he passed his fingers through one too many times. I doubt it was in concern, considering he’s the fucking reason I’m in pain.
“What are you going to do to me?” I ask, trying not to sound scared and hoping he answers truthfully. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the information but the void of not knowing anything about my situation makes it worse.
“My Giulia, we’re just doing what we are destined to,” he says reverently, his eyes blown wide. “I’m taking you to my property and you’ll get settled.”
“Then what?”
“Always so many questions. Don’t worry your pretty head with the details.” He stands and comes to kiss my brow. I resist a shudder and force myself to lean into his kiss. The faster he believes we’re endgame, the sooner he’ll trust me and I can escape him.
“Sleep,” he orders me. “I’ll be next door if you need me.”
The door has barely closed when I jump out of bed and run to the windows, nausea rising and head swirling. My vision blurs, but I need to try.
Closed.
I quickly walk the distance between the windows and the door.
Closed.
I’m in a prison. All I can think about is that the last thing Nico saw was me, his blue eyes dulling until they closed, blood pouring out of him unchecked. Andrea and Catalina will never recover, and this is all my fault.
Defeat falls on my shoulders like a bull sitting on me. The adrenaline has worn off and the pill Louis and the other man gave me is so strong I can barely have coherent thoughts. I won’t escape tonight and I’m sure I won’t until my shoulder fully recovers.
I need to study my enemy, think of all the routes, of his strengths and his weaknesses. I thought I knew Louis Marshall, but it’s obvious I don’t. If he managed to send me cryptic creepy messages the second I set foot on British soil, it means he’s been looking for me for a long time. He might have even used Pierce’s resources for it. Or underground hackers that just take any contracts if the money’s good. However he did it, I’m here now and there’s no one I can blame but myself for getting distracted, for not thinking that yet another man could harm me despite all the measures I’ve put in place to avoid it.
When I left England three years ago and took on a more prominent role within the Bartoli-Moretti empire, mine and Lana’s lives in the UK was fully erased, as if we never existed and with Kalliste being a small island and me not being the face of our mafia family, I was protected by relative anonymity.
My marriage to Andrea changed that. I look down at the rings adorning my left hand. The amethyst sparkles under the harsh light of the overhead spot, Andrea’s simple gold band beside it anchoring me to him, to why I need to escape, to life and love. The ring that was my shackle five months ago has become my light, a piece of him with me everywhere I go.
I switch the light off and get under the covers. There’s nothing for me to do right now. I can’t sleep though. My right hand turns the band on my left ring finger over and over and over.
I continue to play with it. It barely soothes my beating heart and aching nerves. All I can think about is how devastated my husband will be when he finds out his baby brother died to save me.
Fresh tears coat my skin.
The man who tore down my walls and soothed the beating organ in my chest until I soothed too has no idea where I am. Even when he gets my text with Louis’s address, we’ve moved and I have no clue where. He’ll never find me. All he’ll find is the corpse of the one he loves most.
I need to avenge his death.